Silometopus acutus ist ein jüngeres Synonym von Silometopus bilacunatus (Araneae: Linyphiidae)

Temperate inland salt marshes, formerly used as meadows or pastures, are priority habitats in Europe and are threatened by intensifying anthropogenic activites. They are particularly important because of their biogeographical location on the North German Plain, which is the westernmost hotspot of continental halophytic vegetation in Eurasia. In spite of their remarkably long history of floristic research, there are disproportionately few studies dealing with plant communities. They are traditionally included in the Puccinellion maritimae and Armerion maritimae alliances with a typical distribution along the North and Baltic Sea coasts. The similarity with other inland salt marshes has been overlooked. We surveyed natural and secondary sites with euhalophytic vegetation in central Germany (Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia) in 2018 and 2020 and analysed 105 phytosociological relevés. This resulted in the identification of three main groups (alliances) containing seven associations: annual hypersaline succulent communities of the alliance Therosalicornion (Salicornietum europaeae, Halimioni pedunculatae-Puccinellietum distantis, Suaedetum maritimae), wet saline meadows of the alliance Juncion gerardi (Triglochino maritimae-Glaucetum maritimae, Scorzonero parviflorae-Juncetum gerardi variant with Glaux maritima) and saline short-grass swards of the alliance Puccinellion limosae (Puccinellietum limosae, Atriplex prostrata community). For each association we defined the typical species composition and calculated Ellenberg indicator values depending on the ecological gradients of soil salinity, nutrients and moisture. To determine possible floristic similarities between the inland and coastal salt marshes, we compared our data with data from other areas of saline vegetation: the southern Baltic Sea coast, Kujawy (Poland), Pannonian Basin (Hungary) and Transylvanian Basin (Romania). We concluded that the salt marshes in inland Germany showed a stronger relation with salt marshes of the remote Pannonian and Transylvanian Basins, and they were well separated from the Baltic salt marshes. Thus, we suggest including inland salt marshes on the North German Plain into the syntaxonomical class of continental halophytic vegetation of Festuco-Puccinellietea.

Climate change impacts will affect grassland farming in various ways in the future. Communication and knowledge transfer are crucial to implement on-farm adaptation measures required to meet these challenges in a timely way. Therefore, we need to know how grassland farmers perceive climate change and which factors influence their attitude. We hypothesized that besides direct factors such as region, farm size, age and education, farmers’ socio-cultural background and their beliefs and attitudes are most important in their reaction to climate change. To investigate this, we conducted a survey with extensive on-farm interviews (n = 82) in four distinctive regions in the North German Plain on a gradient from sub-maritime to areas with sub-continental climate. We found that with a more continental climate and less rainfall and with increasing farm size, grassland farmers were more aware of the implications of climate change. In a second step, to categorize the influence of personal beliefs on decisions concerning farming, we applied the typology approach and distinguished four farming styles. Farmers in the four groups differed in terms of climate change awareness and adaptation preferences (P < 0.05). Yield Optimizers and Modernists were more open-minded to rational and economic facts and showed a significantly greater willingness to implement adaptation measures than Idealists and Traditionalists, who need to be addressed at a more emotional level. The results of this study may contribute to the development of better‐targeted adaptation policies that will serve specific groups of farmers more effectively.

The impact of climate change on a variety of scales and on land-use policies across sectors is well-established. There will be climate-related changes to which land use must adapt, although Europe and Germany may not be as affected as other regions. Therefore, we must evaluate how climate change is perceived on a regional scale and across land-use sectors. The aim of this study is to gather information from regional land-use experts regarding their perceptions of climate change to highlight the impact of climate change on land use and to identify the risks and opportunities associated with climate change that these experts observe. With these objectives in mind, we conducted 60 semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with regional land-use experts in agriculture, forestry, and water management in four case study regions in the North German Plain. Climate change is clearly acknowledged by the experts throughout the regions and across the sectors. Drought (particularly in the spring) and increased occurrences of extreme weather events are the most severe regional issues identified. Furthermore, with very few exceptions, climate change is mostly understood as a risk. The results of this study confirm the results from other models and prognoses but with more detail and precision at the regional level. Differences among the sectors and regions were also noted. Unlike most studies, the regional experts in our sample have already noted the impacts and risks of climate change cross-sectorally, which might be a good basis from which to begin regional adaptation.

