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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · 5d

Mid-September a new #BioSmoke campaign in Spain kicked off 🇪🇸. Julia Olbrich collected pyrophyte leaf samples, while Kai Weber (@kai-jwd.bsky.social) ran vegetation surveys and drone-based LiDAR & hyperspectral imaging in a region with high wildfire risk near Albacete (Castilla-La Mancha).

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Reposted by The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group

Karin Mora @karinmora.bsky.social · 7d

#iDivConference2025 today I present our study co-lead w C Guimaraes-Steinicke. Great work by our student K Wende.
& great collaborators
@agwirthweigelt.bsky.social A Weigelt, S Saxena & A Anwar.

Floral vs veg structure fingerprints from #TLS intensity

#JenaExperiment #Phenology #biodiversity

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · 9d

🌱 iDiv @idiv-research.bsky.social begins a new chapter: core funding is now jointly supported by #Saxony, #SaxonyAnhalt & #Thuringia. Grateful for this strong commitment to #biodiversity #research – proud to be part of this inspiring community shaping the future of #science

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · 14d

💧 Last week, we measured the leaf water potential at the #Auwald #crane - key data for understanding the water status of trees and their responses to drought.

#WaterPotential #Drought #ClimateResponse #Trait #Leipzig #CanopyCrane #Fieldwork

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · 19d

Big thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social & the Early-Career Women in Science fund for a powerful afternoon: short talks and hands-on learning 🔍💡 Shout-out to our Prof. Dr. Alexandra Weigelt, who was among the contributing speakers!

iDiv Biodiversity Research @idiv-research.bsky.social · 22d

Last week, iDiv hosted an event on visibility and networking in science, supported by the Early-Career Women in Science fund.
The event included:

✨ Inspiring short talks
🤝 A hands-on workshop
💡 Moments to share struggles, stories and strategies

Many thanks to all who organised and participated!

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · 26d

Writing retreat recap: focused days drafting and revising, laptops, printed pages, evenings of hikes, games, and a campfire/BBQ. What a nice and productive week! 📝 🌲 🔥

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · 26d

Scenes from China, where PhD student Michèle ter Huurne is doing fieldwork with the @treedi.bsky.social project: forests, measurements, and big smiles between long days. Keep it up, Michèle!🌱📷
Photos: Michele ter Huurne #TreeDi #Fieldwork

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Aug 8

🌱 #Fieldwork days at The Jena Experiment - @jena-experiment.bsky.social!
Scanning roots with a minirhizotron, tracking seasonal changes & traits, plus plant surveys & soil checks. Led by PhD candidate Srijna Saxena with support from Tom Künne. Can’t wait to see what the data reveal!
#RootTraits

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Aug 6

Back in the floodplain forest 🌳
We’re monitoring oak regeneration under different conditions. These seedlings are part of an experiment to better understand forest dynamics in changing environments. #Quercus #Leipzig #Floodplainforest #Oak #Regeneration

📍 Leipzig Auwald

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jul 30

📊 „Faktencheck Artenvielfalt“ is the first comprehensive report to show the actual state of biodiversity in Germany🌿. The full report has now been published in English! 📥Download for free here: www.feda.bio/faktencheck-en. Watch the full video: tinyurl.com/mps5vfhf #Biodiversity #research #factcheck

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jul 23

Very cool to see this coming together! 🌲🔬
Sampling from 12 conifer species at #ARBOfun – part of our trait campaign @idiv-research.bsky.social
We are curious to see what stomata can tell us about drought responses!
#conifers #stomataltraits #fieldtolab

Lena Sachsenmaier @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social · Jul 22

Busy making needle imprints and diving into stomatal worlds under the microscope 🔬🌲
Measuring stomatal size and density — still amazed by the incredible variation, even among conifers!
#ARBOfun #stomata #conifer #drought #forest

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jul 16

Root shrinkage measurements of 40 #tree species at #ARBOfun completed! We've measured root #shrinkage, to understand #root-soil contact under #drought. The campaign was led by Dr. Anvar Sanaei with great support of our technician Nicole Nabel. Excited to see the results! #RootTraits #PlantScience

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Reposted by The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group

Joana Bergmann @joanabergmann.bsky.social · Jul 8

I am very proud to share this conceptual work of the #sUnderfoot working group, supported by @idiv-research.bsky.social. We propose a new plant classification based on belowground persistence.

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Jul 8

📢Klimešová et al. (2025) in Trends Plant Sci: Belowground persistence types relevant to severe disturbance - a new classification! ▶️ 1url.cz/FJExZ
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo #Clonality #BudBank #Resprouting #Disturbance #Storage

Belowground persistence types relevant to severe disturbance

Despite recent advances in plant trait ecology, we identified a knowledge gap in understanding how plants strategize to cope with severe and recurrent disturbances. Here, we propose a new classificati...

