Revolution in Re-Identifying the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century

In the long history of Palestine research one interesting devel-opment has to be noted. In the 19th century the Holy Landwas ‘rediscovered’, leading to the detailed use of all existingsources, the foremost being the Scriptures. The US theologianEdward Robinson, accompanied by the missionary Eli Smith,traveled in the Holy Land in 1838. The pioneering role in HolyLand research, the detailed reconstruction of the Scripturesas a historical-geographical source was accepted by contempo-raries – a milestone in the process of establishing Palestine re-search as a modern academic discipline. The voyage yielded adetailed, three-volume work, including various maps drawn bythe young cartographer Heinrich Kiepert. These maps estab-lished a new narrative within the historical-geographical dis-course, leading to a new construction of the identity of theHoly Land

An early measuring of the Holy City, forgotten for over a century: Westphal’s Jerusalem map of 1825

In 1822 and 1823 three young German scholars, Peter von Medem, Gustav Parthey and Johann Heinrich Westphal, undertook a research expedition to Egypt and Palestine. One major result of this journey was a very accurate map of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem und seine nächsten Umgebungen” (“Jerusalem and its environs”), published in 1825 by Heinrich Berghaus in his journal Hertha. Together with Franz Wilhelm Sieber’s plan of 1818 this map belongs to the very first “modern” maps of Jerusalem, based on measurements and new scientific research results. In addition, the sketches, as well as extracts from Parthey’s and von Medem’s diaries, formed the material for Berghaus’ memoir to his Map of Syria in 1835. This article deals with the background of the voyage, the production, publication and reception of the map, and the complex network of actors involved, based on recently discovered archival sources. Moreover, the map became forgotten in the 19th and 20th centuries. Apart from Berghaus, the map was actually never used by later cartographers of Jerusalem and no longer mentioned in studies concerning the history of the city’s modern cartography

Positive biodiversity-productivity relationship predominant in global forests

The biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on ecosystem functioning. Understanding BPR is critical for the accurate valuation and effective conservation of biodiversity. Using ground-sourced data from 777,126 permanent plots, spanning 44 countries and most terrestrial biomes, we reveal a globally consistent positive concave-down BPR, showing that continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline in forest productivity worldwide. The value of biodiversity in maintaining commercial forest productivity alone - US$166 billion to 490 billion per year according to our estimation - is more than twice what it would cost to implement effective global conservation. This highlights the need for a worldwide reassessment of biodiversity values, forest management strategies, and conservation priorities.Peer Reviewe

The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records. We found that global variation in leaf habit is primarily driven by isothermality and soil characteristics, while leaf form is predominantly driven by temperature. Given these relationships, we estimate that 38% of global tree individuals are needle-leaved evergreen, 29% are broadleaved evergreen, 27% are broadleaved deciduous and 5% are needle-leaved deciduous. The aboveground biomass distribution among these tree types is approximately 21% (126.4 Gt), 54% (335.7 Gt), 22% (136.2 Gt) and 3% (18.7 Gt), respectively. We further project that, depending on future emissions pathways, 17-34% of forested areas will experience climate conditions by the end of the century that currently support a different forest type, highlighting the intensification of climatic stress on existing forests. By quantifying the distribution of tree leaf types and their corresponding biomass, and identifying regions where climate change will exert greatest pressure on current leaf types, our results can help improve predictions of future terrestrial ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling

The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit.

