Fernstudium - na klar!: Gemeinden auf dem Weg in die Nachhaltigkeit

Bewahrung der Schöpfung ist für viele Christen ein Schlagwort, das sie gerne unterschreiben - dennoch ist es gar nicht so leicht, Gemeinden auf den Weg in die Nachhaltigkeit zu bringen. Drei Jahre lang wurde der Fernkurs "na klar!" von der Deutschen Bundesstiftung Umwelt und dem Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst gefördert und hat einige Ideen für Praxisprojekte zutage gebracht. Fragt man die Teilnehmenden nach dem Kursende, ob sich etwas bewegt habe, sagen sie eindeutig: Na klar! Doch das Ende der Förderphase ist noch nicht das Ende der Praxisprojekte; dort fängt die Arbeit teilweise nun erst richtig an

Lernen rund um den Globus: die Deutsche Fernschule; ein Gespräch mit Schulleiter Georg Pflüger

Ich werde Ihnen nichts Neues berichten: Erwachsenenbildung kommt ohne Fernunterricht nicht aus. Zu stark sind die Verpflichtungen im Alltag, das Lehrprogramm von weit her kommt da genau richtig. Wann immer Zeit ist, kann man von zu Hause aus studieren, forschen, lernen. Aber jetzt kommt das Neue: Wie ist es nämlich mit den Kleinen? Warum sollte man den eigenen Kindern Fernunterricht zumuten, wenn es auch anders geht

Anders hätte ich das nicht geschafft! Ein Blick hinter die Kulissen des Fernstudiums

Wer eine Weiterbildung via Fernunterricht bucht, weiß meistens sehr genau, was er will und ist hoch motiviert. Allerdings braucht man für das Lernen zu Hause eine gute Portion Selbstdisziplin und Durchhaltevermögen. Neben dem thematischen Interesse sind vor allem die Lebensbedingungen der Teilnehmenden ausschlaggebend für die Wahl dieser Lernmethode. Im Folgenden vier Porträts, die bei aller Individualität sehr typisch für den Fernunterricht sind

Zeitzeug*innengespräche und historisches Lernen im Sachunterricht. Ein Projektseminar

Die Autor*innen berichten von ihrem digitalen Projektseminar „Zeitzeug*innengespräche und historisches Lernen im Sachunterricht“: Zeitzeug*innengespräche als zentrale Bestandteile geschichtswissenschaftlicher Forschung haben sich auch im Rahmen historischen Lernens in der Grundschule als Zugangsweise und Methode etabliert. Die Initiierung und Begleitung von Zeitzeug*innengesprächen zwischen Grundschulkindern und Bürger*innen der früheren DDR im Rahmen eines Hochschulseminars und auf der Grundlage digitaler Lehr-Lernformate wird vorgestellt und kritisch reflektiert. (DIPF/Orig.)Conversations with contemporary witnesses are considered to be a suitable approach to history in historical learning in general studies in primary education; at the same time, they are accompanied by particular challenges concerning critical analysis of sources. The article focuses on the didactic discussion of contemporary witnesses in the teaching of history on the basis of a digital seminar, which was developed and realized at the Humboldt University in the course of the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic. The seminar, the theoretical background and initial findings from the contemporary witness interviews conducted are presented in the article. (DIPF/Orig.

Visualization of lateral water transport pathways in soybean by a time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry cryo-system

Water movement between cells in a plant body is the basic phenomenon of plant solute transport; however, it has not been well documented due to limitations in observational techniques. This paper reports a visualization technique to observe water movement among plant cells in different tissues using a time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (Tof-SIMS) cryo-system. The specific purpose of this study is to examine the route of water supply from xylem to stem tissues. The maximum resolution of Tof-SIMS imaging was 1.8 μm (defined as the three pixel step length), which allowed detection of water movement at the cellular level. Deuterium-labelled water was found in xylem vessels in the stem 2.5 min after the uptake of labelled water by soybean plants. The water moved from the xylem to the phloem, cambium, and cortex tissues within 30–60 min after water absorption. Deuterium ion counts in the phloem complex were slightly higher than those in the cortex and cambium tissue seen in enlarged images of stem cell tissue during high transpiration. However, deuterium ion counts in the phloem were lower than those in the cambium at night with no evaporative demand. These results indicate that the stem tissues do not receive water directly from the xylem, but rather from the phloem, during high evaporative demand. In contrast, xylem water would be directly supplied to the growing sink during the night without evaporative demand

Drought-Adaptation Potential in Fagus sylvatica: Linking Moisture Availability with Genetic Diversity and Dendrochronology

