Podcast about Crop Protection in Horticulture

Podcasts sind Audiodateien, meist im MP3-Format, die sich der Nutzer aus dem Internet herunterladen kann – vereinfacht ausgedrückt also „Radio zum Mitnehmen“. Insbesondere für den Einsatz in der Lehre mit Querverbindungen zur Praxis und Beratung stellt der Podcast ein sinnvolles Medium dar. Zum Themengebiet des Pflanzenschutzes im Gartenbau bietet die Forschungsanstalt für Gartenbau an der Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HSWT) seit Juli 2008 einen wöchentlichen Podcast an (http://www.podcast.fagw.info), der nicht nur von der Zielgruppe der Studenten genutzt wird. Die bisher rund 80 verfügbaren Beiträge werden jeden Monat etwa 3000mal angehört bzw. heruntergeladen. Erste Umfragen im universitären Umfeld und an Technikerschulen haben gezeigt, dass die Nutzung von Podcasts im Unterricht befürwortet wird. Auch beim Blended-Learning, bei dem sich Präsenz- und E-Learning-Phasen abwechseln, wird der Podcast in Zukunft ein wichtiges, integratives Medium sein.A Podcast is an audio-file (mostly in MP3 file format), which can be downloaded from the Internet – in a nutshell you can say “Radio to go”. Especially for the use in Teaching, Practice and Advice Podcasts are an usefull medium. The Weihenstephan Research Centre for Horticulture at the University of Applied Science Weihenstephan-Triesdorf offers since July of 2008 for the Topic of “Crop Protection in Horticulture” a weekly Podcast (http://www.podcast.fagw.info) that is not only used by students. Every month about 3000 lessons are heared or downloaded from the website of the 80 units available presently. The use of Podcast as an element of Teaching will be approved according to a survey at the University of Applied Science Weihenstephan-Triesdorf and some horticulture-schools. Podcasts will also be an important part in blended learning, where face-to-face lessons with computer-mediated content are combined

Who really matters: Influence of German Bight key bioturbators on biogeochemical cycling and sediment turnover

Loss of bioturbating key species from marine sediments has been shown to strongly reduce benthic biogeochemical cycling and ecosystemfunctioning. It is thus of paramount importance to identify key bioturbators and quantify their effect on biogeochemical processes. To do so trait based community and species bioturbation potential (BPc and BPi) was mapped for 423 North Sea stations in the German Bight. Mapping of BPc and BPi identified Amphiura filiformis, Echinocardium cordatum and Nucula nitidosa as major bioturbating species in the German Bight. The effects of these species on benthic nutrient flux (i.e., changing concentrations of silicate Δ[SiO2], ammonium Δ[NH4+], nitrate Δ[NO3−] and nitrite Δ[NO2−]) were quantified in laboratory experiments together with their bioturbation rate (Db) and bioirrigation activity. The experiments indicated that mapped species bioturbation potential (BPi) may be a poor tool for identifying key bioturbators while calculated experimental BPi (expBPi)was a good indicator for species impact on biogeochemical cycling. Out of the three investigated species only E. cordatum significantly influenced biogeochemical cycling, whereas the effect of A. filiformis remained inconclusive potentially because arm damage and regeneration may affect the bioturbation activity of many individuals. The bivalve N. nitidosa showed only little impact on biogeochemical cycling, although this species was found to be an active bioturbator. Accordingly, E. cordatum may be considered one of the most important contributors to biogeochemical cycling at the sediment-water interface in the German Bight

Exponential decline of deep-sea ecosystem functioning linked to benthic biodiversity loss

Background: Recent investigations suggest that biodiversity loss might impair the functioning and sustainability of ecosystems. Although deep-sea ecosystems are the most extensive on Earth, represent the largest reservoir of biomass, and host a large proportion of undiscovered biodiversity, the data needed to evaluate the consequences of biodiversity loss on the ocean floor are completely lacking.Results: Here, we present a global-scale study based on 116 deep-sea sites that relates benthic biodiversity to several independent indicators of ecosystem functioning and efficiency. We show that deep-sea ecosystem functioning is exponentially related to deep-sea biodiversity and that ecosystem efficiency is also exponentially linked to functional biodiversity. These results suggest that a higher biodiversity supports higher rates of ecosystem processes and an increased efficiency with which these processes are performed. The exponential relationships presented here, being consistent across a wide range of deep-sea ecosystems, suggest that mutually positive functional interactions (ecological facilitation) can be common in the largest biome of our biosphere.Conclusions: Our results suggest that a biodiversity loss in deep-sea ecosystems might be associated with exponential reductions of their functions. Because the deep sea plays a key role in ecological and biogeochemical processes at a global scale, this study provides scientific evidence that the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity is a priority for a sustainable functioning of the worlds' oceans