Publications by authors named "G Zotz"

Article Synopsis
  • Widespread insect losses pose a significant global concern, necessitating an understanding of the drivers behind these declines and the coverage of insects within protected areas.
  • The study utilized extensive insect DNA metabarcoding data from 31,846 flying insect species across Germany to analyze the effects of differing land cover, weather, and protection status on insect biodiversity.
  • Findings revealed that increased land cover heterogeneity leads to higher insect biomass and species richness, particularly in low-vegetation habitats, which, despite their biodiversity, are often under-protected in conservation efforts.
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Mitigating ongoing losses of insects and their key functions (e.g. pollination) requires tracking large-scale and long-term community changes.

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Epiphytes develop anatomical features to improve efficiency of the uptake of water and nutrients, such as absorptive foliar scales or a velamen radicum. Despite substantial studies on the occurrence, morphology, development and phylogeny of the velamen, most of the available literature is focused on Orchidaceae, making current knowledge on velamen clearly biased. A recent publication firmly established that velamina are common in Anthurium species.

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Climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances are increasing liana abundance and biomass in many tropical and subtropical forests. While the effects of living lianas on species diversity, ecosystem carbon, and nutrient dynamics are receiving increasing attention, the role of dead lianas in forest ecosystems has been little studied and is poorly understood. Trees and lianas coexist as the major woody components of forests worldwide, but they have very different ecological strategies, with lianas relying on trees for mechanical support.

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