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records. We found that global variation in leaf habit is primarily driven by isothermality and soil characteristics, while leaf form is predominantly driven by temperature. Given these relationships, we estimate that 38% of global tree individuals are needle-leaved evergreen, 29% are broadleaved evergreen, 27% are broadleaved deciduous and 5% are needle-leaved deciduous. The aboveground biomass distribution among these tree types is approximately 21% (126.4 Gt), 54% (335.7 Gt), 22% (136.2 Gt) and 3% (18.7 Gt), respectively. We further project that, depending on future emissions pathways, 17-34% of forested areas will experience climate conditions by the end of the century that currently support a different forest type, highlighting the intensification of climatic stress on existing forests. By quantifying the distribution of tree leaf types and their corresponding biomass, and identifying regions where climate change will exert greatest pressure on current leaf types, our results can help improve predictions of future terrestrial ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling

The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records. We found that global variation in leaf habit is primarily driven by isothermality and soil characteristics, while leaf form is predominantly driven by temperature. Given these relationships, we estimate that 38% of global tree individuals are needle-leaved evergreen, 29% are broadleaved evergreen, 27% are broadleaved deciduous and 5% are needle-leaved deciduous. The aboveground biomass distribution among these tree types is approximately 21% (126.4 Gt), 54% (335.7 Gt), 22% (136.2 Gt) and 3% (18.7 Gt), respectively. We further project that, depending on future emissions pathways, 17–34% of forested areas will experience climate conditions by the end of the century that currently support a different forest type, highlighting the intensification of climatic stress on existing forests. By quantifying the distribution of tree leaf types and their corresponding biomass, and identifying regions where climate change will exert greatest pressure on current leaf types, our results can help improve predictions of future terrestrial ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling

The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records. We found that global variation in leaf habit is primarily driven by isothermality and soil characteristics, while leaf form is predominantly driven by temperature. Given these relationships, we estimate that 38% of global tree individuals are needle-leaved evergreen, 29% are broadleaved evergreen, 27% are broadleaved deciduous and 5% are needle-leaved deciduous. The aboveground biomass distribution among these tree types is approximately 21% (126.4 Gt), 54% (335.7 Gt), 22% (136.2 Gt) and 3% (18.7 Gt), respectively. We further project that, depending on future emissions pathways, 17-34% of forested areas will experience climate conditions by the end of the century that currently support a different forest type, highlighting the intensification of climatic stress on existing forests. By quantifying the distribution of tree leaf types and their corresponding biomass, and identifying regions where climate change will exert greatest pressure on current leaf types, our results can help improve predictions of future terrestrial ecosystem functioning and carbon cyclin

Vollbehr-Sammlung hat Zuwachs

Ernst Vollbehr, Militärstation Bamenda © Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde Das IfL kann sich über einen unerwarteten Neuzugang in seinem Archiv für Geographie freuen: rund 70 Ölgemälde, Aquarelle und Gouachen des Malers Ernst Vollbehr (1876–1960). Die Landschaftsbilder aus Mitteleuropa und den von Vollbehr bereisten Ländern der Erde sowie Landschaftsmotive und Porträts von Afrikanern aus den deutschen Kolonien ergänzen den umfangreichen Bestand an Vollbehr-Bildern, die das Museum für Länderk..

Ausstellung „Fokus: Erde. Von der Vermessung unserer Welt“

Archiv für Geographie stellt Originaldokumente zur Verfügung Erich von Drygalski bei Vermessungen in der Antarktis, 1902 © Archiv für Geographie Am 23. März wurde in Potsdam im Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte die Ausstellung „Fokus: Erde. Von der Vermessung unserer Welt“ eröffnet. Die vom Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam – Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum gemeinsam mit dem Museum entwickelte Schau zeichnet erstmals die Geschichte der traditionsreichen Geowissenschaften in Potsdam nach..

Archiv für Geographie erschließt Fotografien aus Bolivien

Musikanten in Copacabana, Fotografie 1876 (Quelle: Archiv für Geographie) Das Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde (IfL) wird bis Jahresende rund 3000 Bolivienfotos aus dem Bildbestand seines Archivs für Geographie digitalisieren und katalogisieren. Das Auswärtige Amt unterstützt die Maßnahme aus Mitteln seines Referats Kulturerhalt. Projektpartner ist die Deutsche Botschaft in La Paz. Sie will die Fotografien bolivianischen Kultur- und Forschungseinrichtungen vermitteln und vor Ort einer breiten..