Several studies have implied that cultivation of willow and poplar short-rotation coppices influence the area’s water balance. Due to the high density of sites suitable for SRCs in the Northern German Plain, this study focusses on four different model areas representative of the climatic, soil, and morphological heterogeneity of this landscape. The river basins selected for the study are the Ems, Treene, Aland, and Uecker–Randow–Welse basins. The water balance modelling was performed with the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and automatically calibrated with SWAT-CUP. The implemented scenarios were set to 10 % SRC cover on suitable sites, based on the area’s predicted need to meet domestic demands for woody biomass by 2020. Additionally, an extreme scenario of 100 % cultivation on all suitable sites was implemented to determine the maximum effect of SRC on the regional water balance as well as to allow for a direct comparison with annual crops, pasture, and deciduous forest. For parametrization, field measurements were used to characterize the key physiological parameters for willow and poplar in SWAT. The results for the 10 % SRC scenarios did not show a substantial impact on the investigated water balance components at the water basin level. But at the local level, the effects of conversion to SRC are more pronounced. In general, actual evapotranspiration of SRC is 16 % higher compared to annual crops and average groundwater recharge decreases by 48 %. Also, available water capacity in the soil increases by 26 % for SRCs in comparison with annual crops.

Rapid climate change leads to significant shifts in the site-productivity relationship of tree species and alters abiotic and biotic risks well beyond classical rotation ages on many forest sites worldwide. Forest conversion may be an adequate measure to counter possible negative effects of climate change. Unfortunately, climate-driven changes in abiotic and biotic risks bear a significant source of intrinsic uncertainty inherent in climate projections. It is our goal to appraise uncertainty in species selection under drought stress, one of the most important risk factors for many forests. We derive a method to assess drought restrictions and demonstrate the uncertainty in the process of species selection by applying three climate scenarios. Furthermore, we interpret the consequences of climate uncertainty in the light of different management goals, i.e., a business-as-usual silviculture, a climate protection strategy favoring CO2 sequestration and a biodiversity strategy increasing diversity. The methods are applied to two representative regions in the North German Plain. The results clearly show the strong need for adaptive planning when drought restrictions are considered. However, different silvicultural management objectives may alter the extent of adaptive planning. The uncertainty in the planning process arising from different underlying climate projections strongly depends on the regional site characteristics and on forest management strategy. In conclusion, it is most important in forest planning to clearly state the management goals and to carefully explore if the goals can be met under climate change and if the uncertainty due to climate projections significantly affects the results of species selection.

Erratum to: Hydrological modelling of changes in the water balance due to the impact of woody biomass production in the North German Plain

Starting from two quarries at the Hoher Meissner and west of Gottingen an overlapping seismic-refraction profile runs northwards and ends in the North German Plain between Hannover and Bremen. The data along this profile are presented as record sections of normal and squared traces. The attempt was made to increase the signal-to-noise ratio by velocity stacking and by application of the modified method of correlation after SHIMSHONI and SMITH (1964). A simple crustal model, including time corrections for sediments, is derived. According to this the crustal thickness decreases from 28 to 26 km between the Soiling and the Deister mountains.

BackgroundUnderstanding the abundance of adverse environmental conditions e.g. frost, drought, and heat during critical crop growth stages, which are assumed to be altered by climate change, is crucial for an accurate risk assessment for cropping systems. While a lengthening of the vegetation period may be beneficial, higher frequencies of heat or frost events and drought spells are generally regarded as harmful. The objective of the present study was to quantify shifts in maize and wheat phenology and the occurrence of adverse environmental conditions during critical growth stages for four regions located in the North German Plain. First, a statistical analysis of phenological development was conducted based on recent data (1981–2010). Next, these data were used to calibrate the DSSAT-CERES wheat and maize models, which were then used to run three climate projections representing the maximum, intermediate and minimum courses of climate development within the RCP 8.5 continuum during the years 2021–2050. By means of model simulation runs and statistical analysis, the climate data were evaluated for the abundance of adverse environmental conditions during critical development stages, i.e. the stages of early crop development, anthesis, sowing and harvest.ResultsProxies for adverse environmental conditions included thresholds of low and high temperatures as well as soil moisture. The comparison of the baseline climate and future climate projections showed a significant increase in the abundance of adverse environmental conditions during critical growth stages in the future. The lengthening of the vegetation period in spring did not compensate for the increased abundance of high temperatures, e.g. during anthesis.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate the need to develop adaptation strategies, such as implementing changes in cropping calendars. An increase in frost risk during early development, however, reveals the limited feasibility of early sowing as a mitigation strategy. In addition, the abundance of low soil water contents that hamper important production processes such as sowing and harvest were found to increase locally.

