Dr. Thomas Banitz
Kontakt
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ
Department Ökologische Systemanalyse
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig
Deutschland
thomas.banitz@ufz.de
Forschung
I developed and applied computational models to investigate key mechanisms in ecological systems, emergent population and community dynamics, and ecosystem functions. Specific topics included the causes and consequences of organisms’ dispersal, interactions, traits, diversity and spatiotemporal organization, and effects of environmental heterogeneity, stress, disturbance and change.
Within the research project BioDT, I studied grassland biodiversity responses to environmental and land use change. Simulations with a mechanistic, individual-based grassland model became part of a digital twin prototype for analyzing and understanding biodiversity dynamics.
Within the research project CauSES, I assessed the potential of ecological modelling and other scientific methods to study causation in social-ecological systems. These systems are particularly complex, and often face various changes and sustainability problems. Computational models are an important part of interdisciplinary approaches to address these challenges.
My research further dealt with microbial ecology. For example, I explored the role of interactions between bacteria and fungal networks for ecosystem processes and functions, such as bacterial transformation of chemicals. Moreover, microbial ecosystems are useful for investigating and improving general ecological and evolutionary theory.
Ausgewählte Publikationen
- Taubert, F., Rossi, T., Wohner, C., Venier, S., Martinovič, T., Khan, T., Gordillo, J., Banitz, T. (2024):
Prototype Biodiversity Digital Twin: grassland biodiversity dynamics
Res. Ideas Outcomes 10 , e124168 10.3897/rio.10.e124168 - Banitz, T., Hertz, T., Johansson, L.-G., Lindkvist, E., Martínez-Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Schlüter, M., Wennberg, K., Ylikoski, P.K., Grimm, V. (2022):
Visualization of causation in social-ecological systems
Ecol. Soc. 27 (1), art. 31 10.5751/ES-13030-270131 - Banitz, T., Schlüter, M., Lindkvist, E., Radosavljevic, S., Johansson, L.-G., Ylikoski, P., Martínez-Peña, R., Grimm, V. (2022):
Model-derived causal explanations are inherently constrained by hidden assumptions and context: The example of Baltic cod dynamics
Environ. Modell. Softw. 156 , art. 105489 10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105489 - Banitz, T., Chatzinotas, A., Worrich, A. (2020):
Prospects for integrating disturbances, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning using microbial systems
Front. Ecol. Evol. 8 , art. 21 10.3389/fevo.2020.00021 - Banitz, T. (2019):
Spatially structured intraspecific trait variation can foster biodiversity in disturbed, heterogeneous environments
Oikos 128 (10), 1478 - 1491 10.1111/oik.05787
2025 (2)
- Banitz, T., Rossi, T., Taubert, F. (2025):
BioDT/general-copernicus-weather-data
Version: v1.2 Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.17233179 - Banitz, T., Rossi, T., Taubert, F. (2025):
BioDT/general-soilgrids-soil-data
Version: v1.2 Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.17234319
2024 (6)
- Forbes, V.E., Accolla, C., Banitz, T., Crouse, K., Galic, N., Grimm, V., Raimondo, S., Schmolke, A., Vaugeois, M. (2024):
Mechanistic population models for ecological risk assessment and decision support: The importance of good conceptual model diagrams
Integr. Environ. Assess. Manag. 20 (5), 1566 - 1574 10.1002/ieam.4886 - Hertz, T., Banitz, T., Martínez-Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Lindkvist, E., Johansson, L.-G., Ylikoski, P., Schlüter, M. (2024):
Eliciting the plurality of causal reasoning in social-ecological systems research
Ecol. Soc. 29 (1), art. 14 10.5751/ES-14806-290114 - Johansson, L.-G., Banitz, T., Grimm, V., Hertz, T., Lindkvist, E., Martínez Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Ylikoski, P., Schlüter, M. (2024):
A primer to causal reasoning about a complex world
SpringerBriefs in Philosophy
Springer, Cham, 150 pp. 10.1007/978-3-031-59135-8 - Milles, A., Bielcik, M., Banitz, T., Gallagher, C.A., Jeltsch, F., Jepsen, J.U., Oro, D., Radchuk, V., Grimm, V. (2024):