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Microevolution is essential for species persistence especially under anticipated climate change scenarios. Species distribution projection models suggested that the dominant tree species of lowland forests in Switzerland, European beech (<em>Fagus sylvatica</em> L.), might disappear from most areas due to expected longer dry periods. However, if genotypes at the moisture boundary of the species climatic envelope are adapted to lower moisture availability, they can serve as seed source for the continuation of beech forests under changing climates.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>With an AFLP genome scan approach, we studied neutral and potentially adaptive genetic variation in <em>Fagus sylvatica</em> in three regions containing a dry and a mesic site each (<em>n</em>_ind. = 241, <em>n</em>_markers = 517). We linked this dataset with dendrochronological growth measures and local moisture availabilities based on precipitation and soil characteristics. Genetic diversity decreased slightly at dry sites. Overall genetic differentiation was low (<em>F</em>_st = 0.028) and Bayesian cluster analysis grouped all populations together suggesting high (historical) gene flow. The Bayesian outlier analyses indicated 13 markers with three markers differing between all dry and mesic sites and the others between the contrasting sites within individual regions. A total of 41 markers, including seven outlier loci, changed their frequency with local moisture availability. Tree height and median basal growth increments were reduced at dry sites, but marker presence/absence was not related to dendrochronological characteristics.</p> <h3>Conclusion and Their Significance</h3><p>The outlier alleles and the makers with changing frequencies in relation to moisture availability indicate microevolutionary processes occurring within short geographic distances. The general genetic similarity among sites suggests that ‘preadaptive’ genes can easily spread across the landscape. Yet, due to the long live span of trees, fostering saplings originating from dry sites and grown within mesic sites might increase resistance of beech forests during the anticipated longer dry periods.</p> </div

Does anthropogenic nitrogen deposition induce phosphorus limitation in herbivorous insects?

Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition has shifted many ecosystems from nitrogen ( N ) limitation to phosphorus ( P ) limitation. Although well documented in plants, no study to date has explored whether N deposition exacerbates P limitation at higher trophic levels, or focused on the effects of induced plant P limitation on trophic interactions. Insect herbivores exhibit strict N  :  P homeostasis, and should therefore be very sensitive to variations in plant N  :  P stoichiometry and prone to experiencing deposition‐induced P limitation. In the current study, we investigated the effects of N deposition and P availability on a plant‐herbivorous insect system. Using common milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca ) and two of its specialist herbivores, the monarch caterpillar ( Danaus plexippus ) and milkweed aphid ( Aphis asclepiadis ) as our study system, we found that experimental N deposition caused P limitation in milkweed plants, but not in either insect species. However, the mechanisms for the lack of P limitation were different for each insect species. The body tissues of A. asclepiadis always exhibited higher N  :  P ratios than that of the host plant, suggesting that the N demand of this species exceeds P demand, even under high N deposition levels. For D. plexippus , P addition increased the production of latex, which is an important defense negatively affecting D. plexippus growth rate. As a result, we illustrate that P limitation of herbivores is not an inevitable consequence of anthropogenic N deposition in terrestrial systems. Rather, species‐specific demands for nutrients and the defensive responses of plants combine to determine the responses of herbivores to P availability under N deposition.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92035/1/gcb2645.pd

NH4+-stimulated and -inhibited components of K+ transport in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The disruption of K+ transport and accumulation is symptomatic of NH4+ toxicity in plants. In this study, the influence of K+ supply (0.02–40 mM) and nitrogen source (10 mM NH4+ or NO3–) on root plasma membrane K+ fluxes and cytosolic K+ pools, plant growth, and whole-plant K+ distribution in the NH4+-tolerant plant species rice (Oryza sativa L.) was examined. Using the radiotracer 42K+, tissue mineral analysis, and growth data, it is shown that rice is affected by NH4+ toxicity under high-affinity K+ transport conditions. Substantial recovery of growth was seen as [K+]ext was increased from 0.02 mM to 0.1 mM, and, at 1.5 mM, growth was superior on NH4+. Growth recovery at these concentrations was accompanied by greater influx of K+ into root cells, translocation of K+ to the shoot, and tissue K+. Elevating the K+ supply also resulted in a significant reduction of NH4+ influx, as measured by 13N radiotracing. In the low-affinity K+ transport range, NH4+ stimulated K+ influx relative to NO3– controls. It is concluded that rice, despite its well-known tolerance to NH4+, nevertheless displays considerable growth suppression and disruption of K+ homeostasis under this N regime at low [K+]ext, but displays efficient recovery from NH4+ inhibition, and indeed a stimulation of K+ acquisition, when [K+]ext is increased in the presence of NH4+

Rapid Detection of Infestation of Apple Fruits by the Peach Fruit Moth, Carposina sasakii Matsumura, Larvae Using a 0.2-T Dedicated Magnetic Resonance Imaging Apparatus

Infestation of harvested apple fruits by the peach fruit moth (Carposina sasakii Matsumura) was studied using a dedicated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus equipped with a 0.2-T permanent magnet. Infested holes on the three-dimensional (3-D) images tracked ecological movements of peach fruit moth larvae within the food fruits, and thus in their natural habitat. Sensitive short solenoid coil and surface coil detectors were devised to shorten measurement times. The short solenoid coil detected infestation holes at a rate of 6.4 s per image by the single-slice 2-D measurement. The multi-slice 2-D measurement provided six slice images of a fruit within 2 min taken by the two detectors. These results indicate that the 0.2-T MRI apparatus allows one to distinguish sound fruits from infested ones, and also as a means for plant protection and the preservation of natural ecological systems in foreign trade