1url.cz

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jul 8

Last week we had our campaign for measuring leaf water potential - at 38°C outside – thank you, #Leipzig #Floodplainforest, for the shade! 🌳💧
#fieldwork #plantphysiology #heatwave #Auwald #Science #leafwaterpotential #AuwaldKran

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jul 7

We‘re excited which insights the campaign will bring! 👀🌿 #ecology #stomata #drought #tree #forest

Lena Sachsenmaier @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social · Jul 2

Into the canopy for tiny pores 🌲🔎
We sampled needles from 12 #conifer species at the arboretum #ARBOfun to study stomatal density and size. Looking forward to the lab work & to uncovering what these traits can reveal about tree drought responses in a changing climate. #stomata #drought #forest

A person standing on a ladder collecting conifer needles of the species Tsuga canadensis

Close-up of the abaxial side of Abies needles showing the white wax layers over the bands of stomata

Needle of Picea sitchensis under the binocular with wax layers of stomatal pores visible

View of the arboretum ARBOfun in Großpösna, Germany

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jun 24

🌙 We had a great #LongNightOfScience in Leipzig!
Thanks to Annalena Lenk, Mathias Scholz (UFZ) & Stefan Alsheimer (City of Leipzig) for the inspiring Auwald walk & crane tour.
And thanks to everyone who joined us!
#Auwald #ScienceForAll #Leipzig

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Jun 20

Come visit us and have a look on our project in the botanical garden for the #longnightofscience in #Leipzig! 🌿🍁🍃 #science #biodiversity #research #fun

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 22

🎉 Proud to share that our lab has achieved LEAF Gold Certification for sustainable lab practices!
As part of the NachLabs project, we're committed to reducing environmental impacts in research.
Learn more: www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/...
#SustainableScience #LEAF #GreenLab

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 15

🌿 Fieldwork – Leipzig, Spring 2025 🌿
Pollen traps in the canopy, soil sensors in the arboretum – and a top team in action!
Huge thanks to Ron, Tom, Lena, Daniel, Melanoie & Anneke – and everyone behind the scenes.
#Fieldwork #Ecology #CanopyCrane #ARBOfun

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 15

Proud to share our new study on how functional traits shape 🌳 tree growth responses to consecutive hotter #droughts — led by Dr. Lena Kretz & Dr. Florian Schnabel (@mixedforests.bsky.social).
Read more: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#Ecology #TreeGrowth #PlantBiology

Functional traits explain growth response to successive hotter droughts across a wide set of common and future tree species in Europe

Functional traits can explain significant tree growth reductions in response to the 2018–2020 drought for a wide set of 71 species including angiosperms and gymnosperms. Moreover, four distinct respo...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 15

New study led by Dr. Ingmar R. Staude: 🌿 Over 25% of #plant species with non-native populations are threatened in their native range — a #conservation paradox calling for smarter, balanced strategies.
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Many non‐native plant species are threatened in parts of their native range

Click on the article title to read more.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 8

🔬 Exciting times in the lab!
We’ve just installed our brand-new Unicube - an elemental analyzer – now being set up and tested.
With it, we’ll be analyzing the carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio in roots and leaves to better understand plant nutrient dynamics.

Stay tuned for first results! 🌱💡

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 1

🌿Time to get green!🌿
The Leipzig Plant Market is coming up:
Spring: May 3 & 4
Autumn: September 20 & 21
At the Botanical Garden @unileipzig.bsky.social
Drop by for plants & more!
#Leipzig #PlantMarket #BotanicalGarden #GardenLovers #PlantAddict
🌿🪴🌼☀️

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · May 1

🌿Grüner wird's nicht!🌿
Der Leipziger Pflanzenmarkt steht vor der Tür:
Frühjahr: 03. & 04. Mai
Herbst: 20. & 21. September
Im Botanischen Garten der Universität Leipzig.
Kommt vorbei und entdeckt Pflanzen & mehr!
www.lw.uni-leipzig.de/botanischer-...

#Leipzig #Pflanzenmarkt #Pflanzen🌿🪴🌸☀️

Universität Leipzig: Pflanzenmarkt

Der Leipziger Pflanzenmarkt biete jedes Jahr am ersten Mai- und dritten Septemberwochenende Gartenfreunden, Pflanzenfanatikern und Spezialgärtnereien aus ganz Deutschland einen Treffpunkt bieten, um d...

www.lw.uni-leipzig.de

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The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social · Apr 29

👉Read the full blog here:
plantlifebelowground.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/t...

Throwing a birthday party for a five-year old – and what that tells us about root functioning

Commentary by Elsa Matthus and Joana Bergmann from the Sustainable Grassland Systems group of Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF e.V.) in Müncheberg, Germany. In the picture a…

plantlifebelowground.wordpress.com

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