Defining ecological buffer mechanisms should consider diverse approaches
Trends Ecol. Evol. 39 (2), 119 - 120 10.1016/j.tree.2023.12.008 - Schlüter, M., Hertz, T., Mancilla García, M., Banitz, T., Grimm, V., Johansson, L.-G., Lindkvist, E., Martínez-Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Wennberg, K., Ylikoski, P. (2024):
Navigating causal reasoning in sustainability science
Ambio 53 (11), 1618 - 1631 10.1007/s13280-024-02047-y - Taubert, F., Rossi, T., Wohner, C., Venier, S., Martinovič, T., Khan, T., Gordillo, J., Banitz, T. (2024):
Prototype Biodiversity Digital Twin: grassland biodiversity dynamics
Res. Ideas Outcomes 10 , e124168 10.3897/rio.10.e124168
2023 (2)
- Milles, A., Banitz, T., Bielcik, M., Frank, K., Gallagher, C.A., Jeltsch, F., Jepsen, J.U., Oro, D., Radchuk, V., Grimm, V. (2023):
Local buffer mechanisms for population persistence
Trends Ecol. Evol. 38 (11), 1051 - 1059 10.1016/j.tree.2023.06.006 - Radosavljevic, S., Banitz, T., Grimm, V., Johansson, L.-G., Lindkvist, E., Schlüter, M., Ylikoski, P. (2023):
Dynamical systems modeling for structural understanding of social-ecological systems: A primer
Ecol. Complex. 56 , art. 101052 10.1016/j.ecocom.2023.101052
2022 (3)
- Banitz, T., Hertz, T., Johansson, L.-G., Lindkvist, E., Martínez-Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Schlüter, M., Wennberg, K., Ylikoski, P.K., Grimm, V. (2022):
Visualization of causation in social-ecological systems
Ecol. Soc. 27 (1), art. 31 10.5751/ES-13030-270131 - Banitz, T., Schlüter, M., Lindkvist, E., Radosavljevic, S., Johansson, L.-G., Ylikoski, P., Martínez-Peña, R., Grimm, V. (2022):
Model-derived causal explanations are inherently constrained by hidden assumptions and context: The example of Baltic cod dynamics
Environ. Modell. Softw. 156 , art. 105489 10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105489 - Bogdanowski, A., Banitz, T., Muhsal, L.K., Kost, C., Frank, K. (2022):
McComedy: A user-friendly tool for next-generation individual-based modeling of microbial consumer-resource systems
PLoS Comput. Biol. 18 (1), e1009777 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009777
2021 (1)
- Leins, J.A., Banitz, T., Grimm, V., Drechsler, M. (2021):
High-resolution PVA along large environmental gradients to model the combined effects of climate change and land use timing: lessons from the large marsh grasshopper
Ecol. Model. 440 , art. 109355 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109355
2020 (2)
- Banitz, T., Chatzinotas, A., Worrich, A. (2020):
Prospects for integrating disturbances, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning using microbial systems
Front. Ecol. Evol. 8 , art. 21 10.3389/fevo.2020.00021 - Vetterlein, D., Carminati, A., Kögel-Knabner, I., Bienert, G.P., Smalla, K., Oburger, E., Schnepf, A., Banitz, T., Tarkka, M., Schlüter, S. (2020):
Rhizosphere spatiotemporal organization–A key to rhizosphere functions
Front. Agron. 2 , art. 8 10.3389/fagro.2020.00008
2019 (2)
- Banitz, T. (2019):
Spatially structured intraspecific trait variation can foster biodiversity in disturbed, heterogeneous environments
Oikos 128 (10), 1478 - 1491 10.1111/oik.05787 - König, S., Köhnke, M.C., Firle, A.-L., Banitz, T., Centler, F., Frank, K., Thullner, M. (2019):
Disturbance size can be compensated for by spatial fragmentation in soil microbial ecosystems
Front. Ecol. Evol. 7 , art. 290 10.3389/fevo.2019.00290
2018 (3)
- König, S., Worrich, A., Banitz, T., Centler, F., Harms, H., Kästner, M., Miltner, A., Wick, L.Y., Thullner, M., Frank, K. (2018):
Spatiotemporal disturbance characteristics determine functional stability and collapse risk of simulated microbial ecosystems
Sci. Rep. 8 , art. 9488 10.1038/s41598-018-27785-4 - König, S., Worrich, A., Banitz, T., Harms, H., Kästner, M., Miltner, A., Wick, L.Y., Frank, K., Thullner, M., Centler, F. (2018):
Functional resistance to recurrent spatially heterogeneous disturbances is facilitated by increased activity of surviving bacteria in a virtual ecosystem
Front. Microbiol. 9 , art. 734 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00734 - Worrich, A., Wick, L.Y., Banitz, T. (2018):
Ecology of contaminant biotransformation in the mycosphere: Role of transport processes
In: Gadd, G.M., Sariaslani, S. (eds.)
