Poster Session 3
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Poster Session 3
Wednesday 10 February 2021 | 14:10-15:00 hrs
Programme
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| 14:10 – 14:15 | Introduction by the session hosts |
| 14:15 – 14:18 | Timing leaf senescence in deciduous trees Bertold Mariën @ University of Antwerp Timing leaf senescence, a highly coordinated process controlling the nutrient stoichiometry and water balance in trees, is important to understand the interaction between forest ecosystems and the climate. Studies have investigated the temporal trend in leaf senescence. However, the use of different definitions and methods, and the complexity of ecological data has hampered our understanding of this temporal trend. Therefore, we investigated four years’ (2017 – 2020) worth of chlorophyll content index data in twenty mature Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur, Betula pendula, and Populus tremula trees in Belgium. Using GAMLSS, we estimated phenological transition dates and the effect of climatic variables. |
| 14:19 – 14:22 | Intercropping maize and soybean increases efficiency of land and fertilizer nitrogen use; a meta-analysis Zhan Xu @ Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University We carried out a global meta-analysis to assess land and fertilizer N use efficiency in intercropping of maize and soybean as compared to sole crops. The worldwide average land equivalent ratio (LER) of maize/soybean intercropping was 1.32 ± 0.02, indicating a substantial land sparing potential of intercropping over sole crops. The mean FNER was 1.44 ± 0.03, indicating that intercrops received substantially less fertilizer N than sole crops for the same product output. These fertilizer savings are mainly due to the high relative maize yield and the lower N input in the intercrop compared to the input in sole maize. This meta-analysis thus shows that exploiting species complementarities by intercropping maize and soybean enables major increases in land productivity with less fertilizer N use. |
| 14:23 – 14:26 | First evidence of differentiation in a potential introduced tree species Nicolás Velasco Saragoni @ Conservation Ecology, University of Groningen Acacia caven occurs at both sides of the Andes, but the western population is considered a subsample of the variability at the eastern region. Although leaves morphology shows differences between regions, climatic niche analyses showed that the species has mostly conserved niche occupancy, indicating that phenotypic plasticity can only be a weak driver behind differentiation. These are the first indications of differentiation between A. caven populations at both regions, a species thought to be human-introduced in the Pleistocene-Holocene. Correspondingly, SDMs predict only a small part of the eastern region as potential provenance of the introduction. |
| 14:27 – 14:30 | Habitat diversification strategies for sustainable production of Xinjiang pear Mengxiao Sun @ Centre for Crop Systems Analysis / Farming Systems Ecology, Wageningen University Xinjiang pear is a valued fruit in China, but its cultivation in Xinjiang suffers from low pollination success and high pesticide use. Establishing flowering plants in orchards may boost pollination and natural biocontrol and reduce reliance on pesticides. We will assess how the farmer’s practice of growing alfalfa as ground cover in pear orchards influences pollinator, pest and natural enemy communities. We will also assess pear flower visitation by pollinators, fruit set, pear yield and quality. Furthermore, we will assess other candidate flowering plant species enhancing beneficials. |
| 14:31 – 14:34 | Natal dispersal likelihood is associated with population adult sex ratio in a cooperatively breeding bird Frigg Speelman @ Behavioural & Physiological Ecology group, University of Groningen In cooperatively breeding species, sexually mature individuals often delay dispersal and become non-reproductive subordinates that help raise offspring. To understand how cooperative breeding can evolve, it is crucial understand the mechanisms driving delayed dispersal. Adult sex ratio (ASR) variation is often hypothesized to be an important evolutionary driver, although there is a lack of empirical evidence. Using a long-term dataset on the cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler, we show that male juveniles are more likely to disperse when population ASR is female-biased. However, population ASR did not affect dispersal in female juveniles, indicating underlying mechanisms driving dispersal differ between the sexes. |
| 14:35 – 14:38 | Plant-soil feedbacks between and within grass species Paola Rallo @ Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology Plant-soil feedback (PSF) is an ecological approach to studying the effects of soil microbiomes on plant fitness and vice versa. PSF accounts for all interactions between plants and soil microbes, however, it is not well understood how specific PSF effects are. Here, we assessed PSF strength and direction within and between three different grass species (L.perenne, P.pratensis, F.arundinacea), to evaluate PSF effects at the plant genotype and species levels. PSF effects differed strongly between species, however, we did not find intraspecific differences in biomass loss in response to different soil conditioning treatments. |
| 14:40 – 15:00 | Breakout rooms Q&A session with individual poster pitchers (one breakout room for each poster pitcher) |
| 15:00 | Back to plenary conference room for short joint coffee / tea break |