19 research outputs found
Interactions Between a Belowground Herbivore and Primary and Secondary Root Metabolites in Wild Cabbage
Nachverfolgung der Evolution von Hangstruktur und hydrologischer Reaktion über zehn Jahrtausende in zwei Gletschervorfeldern
Assessing the impact of global change on hydrological systems is one of the greatest hydrological challenges of our time. Changes in land cover, land use, and climate have an impact on water quantity, quality, and temporal availability. There is a widespread consensus that, given the far-reaching effects of global change, hydrological systems can no longer be viewed as static in their structure; instead, they must be regarded as entire ecosystems, wherein hydrological processes interact and coevolve with biological, geomorphological, and pedological processes. To accurately predict the hydrological response under the impact of global change, it is essential to understand this complex coevolution. The knowledge of how hydrological processes, in particular the formation of subsurface (preferential) flow paths, evolve within this coevolution and how they feed back to the other processes is still very limited due to a lack of observational data.
At the hillslope scale, this intertwined system of interactions is known as the hillslope feedback cycle. This thesis aims to enhance our understanding of the hillslope feedback cycle by studying the coevolution of hillslope structure and hillslope hydrological response. Using chronosequences of moraines in two glacial forefields developed from siliceous and calcareous glacial till, the four studies shed light on the complex coevolution of hydrological, biological, and structural hillslope properties, as well as subsurface hydrological flow paths over an evolutionary period of 10 millennia in these two contrasting geologies. The findings indicate that the contrasting properties of siliceous and calcareous parent materials lead
to variations in soil structure, permeability, and water storage. As a result, different plant species and vegetation types are favored on siliceous versus calcareous parent material, leading to diverse ecosystems with distinct hydrological dynamics. The siliceous parent material was found to show a higher activity level in driving the coevolution. The soil pH resulting from parent material weathering emerges as a crucial factor, influencing vegetation development, soil formation, and consequently, hydrology. The acidic weathering of the siliceous parent material favored the accumulation of organic matter, increasing the soils’ water storage capacity and attracting acid-loving shrubs, which further promoted organic matter accumulation and ultimately led to podsolization after 10 000 years. Tracer experiments revealed that the subsurface flow path evolution was influenced by soil and vegetation development, and vice versa. Subsurface flow paths changed from vertical, heterogeneous matrix flow to finger-like flow paths over a few hundred years, evolving into macropore flow, water storage, and lateral subsurface flow after several thousand years. The changes in flow paths among younger age classes were driven by weathering processes altering soil structure, as well as by vegetation development and root activity. In the older age
class, the transition to more water storage and lateral flow was attributed to substantial organic matter accumulation and ongoing podsolization. The rapid vertical water transport in the finger-like flow paths, along with the conductive sandy material, contributed to podsolization and thus to the shift in the hillslope hydrological response.
In contrast, the calcareous site possesses a high pH buffering capacity, creating a neutral to basic environment with relatively low accumulation of dead organic matter, resulting in a lower water storage capacity and the establishment of predominantly grass vegetation. The coevolution was found to be less dynamic over the millennia. Similar to the siliceous site, significant changes in subsurface flow paths occurred between the young age classes. However, unlike the siliceous site, the subsurface flow paths at the calcareous site only altered in shape and not in direction. Tracer experiments showed that flow paths changed from vertical, heterogeneous matrix flow to vertical, finger-like flow paths after a few hundred to thousands of years, which was driven by root activities and weathering processes. Despite having a finer soil texture, water storage at the calcareous site was significantly lower than at the siliceous site, and water transport remained primarily rapid and vertical, contributing to the flourishing of grass vegetation.
The studies elucidated that changes in flow paths are predominantly shaped by the characteristics of the parent material and its weathering products, along with their complex interactions with initial water flow paths and vegetation development. Time, on the other hand, was not found to be a primary factor in describing the evolution of the hydrological response. This thesis makes a valuable contribution to closing the gap in the observations of the coevolution of hydrological processes within the hillslope feedback cycle, which is important to improve predictions of hydrological processes in changing landscapes. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary studies in addressing the hydrological challenges arising from global change.Die Einschätzung der Auswirkungen des globalen Wandels auf die lokale Hydrologie stellt zweifellos eine der bedeutendsten hydrologischen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit dar. Die zuverlässige Vorhersage der zukünftigen Verfügbarkeit, Menge und Qualität des Wassers in Landschaften gewinnt dabei an höchster Bedeutung. Es herrscht weitgehender Konsens darüber, dass hydrologische Systeme aufgrund des globalen Wandels nicht mehr als statische Gebilde betrachtet werden können. Vielmehr sind sie als ganzheitliche Ökosysteme zu verstehen, in denen hydrologische Prozesse mit biologischen, geomorphologischen und pedologischen Faktoren interagieren und sich gemeinsam entwickeln. Allerdings ist das Wissen über die Entwicklung und die Rückkopplung hydrologischer Prozesse, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Entstehung unterirdischer (präferenzieller) Fließwege, aufgrund mangelnder Beobachtungsdaten noch stark begrenzt. Das Hauptziel dieser Studie liegt daher darin, anhand von Untersuchungen auf der Hangskala die Wechselwirkung zwischen Struktur und hydrologischem Verhalten zu erforschen. Dadurch soll ein besseres Verständnis für den Rückkopplungszyklus gewonnen werden.
