Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1111/ddi.70170
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Determinants of terrestrial and limnic species richness in Germany
Autor Ellerbrok, J.S.; Sporbert, M.; Schreiner, V.; Ristok, C.; Farwig, N.; Hähn, G.J.A.; Klenke, R.; Seidler, G.; Marx, J.M.; Schmidt, A. ORCID logo ; Settele, J.; Wirth, C.; Albert, C.; Bässler, C.; Braunisch, V.; Brunken, H.; Conze, K.-J.; Eichenberg, D.; Eisenhauer, N.; Ellwanger, G.; Ferenczy, J.; Gerlach, B.; Haase, D.; Harpke, A.; Herder, F.; Jansen, F.; Kamp, J.; Katzenberger, J.; Keil, P.; Ssymank, A.; Suhling, F.; Vatterrott, H.-R.; Wellmann, T.; Bruelheide, H.
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
Department CLE; BZF; NSF; iDiv
Band/Volume 32
Heft 3
Seite von e70170
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements Supplement 1
Keywords biodiversity hotspots; boosted regression trees; climate variables; generalised additive models; human impact; land use; protected areas; species richness; terrestrial and limnic ecosystems
Abstract Aim: Biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human impacts. While abiotic conditions are well known to shape species rich-ness, the role of human activities remains less clear. We examined how abiotic and human factors influence terrestrial and limnicspecies richness in a densely populated region with a long land-use history.Location: Germany.Time Period: 1900–2023 (varies by taxonomic group).Major Taxa Studied: Mammals, breeding birds, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies, fungi, vascular plants.Methods: Species richness data were aggregated in 11 × 11 km grid cells and related to abiotic (climate, soil) and human drivers(land use, protection status). We applied a two-step approach: (1) Boosted Regression Trees (BRTs) to select relevant predictorvariables and (2) Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) to test their effects, accounting for spatial autocorrelation.Results: Land-use and climate were similarly important for species richness (26% vs. 21% in BRTs), while protection status andsoil contributed less (8% and 9%). GAMs showed positive effects of temperature across many groups. Among land-use factors,human footprint, urban open spaces and water bodies consistently enhanced richness. Protected areas were positively related torichness, whereas soil variables had mixed effects.Main Conclusions: In Germany, species richness peaks not only in semi-natural, protected areas but also along water bodiesand within settlement open spaces. These results suggest that conservation strategies should integrate both traditional protectedareas and human-modified habitats that sustain high biodiversity.
Ellerbrok, J.S., Sporbert, M., Schreiner, V., Ristok, C., Farwig, N., Hähn, G.J.A., Klenke, R., Seidler, G., Marx, J.M., Schmidt, A., Settele, J., Wirth, C., Albert, C., Bässler, C., Braunisch, V., Brunken, H., Conze, K.-J., Eichenberg, D., Eisenhauer, N., Ellwanger, G., Ferenczy, J., Gerlach, B., Haase, D., Harpke, A., Herder, F., Jansen, F., Kamp, J., Katzenberger, J., Keil, P., Ssymank, A., Suhling, F., Vatterrott, H.-R., Wellmann, T., Bruelheide, H. (2026):
Determinants of terrestrial and limnic species richness in Germany
32 (3), e70170 10.1111/ddi.70170