The Biodiversity Exploratories are a DFG-funded Infrastructure Priority Programme investigating how different land-use practices affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in real-world landscapes. It was established in 2006 and encompasses three study regions across Germany — Schorfheide-Chorin, Hainich-Dün, and Schwäbische Alb.
As part of the ‘Hairphae’ project led by Joana Bergmann and Elsa Matthus, I collected soil and root samples in the Biodiversity Exploratories. With these we want to explore potential trade-offs betwen root hairs and mycorrhizal colonization and their effects on soil fungal communities.
For more information on the project, see the project website: https://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/en/projects/the-economic-trade-off-between-root-hairs-and-mycorrhizal-extraradical-hyphae-along-a-land-use-gradient/
Justus Hennecke 