Die vier in dieser Arbeit präsentierten Studien befassen sich mit der Entwicklung hydrologischer, biologischer und physikalischer Eigenschaften von Hängen sowie der Evolution hydrologischer Fließwege über einen Zeitraum von zehntausend Jahren in zwei unterschiedlichen geologischen Geologien. Durch die Analyse von Moränen-Chronosequenzen in zwei Gletschervorfeldern, die jeweils aus silikatreichem bzw. kalkreichem Geschiebemergel entstanden sind, wird die komplexe Koevolution in Abhängigkeit von der geologischen Beschaffenheit des Ausgangsmaterials beleuchtet.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die verschiedenen Eigenschaften von silikatreichem und kalkhaltigem Ausgangsmaterial unter den gegebenen Klimabedingungen zu Unterschieden in Bodeneigenschaften, Durchlässigkeit und Wasserspeicherung führen. Dies wiederum begünstigt unterschiedliche Vegetationstypen und resultiert in vielfältigen Ökosystemen mit variierenden hydrologischen Dynamiken. Interessanterweise treibt das silikatreiche Ausgangsmaterial die Koevolution stärker an. Hierbei spielt der pH-Wert des Bodens eine Schlüsselrolle, da er Auswirkungen auf Vegetation, Bodenbildung und folglich auch auf die Hydrologie hat. Die saure Verwitterung des silikatreichen Materials begünstigt die Anreicherung organischer Substanz, was zu einer Erhöhung der Wasserspeicherkapazität des Bodens und zur Podsolisierung führt. Innerhalb weniger Jahrhunderte entwickelt sich das unterirdische Wassertransportsystem von einer vertikalen, heterogenen Matrixströmung zu fingerartigen Fließwegen und nach mehreren Jahrtausenden zu einem System aus Makroporen, wobei die Wasserspeicherung und die unterirdische, laterale Strömung überwiegen.
Im Gegensatz dazu weist der kalkhaltige Standort eine hohe pH-Pufferkapazität auf. In dem basischen bis neutralen Milieu sammelt sich vergleichsweise wenig abgestorbene, organische Substanz an, was zu einer geringeren Wasserspeicherkapazität führt und die Ansiedlung von Grasvegetation begünstigt. Die Fließwege ändern lediglich ihre Form, nicht jedoch ihre Richtung. Es wurde lediglich ein Übergang von vertikaler, heterogener Matrixströmung zu vertikalen, fingerartigen Fließwegen beobachtet. Der schnelle vertikale Wassertransport mit geringer Speicherung begünstigt die Erhaltung der Grasvegetation.
