Carsten Eichberg

Inland Sand Ecosystems: Dynamics and restitution as a consequence of the use of different grazing systems

In Germany, sand ecosystems are among the endangered habitats, particularly the open and the ecotone-rich forms including open oak and pine woodland. A practicable nature conservation concept has to take into account the often anthropo-zoogenically caused dynamics of sand ecosystems. The conservation of these ecosystems is problematic, as they form dynamic systems which lose relevance for species and habitat conservation if they are not used or if they are intensively used or fertilized.

Ökologische Grundlagen und limitierende Faktoren der Renaturierung

In den dicht besiedelten und agrarisch besonders intensiv genutzten Regionen Mittel- und Westeuropas ist seit Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges ein fortschreitender Verlust an naturnahen okosystemen mit hoher biologischer Vielfalt zu verzeichnen. Spatestens seit den 1970er-Jahren ist daher die Neuschaffung und Wiederherstellung gefahrdeter Lebensraume und Biozonosen zunehmend in den Mittelpunkt von Naturschutzmasnahmen geruckt (Bakker 1989, Muller et al. 1998, Bakker und Berendse 1999). Aufgrund fehlender wissenschaftlicher Grundlagen und praktischer Erfahrungen wurden Renaturierungsmasnahmen anfangs fast durchweg nach dem trial and error-Prinzip durchgefuhrt. Im Vordergrund standen dabei zunachst die Wiederherstellung adaquater abiotischer Standortbedingungen sowie die Reorganisation traditioneller Nutzungsmanagements. Bei Ersterem ging es neben der Wiedervernassung entwasserter Feuchtgebiete (Pfadenhauer und Grootjans 1999) vor allem darum, Eutrophierungseffekte zu beseitigen und die Produktivitat des Standortes auf das Niveau der Zielgemeinschaft zuruckzufuhren (Gough und Marrs 1990, Oomes et al. 1996, Snow et al. 1997, Tallowin et al. 1998).

The Anthelmintic Ingredient Moxidectin Negatively Affects Seed Germination of Three Temperate Grassland Species.

In animal farming, anthelmintics are regularly applied to control gastrointestinal nematodes. There is plenty of evidence that also non-target organisms, such as dung beetles, are negatively affected by residues of anthelmintics in faeces of domestic ungulates. By contrast, knowledge about possible effects on wild plants is scarce. To bridge this gap of knowledge, we tested for effects of the common anthelmintic formulation Cydectin and its active ingredient moxidectin on seed germination. We conducted a feeding experiment with sheep and germination experiments in a climate chamber. Three wide-spread plant species of temperate grasslands (Centaurea jacea, Galium verum, Plantago lanceolata) were studied. We found significant influences of both, Cydectin and moxidectin, on germination of the tested species. Across species, both formulation and active ingredient solely led to a decrease in germination percentage and synchrony of germination and an increase in mean germination time with the formulation showing a more pronounced response pattern. Our study shows for the first time that anthelmintics have the potential to negatively affect plant regeneration. This has practical implications for nature conservation since our results suggest that treatments of livestock with anthelmintics should be carefully timed to not impede endozoochorous seed exchange between plant populations.