The Wirth-Weigelt Working Group

YouTube video by Universitätsklinikum Leipzig Universitätsvesper "Heil werden" mit Prof. Dr. Christian Wirth

An earlier talk by Prof. Dr. Christian Wirth that remains worth revisiting. #Universität #Leipzig #UniLeipzig #LeipzigUniversity
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6fZ...

Meet Snowy, our newest team-member ⛄
Specialized in frozen systems, cold conditions, and standing very still. Performance strongly temperature-dependent.
Will unfortunately leave the team as soon as spring arrives ❄️

🌱 Before the winter break, our research group had a tree-planting activity at the #ARBOfun research arboretum Großpösna, kindly supported by the Botanical Garden Oberholz and pupils from the Wilhelm-Wander School. A cold but great day for everyone! 🌳

Above‐ and below‐ground trait coordination across 90 angiosperm and gymnosperm tree species in a common garden experiment This research highlights the significance of elucidating the mechanisms behind above-and below-ground organs. The varying trait coordination across clades indicates different resource acquisition str...

Just before the Xmas break🎉

In @journalofecology.bsky.social and led by Anvar Sanaei, we provide insight into #trait coordination across 90 common and future European #tree species👇

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

@agwirthweigelt.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @uni-freiburg.de

Taxonomic description curves of major lineages are influenced by biological and societal factors - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Taxonomic description curves of major lineages are influenced by biological and societal factors

Congrats to David Schellenberger Costa, Martin Freiberg and Christian Wirth! The study shows how body size, habitat, range and even author numbers shape taxonomic description curves — and why estimating true diversity needs more than classic curve fitting! #Biodiversity #Taxonomy

A peek behind the scenes 🔬💧
PhD candidate Michele ter Huurne is extracting water from soil and twig samples to trace where trees get their water using δ18O isotopes.
Huge thanks to Dr. Matthias Saurer @wslresearch.bsky.social for the guidance and lab support!
#droughtresearch #biodiversity #forest

Non‐Native Plants Attain Native Levels of Microherbivory Richness With Time and Range Expansion Drawing on a continental database of over 120,000 plant–microherbivore interactions, we demonstrate that non-native plants in Europe are not excluded from food webs indefinitely. With increasing resi...

Find the whole study here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Congratulations also to Dr. Ingmar Staude on this important contribution!
The study highlights that ecological networks can adapt to shifting floras - a key insight for managing biodiversity change in a warming world. #biodiversity #research

👉 @jorimmarx.bsky.social

Big congrats on the publication, @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social 🌳🎉👏

Science meets finance 🌱
At the event “Biodiversität – die unterschätzte Abhängigkeit” in Potsdam, organised by the Nord-Ostdeutsche Sparkassenakademie, Dr. Jori Marx presented insights from the #Faktencheck #Artenvielfalt and joined the panel discussion on how the financial sector depends on nature.

Scenes from the @treedi.bsky.social conference 🌳
Participants joined Prof. Christian Wirth for a guided tour through the ARBOFun arboretum - exploring how long-term measurements help us understand forest dynamics and tree functioning #treeDi #ForestEcology #PlantScience

Inspiring joint conference of @treedi.bsky.social and @multitroph.bsky.social at @idiv-research.bsky.social, with 20 presentations by doctoral researchers, 7 workshops, 5 international keynote speakers, 1 excursion and 1 guided city tour.

Autumn is coming to the Arboretum #ArboFun! The field season is drawing to a close, but the colours are still a work of art at this time of year 🥰 Goodbye summertime! #fieldwork #season #autumn #Biodiversity #Research

A few throwback impressions from this year’s #iDivConference 🌱 Great to see so many contributions from our group - here featuring @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social, Annalena Lenk, and @karlandraczek.bsky.social.
Thanks to everyone who made it such a nice meeting! @idiv-research.bsky.social #Science

Start of our new root shrinkage campaign on 40 herbaceous species, led by Dr. Anvar Sanaei. Excited to see what we’ll uncover! 🌿 #PlantEcology #Research #BelowgroundEcology #LeipzigUniversity

Congrats on the publication! 👏

Rooting for function: community‐level fine‐root traits relate to many ecosystem functions Humans are driving biodiversity change, which also alters community functional traits. However, how changes in the functional traits of the community alter ecosystem functions—especially belowground...

Super excited to see that the last chapter of my PhD on root trait - ecosystem functioning relationships is now published in @newphyt.bsky.social!
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

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).

#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

🌱 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

💧 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

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!

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! 📝 🌲 🔥

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

🌱 #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

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

📊 „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

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

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