Jannes Muenchow
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
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Publication
Featured researches published by Jannes Muenchow.
Journal of Tropical Ecology | 2013
Jannes Muenchow; Simon Hauenstein; Achim Bräuning; Rupert Bäumler; Eric Frank Rodríguez; Henrik von Wehrden
Studying species turnover along gradients is a key topic in tropical ecology. Crucial drivers, among others, are fog deposition and soil properties. In northern Peru, a fog-dependent vegetation formation develops on mountains along the hyper-arid coast. Despite their uniqueness, these fog oases are largely uninvestigated. This study addresses the influence of environmental factors on the vegetation of these unique fog oases. Accordingly, vegetation and soil properties were recorded on 66 4 × 4-m plots along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 200 to 950 m asl. Ordination and modelling techniques were used to study altitudinal vegetation belts and floristic composition. Four vegetation belts were identified: a low-elevation Tillandsia belt, a herbaceous belt, a bromeliad belt showing highest species richness and an uppermost succulent belt. Different altitudinal levels might reflect water availability, which is highest below the temperature inversion at around 700 m asl. Altitude alone explained 96% of the floristic composition. Soil texture and salinity accounted for 88%. This is in contrast with more humid tropical ecosystems where soil nutrients appear to be more important. Concluding, this study advances the understanding of tropical gradients in fog-dependent and ENSO-affected ecosystems.
Ecology and Evolution | 2014
Thorsten Peters; Achim Braeuning; Jannes Muenchow; Michael Richter
Systematic investigations of the upper forest line (UFL) primarily concentrate on mid and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, whereas studies of Neotropical UFLs are still fragmentary. This article outlines the extraordinary high tree diversity at the UFL within the Andean Depression and unravels the links between the comparatively low position of the local UFL, high tree-species diversity, and climate. On the basis of Gentry′s rapid inventory methodology for the tropics, vegetation sampling was conducted at 12 UFL sites, and local climate (temperature, wind, precipitation, and soil moisture) was investigated at six sites. Monotypic forests dominated by Polylepis were only found at the higher located margins of the Andean Depression while the lower situated core areas were characterized by a species-rich forest, which lacked the elsewhere dominant tree-species Polylepis. In total, a remarkably high tree-species number of 255 tree species of 40 different plant families was found. Beta-diversity was also high with more than two complete species turnovers. A non-linear relationship between the floristic similarity of the investigated study sites and elevation was detected. Temperatures at the investigated study sites clearly exceeded 5.5°C, the postulated threshold value for the upper tree growth limit in the tropics. Instead, quasi-permanent trade winds, high precipitation amounts, and high soil water contents affect the local position of the UFL in a negative way. Interestingly, most of the above-mentioned factors are also contributing to the high species richness. The result is a combination of a clearly marked upper forest line depression combined with an extraordinary forest line complexity, which was an almost unknown paradox.
Archive | 2018
Susann Schäfer; Jannes Muenchow; Benjamin Harnisch
Die zunehmende Verbreitung von Geographischen Informationssystemen (GIS) in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung als Analysewerkzeug und als Forschungsperspektive erfordert es, die theoretischen Grundlagen sowie die methodologischen Rahmenbedingungen zu erlautern. Da dies in aktuellen Lehrbuchern der Humangeographie nur marginal getan wird, zielt dieser Beitrag darauf ab, GIS als Analysewerkzeug im Zuge von mixed-method-Ansatzen zu thematisieren und gleichzeitig aber auch die vielfaltigen Moglichkeiten von GIS-Praktiken als Forschungsperspektive zu erortern. Dabei geht es einerseits um die technischen Grundlagen, aber auch um grundlegende epistemologische und methodologische Fragen im Kontext humangeographischer Forschung.
Biodiversity and Conservation | 2018
Jannes Muenchow; Petra Dieker; Jürgen Kluge; Michael Kessler; Henrik von Wehrden
The Tropics are global centers of biodiversity. Ecological and land use gradients play a major role in the origin and maintenance of this diversity, yet a comprehensive synthesis of the corresponding large body of literature is still missing. We searched all ISI-listed journals for tropical gradient studies. From the resulting 1023 studies, we extracted study-specific information, and analyzed it using descriptive analytical tools and GLMs. Our results reveal that dry tropical areas are vastly understudied compared to their humid counterparts. The same holds true for large parts of Africa, but also the Philippines and the South Asian region. However, we also found that (applied) research output of developing tropical countries is nowadays on par with the output of developed countries. Vegetation and elevation were the most studied response variable and gradient, respectively. By contrast, inconspicous organisms such as oribatid mites and edaphic gradients were largely missing in the literature. Regarding biodiversity, tropical gradient studies dealt extensively with species richness and ecosystem diversity, but much less with genetic diversity. We encourage a wider use of modern statistical learning tools such as non-linear (spatio-temporal) regression and classification techniques, and simulations. Finally, we would embrace an even further development of synergies between applied and basic research and between researchers based in developed and in tropical countries.
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences | 2014
Alexander Brenning; M. Schwinn; A. P. Ruiz-Páez; Jannes Muenchow
Geomorphology | 2012
Jannes Muenchow; Alexander Brenning; Michael Richter
Journal of Vegetation Science | 2013
Jannes Muenchow; Hannes Feilhauer; Achim Bräuning; Eric Frank Rodríguez; Fabian Bayer; Rodolfo Rodríguez; Henrik von Wehrden
Erdkunde | 2013
Jannes Muenchow; Henrik von Wehrden; Eric Frank Rodríguez; Rodolfo Rodriguez Arisméndiz; Fabian Bayer; Michael Richter
Biotropica | 2013
Jannes Muenchow; Achim Bräuning; Eric Frank Rodríguez; Henrik von Wehrden
arXiv: Machine Learning | 2018
Patrick Schratz; Jannes Muenchow; Eugenia Iturritxa; Jakob Richter; Alexander Brenning