Considerable debate persists concerning the origins of those involved in theadventus Saxonum: the arrival of Germanic peoples in Britain during the fifth century AD. This question was investigated using oxygen and strontium isotope ratios obtained from archaeological dental samples from individuals in the ‘Migration Period’ cemetery, Ringlemere, Kent (n= 7) and three continental European sites (n= 17). Results demonstrated that strontium alone is unable to distinguish between individuals from south-east England and north-west Europe. Although87Sr/86Sr values from Ringlemere fell within local biosphere parameters and suggest a spatially and temporally related group, δ18O values were inconsistent with origins in eastern England or on the North German plain. Results from the European sites negate past climate change as an explanation. It is possible that culturally mediated behaviour has obscured geographical relationships. Further work to characterize water sources and human δ18O values in the putative European homelands is required.

The authors developed detailed combat vignettes to illustrate situations in which close support could be critical, defined success criteria, then simulated the effects of varying types and levels of close support.

Petroleum is commercially produced in Germany in (1) the North German plain in the Hercynian foreland in connection with salt domes thrust through Tertiary and Mesozoic strata and (2) the intramontane Permian salt basin of Thuringia south of the Harz Mountains, in dolomites underlying a salt formation. The estimated production during 1931 was 1,600,000 barrels.

BackgroundWe analysed regionalised ECHAM6 climate data for the North German Plains (NGP) in two time slots from 1981 to 2010 and 2041 to 2070.ResultsThe annual mean temperature will increase significantly (by about 2 °C) that will result in shorter growing periods since the sum of degree days until harvest will be reached earlier. Even if the amount of total precipitation does not change there appears to be a shift towards increased winter precipitation and thus noticeable reduced summer precipitation.ConclusionsThrough the example of winter wheat we show a future limitation of water availability if yields are to be maintained or even increase.

The terrestrial environment during Upper Cretaceous and tertiary times

Grasslands have a multi-layer protection function for nature, biodiversity and climate. These functions can be fostered by an adapted management on grassland farms. Promoting nature protection alongside agricultural production is an aim of European agricultural policy. However, a number of studies indicate that existing Agri-environment measures (AEM) are not as effective as assumed, mainly because they are not sufficiently used by farmers. We investigated the view of grassland farmers on nature conservation and on existing AEM in four distinct regions on a west to east gradient in the North German Plain. We conducted a survey on 82 grassland farms inquiring basic farm data and asking questions on general agricultural issues and nature protection. The results indicate that the majority of all respondents is generally interested in nature conservation and believes it to be of concern for every farmer. In contrast, only a minority of grassland farmers is using the existing AEM to the full extend on their own farm. By applying the concept of farming styles, we classified farmers into four groups, namely Traditionalist, Idealist, Modernist, and Yield Optimizer. These farming styles groups differ in farm and management parameters, general attitudes towards agricultural issues, farming objectives and economic success. We found that in our survey the farming styles groups differ in their attitude towards nature conservation. However, they do not differ in the adoption of AEM and have different reasons for not taking part. We state that for a better implementation of AEM into agricultural practice a better communication, which is adapted to the different ways that farmers manage their farm and think and feel, is needed. Consequently, AEM need to be revised as well.

A conulariid preserved in three dimensions from Ordovician fluvioglacial erratics of the Northern European Lowlands (North German Plain) is described under open nomenclature. It is assigned to the genus Conularia with similarities to Baltoscandian conulariids. The lithology of the erratic boulder and fauna contained in it provide important information on the origin and transport direction of the sediment preserved in a kame from the Saalian glaciation. This paper deals with the site of origin of the boulder in Baltoscandia analysing the comprised palaeofauna, from a palaeostratigraphic and palaeogeographic point of view, from its deposition in Ordovician times until its arrival at its current location in the Late Pleistocene. It also reveals for the first time the internal structure of the conulariid aperture.