Die durchgeführten Studien verdeutlichen, dass die Entwicklung der Fließwege hauptsächlich von den Eigenschaften des Ausgangsgesteins und seinen Verwitterungsprodukten sowie von deren komplexen Interaktionen mit den ursprünglichen Fließwegen und der Entwicklung der Vegetation geprägt ist. Im Gegensatz dazu spielt die Zeit keine entscheidende Rolle bei der Beschreibung der Evolution der hydrologischen Reaktion. Diese Studie trägt wesentlich dazu bei, die bestehende Lücke in Beobachtungen für die Erforschung der Koevolution von hydrologischen, biologischen, geomorphologischen und pedologischen Prozessen zu schließen. Dies ist von großer Bedeutung, um Vorhersagen hydrologischer Prozesse in sich wandelnden Landschaften zu verbessern. Sie zeigt außerdem die Relevanz interdisziplinärer Studien auf, um den zukünftigen Herausforderungen in der Hydrologie im Zuge des globalen Wandels erfolgreich zu begegnen
Effects of special educational needs and socioeconomic status on academic achievement
Germany is continuously expanding its inclusive education system. Research provides evidence that students with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive school settings show lower academic achievement and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds than their peers without SEN. Identifying to what extent the disadvantages originating from both characteristics are confounded in predicting academic achievement, has been neglected in the German educational context. Using data of 1711 primary and secondary school students from a longitudinal study in the state of Brandenburg, this study evaluates to what degree SEN (in the areas of learning and emotional-social difficulties) and socioeconomic background (SES) are confounded in predicting academic initial achievement in reading and mathematics as well as their development over time. Using multilevel modelling techniques that nest three measurement points into students and students into classes, results identify SES and SEN as relevant predictors of achievement status and growth in both subjects. Only few and small mediation effects of SES were found, indicating that both SES and SEN remain independent risk factors for achievement. Understanding the origins of student disadvantage can help teachers to make better informed choices for designing support measures and aid policymakers' reasoning for resource allocations
Students’ perspective on inclusion
The goal of the present study was to analyze how students' attitudes towards inclusive education develop over the course of a school year and how these attitudes relate to students' peer relations. Sixth- and seventh-graders of 44 inclusive classes filled out a questionnaire at two measurement points within one school year to assess attitudes towards inclusive education and peer relations. Applying multilevel regression analyses it turned out that changes in peer relations over time were positively predicted by students' attitudes towards instructional adaptations for students with behaviour difficulties. Further, students with self-perceived behavior difficulties reported lower scores for peer relations compared to students without self-perceived difficulties.
Results are discussed with respect to structural factors and individual characteristics affecting inclusive education
The influence of individual and situational factors on teachers' justice ratings of classroom interactions
Teachers, as role models, are crucial in promoting inclusion in society through their actions. Being perceived as fair by their students is linked to students' feelings of belonging in school. In addition, their decisions of resource allocations also affect students' academic success. Both aspects underpin the importance of teachers' views on justice. This article aims to investigate what teachers consider to be just and how teacher characteristics and situational factors affect justice ratings of hypothetical student-teacher-interactions. In an experimental design, we randomly varied the description of the interacting student in text vignettes regarding his/her special educational need (SEN) (situational factor). We also collected data on teachers' attitudes toward inclusion and experiences with persons with disabilities (individual factors). A sample of in-service teachers in Germany (N = 2,254) rated randomized versions of two text vignettes. To also consider the effect of professional status, a sample of pre-service teachers (N = 275) did the same. Linear mixed effect models point to a negative effect of the SEN on justice ratings, meaning situations in which the interacting student is described with a SEN were rated less just compared to the control condition. As the interacting student in the situations was treated worse than the rest, this was indicative for the application of the need principle. Teachers with more positive attitudes toward inclusion rated the vignettes as significantly less just. Professional status also had a negative effect on justice ratings, with in-service teachers rating the interactions significantly lower than the pre-service teachers. Our results suggest that the teachers applied the principle of need in their ratings. Implications for inclusive teaching practices and future research are discussed further
Apatites record sedimentary provenance change 4-5 myrs before clay in the Oligocene/Miocene Alpine molasse
Extracting information about past tectonic or climatic environmental changes from sedimentary records is a key objective of provenance research. Interpreting the imprint of such changes remains challenging as signals might be altered in the sediment-routing system.
We investigate the sedimentary provenance of the Oligocene/Miocene Upper Austrian Northern Alpine Foreland Basin and its response to the tectonically driven exhumation of the Tauern Window metamorphic dome (28 +/- 1 Ma) in the Eastern European Alps by using the unprecedented combination of Nd isotopic composition of bulk-rock clay-sized samples and partly previously published multi-proxy (Nd isotopic composition, trace-element geochemistry, U-Pb dating) sand-sized apatite single-grain analysis.
The basin offers an excellent opportunity to investigate environmental signal propagation into the sedimentary record because comprehensive stratigraphic and seismic datasets can be combined with present research results. The bulk-rock clay-sized fraction epsilon Nd values of well-cutting samples from one well on the northern basin slope remained stable at similar to-9.7 from 27 to 19 Ma but increased after 19 Ma to similar to-9.1. In contrast, apatite single-grain distributions, which were extracted from 22 drill-core samples, changed significantly around 23.3 Ma from apatites dominantly from low-grade (<upper amphibolite-facies) metamorphic sources with Permo-Mesozoic and late Variscan U-Pb ages and epsilon Nd values of -4.4 to dominantly high-grade metamorphic apatites with late Variscan U-Pb ages and epsilon Nd values of -2.2.