Advances in Applied Microbiology 104
Elsevier, Oxford, p. 93 - 133 10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.05.005
2017 (2)
- König, S., Worrich, A., Centler, F., Wick, L.Y., Miltner, A., Kästner, M., Thullner, M., Frank, K., Banitz, T. (2017):
Modelling functional resilience of microbial ecosystems: Analysis of governing processes
Environ. Modell. Softw. 89 , 31 - 39 10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.11.025 - Worrich, A., Stryhanyuk, H., Musat, N., König, S., Banitz, T., Centler, F., Frank, K., Thullner, M., Harms, H., Richnow, H.-H., Miltner, A., Kästner, M., Wick, L.Y. (2017):
Mycelium-mediated transfer of water and nutrients stimulates bacterial activity in dry and oligotrophic environments
Nat. Commun. 8 , art. 15472 10.1038/ncomms15472
2016 (5)
- Banitz, T., Frank, K., Wick, L.Y., Harms, H., Johst, K. (2016):
Spatial metrics as indicators of biodegradation benefits from bacterial dispersal networks
Ecol. Indic. 60 , 54 - 63 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.06.021 - Otto, S., Banitz, T., Thullner, M., Harms, H., Wick, L.Y. (2016):
Effects of facilitated bacterial dispersal on the degradation and emission of a desorbing contaminant
Environ. Sci. Technol. 50 (12), 6320 - 6326 10.1021/acs.est.6b00567 - Singer, A., Johst, K., Banitz, T., Fowler, M.S., Groeneveld, J., Gutiérrez, A.G., Hartig, F., Krug, R.M., Liess, M., Matlack, G., Meyer, K.M., Pe'er, G., Radchuk, V., Voinopol-Sassu, A.-J., Travis, J.M.J. (2016):
Community dynamics under environmental change: How can next generation mechanistic models improve projections of species distributions?
Ecol. Model. 326 , 63 - 74 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.11.007 - Worrich, A., König, S., Banitz, T., Centler, F., Frank, K., Thullner, M., Harms, H., Miltner, A., Wick, L.Y., Kaestner, M. (2016):
Bacterial dispersal promotes biodegradation in heterogeneous systems exposed to osmotic stress
Front. Microbiol. 7 , art. 1214 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01214 - Worrich, A., König, S., Miltner, A., Banitz, T., Centler, F., Frank, K., Thullner, M., Harms, H., Kästner, M., Wick, L.Y. (2016):
Mycelium-like networks increase bacterial dispersal, growth, and biodegradation in a model ecosystem at various water potentials
Appl. Environ. Microb. 82 (10), 2902 - 2908 10.1128/AEM.03901-15
2015 (2)
- Banitz, T., Gras, A., Ginovart, M. (2015):
Individual-based modeling of soil organic matter in NetLogo: Transparent, user-friendly, and open
Environ. Modell. Softw. 71 , 39 - 45 10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.05.007 - Fetzer, I., Johst, K., Schäwe, R., Banitz, T., Harms, H., Chatzinotas, A. (2015):
The extent of functional redundancy changes as species’ roles shift in different environments
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112 (48), 14888 - 14893 10.1073/pnas.1505587112
2014 (1)
- Banitz, T., Johst, K., Wick, L.Y., Schamfuß, S., Harms, H., Frank, K. (2014):
Corrigendum: Highways versus pipelines: contributions of two fungal transport mechanisms to efficient bioremediation (vol 5, pg 211, 2013)
Environ. Microbiol. Rep. 6 (4), 414 - 414 10.1111/1758-2229.12177
2013 (2)
- Banitz, T., Johst, K., Wick, L.Y., Schamfuß, S., Harms, H., Frank, K. (2013):
Highways versus pipelines: contributions of two fungal transport mechanisms to efficient bioremediation
Environ. Microbiol. Rep. 5 (2), 211 - 218 10.1111/1758-2229.12002 - Kreft, J.-U., Plugge, C.M., Grimm, V., Prats, C., Leveau, J.H.J., Banitz, T., Baines, S., Clark, J., Ros, A., Klapper, I., Topping, C.J., Field, A.J., Schuler, A., Litchman, E., Hellweger, F.L. (2013):
Mighty small: observing and modeling individual microbes becomes big science
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110 (45), 18027 - 18028 10.1073/pnas.1317472110
2012 (1)
- Banitz, T., Johst, K., Wick, L.Y., Fetzer, I., Harms, H., Frank, K. (2012):
The relevance of conditional dispersal for bacterial colony growth and biodegradation
Microb. Ecol. 63 (2), 339 - 347 10.1007/s00248-011-9927-3
2011 (3)
- Banitz, T. (2011):
Modelling bacterial growth, dispersal and biodegradation: an experiment-based modelling study of the spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial colonies, their responses to dispersal networks, and their performance in degrading organic contaminants
Dissertation, Universität Osnabrück
PhD Dissertation 4/2011
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ, Leipzig, 111 pp. - Banitz, T., Fetzer, I., Johst, K., Wick, L.Y., Harms, H., Frank, K. (2011):
Assessing biodegradation benefits from dispersal networks
Ecol. Model. 222 (14), 2552 - 2560 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.07.005 - Banitz, T., Wick, L.Y., Fetzer, I., Frank, K., Harms, H., Johst, K. (2011):
Dispersal networks for enhancing bacterial degradation in heterogeneous environments
Environ. Pollut. 159 (10), 2781 - 2788 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.05.008
2008 (1)
- Banitz, T., Huth, A., Grimm, V., Johst, K. (2008):
Clumped versus scattered: how does the spatial correlation of disturbance events affect biodiversity?
Theor. Ecol. 1 (4), 231 - 240 10.1007/s12080-008-0023-3