The change in apatite single-grain distributions at 23.3 Ma is interpreted to result from the exposure of a new Upper Austroalpine source nappe with less negative epsilon Nd values triggered by the ongoing Tauern Window exhumation. Combining these data with the clay-sized bulk-rock epsilon Nd values reveals that the provenance changed 4-5 Myrs later at 19 Ma in the clay-sized fraction.
Reasons for the delayed provenance-change recording are rooted in the characteristics of the applied methods.
Whereas single-grain distributions of orogen-wide sediment-routing systems can be dominated by geographically small areas with high erosion and mineral fertility rates, bulk-rock methods integrate over the entire drainage basin, thus diminishing extreme values. Hence, by combining these two methods, spatial information are uncovered, enabling a previously unattained understanding of the underlying environmental change
Lehre und Lernen entwickeln - Eine Frage der Gestaltung von Übergängen
An der Universität Potsdam wurden im Rahmen des Qualitätspakt Lehre-Projekts „Qualität etablieren in Lehre und Lernen (QueLL)“ Maßnahmen für eine Verbesserung der Studienbedingungen und eine Weiterentwicklung der Lehre und des Lernens durchgeführt. Die während der neunjährigen Projektlaufzeit thematisierten Fragestellungen, erarbeiteten Lösungsansätze und entsprechenden Erfahrungen werden im vorliegenden Sammelband in Form von wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzungen und Werkstattberichten dargestellt und diskutiert.
Die Beiträge spiegeln in ihrer thematischen Vielfalt unterschiedliche universitäre Übergangsphasen wider, wie in diesem Fall den Übergang in die Hochschule, Übergänge innerhalb der Hochschule (im Kontext der Organisationsentwicklung, der Weiterbildung akademischer Statusgruppen oder der Entwicklung einer digitalen Lehr-Lernkultur) und schließlich den Übergang in die Berufspraxis. Denn während der Projektlaufzeit hat sich gezeigt, dass die Gestaltung von Lehre und Lernen letztlich immer eine Gestaltung solcher Übergänge ist: sowohl zwischen den innerinstitutionellen Ebenen und Bereichen als auch zwischen Akteur/innen der Hochschule und schließlich ebenso innerhalb des Student Life Cycle. Weiterhin wird anhand der Beiträge deutlich, dass die Entwicklung von Lehre und Studium nicht als isolierte Aufgabe verstanden werden kann, sondern in die Strukturen und Prozesse der Universität hineinwirken und Formen der Zusammenarbeit etablieren sollte, die es braucht, um Projekte nachhaltig zu gestalten.
Ziel dieses Bandes ist es, zur Diskussion über Gelingensbedingungen einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung von Lehre und Lernen beizutragen. Damit richtet er sich an Akteur/innen aus der Hochschulleitung, an Lehrende und Forschende sowie Mitarbeitende des Third Space
Effects of acute exposure to moderate altitude on vascular function, metabolism and systemic inflammation
BACKGROUND: Travel to mountain areas is popular. However, the effects of acute exposure to moderate altitude on the cardiovascular system and metabolism are largely unknown.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of acute exposure to moderate altitude on vascular function, metabolism and systemic inflammation.
METHODS: In 51 healthy male subjects with a mean (SD) age of 26.9 (9.3) years, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, heart rate, arterial stiffness, lipid profiles, low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, insulin resistance (HOMA-index), highly-sensitive C-reactive protein and pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured at 490 m (Zurich) and during two days at 2590 m, (Davos Jakobshorn, Switzerland) in randomized order. The largest differences in outcomes between the two altitudes are reported.
RESULTS: Mean (SD) oxygen saturation was significantly lower at 2590 m, 91.0 (2.0)%, compared to 490 m, 96.0 (1.0)%, p<0.001. Mean blood pressure (mean difference +4.8 mmHg, p<0.001) and heart rate (mean difference +3.3 bpm, p<0.001) were significantly higher at 2590 m, compared to 490 m, but this was not associated with increased arterial stiffness. At 2590 m, lipid profiles improved (median difference triglycerides -0.14 mmol/l, p=0.012, HDL +0.08 mmol/l, p<0.001, total cholesterol/HDL-ratio -0.25, p=0.001), LDL particle size increased (median difference +0.45 nm, p=0.048) and hsCRP decreased (median difference -0.18 mg/l, p=0.024) compared to 490 m. No significant change in pro-inflammatory cytokines or insulin resistance was observed upon ascent to 2590 m.
CONCLUSIONS: Short-term stay at moderate altitude is associated with increased blood pressure and heart rate likely due to augmented sympathetic activity. Exposure to moderate altitude improves the lipid profile and systemic inflammation, but seems to have no significant effect on glucose metabolism.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01130948