Environmental changes in biodiversity hotspot ecosystems of
South Ecuador: RESPonse and feedback effECTs (FOR2730)

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Erwin Beck

| Member in C3.1: The threat of southern bracken: Investigation and modelling of a fire-triggered succession that leads to the destruction of pastures in the area of the tropical mountain rain forest of southern Ecuador, and the potential for repastorization of abandoned areas | Member in B1: The biology of southern bracken in the anthropogenic ecosystem in the San Francisco valley of South Ecuador | Member in C5: Water consumption and carbon capture by trees of an evergreen and a dry forest in the Andes of South Ecuador as functional indicators of slow environmental changes. | Member in B2: Pasture rehabilitation on, and management of degraded areas in the Andes of South Ecuador. | Member in B2: Tree physiological and structural properties as response and effect traits of bioticatmospheric interactions in natural and anthropogenic eco-systems in South Ecuador | Member in B2: Tree physiological and structural properties as response and effect traits of biotic-atmospheric interactions in natural and anthropogenic eco-systems in South Ecuador. |

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Publications

Articles

• 2023
• Raffelsbauer, V.; Pucha-Cofrep, F.; Strobl, S.; Knüsting, J.; Schorsch, M.; Trachte, K.; Scheibe, R.; Bräuning, A.; Windhorst, D.; Bendix, J.; Silva, B. & Beck, E. (2023): Trees with anisohydric behavior as main drivers of nocturnal evapotranspiration in a tropical mountain rainforest. PloS ONE 18(3), 1-1.
• 2021
• Wallis, C.; Tiede, Y.; Beck, E.; Boehning-Gaese, K.; Brandl, R.; Donoso, D.A.; Espinosa, C.; Fries, A.; Homeier, J.; Inclan, D.; Leuschner, C.; Maraun, M.; Mikolajewski, K.; Neuschulz, E.L.; Scheu, S.; Schleuning, M.; Suárez, J.P.; Tinoco, B.A.; Farwig, N. & Bendix, J. (2021): Biodiversity and ecosystem functions depend on environmental conditions and resources rather than the geodiversity of a tropical biodiversity hotspot. Scientific Reports 11(1), 24530.
• Bendix, J.; Aguirre, N.; Beck, E.; Bräuning, A.; Brandl, R.; Breuer, L.; Boehning-Gaese, K.; Dantas De Paula, M.; Hickler, T.; Homeier, J.; Inclan, D.; Leuschner, C.; Neuschulz, E.; Schleuning, M.; Suarez, J.P.; Trachte, K.; Wilcke, W. & Farwig, N. (2021): A research framework for projecting ecosystem change in highly diverse tropical mountain ecosystems. Oecologia 2021, 1-13.
• 2020
• Knoke, T.; Paul, C.; Rammig, A.; Gosling, E.; Hildebrandt, P.; Härtl, F.; Peters, T.; Richter, M.; Diertl, K.; Castro, L.M.; Calvas, B.; Ochoa Moreno, S.; Valle-Carrión, L.A.; Hamer, U.; Tischer, A.; Potthast, K.; Windhorst, D.; Homeier, J.; Wilcke, W.; Velescu, A.; Gerique, A.; Pohle, P.; Adams, J.; Breuer, L.; Mosandl, R.; Beck, E.; Weber, M.; Stimm, B.; Silva, B.; Verburg, P.H. & Bendix, J. (2020): Accounting for multiple ecosystem services in a simulation of land-use decisions: Does it reduce tropical deforestation?. Global Change Biology 26( ), 1-22.
• 2019
• Beck, E.; Paladines, P.; Paladines, R.; Matt, F.; Farwig, N. & Bendix, J. (2019): Alexander von Humboldt would have loved it: Estación Científica San Francisco.. Ecotropica 21, 201 99.
• 2018
• Knüsting, J.; Brinkmann, M.C.; Silva, B.; Schorsch, M.; Bendix, J.; Beck, E. & Scheibe, R. (2018): Who will win where and why? An ecophysiological dissection of the competition between a tropical pasture grass and the invasive weed Bracken over an elevation range of 1000m in the tropical Andes. PlosOne 13, 1-24.
• 2017
• Silva, B.; Alava Núñez, P.; Strobl, S.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2017): Area-wide evapotranspiration monitoring at the crown level of a tropical mountain rain forest. Remote Sensing of Environment 194, 219–229.
• Farwig, N.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2017): Introduction to the Special Issue “Functional monitoring in megadiverse tropical ecosystems”. Ecological indicators 1(1), 1-3.
• Silva, B.; Álava-Núñez, P.; Strobl, S.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2017): Area-wide evapotranspirationmonitoring at the crown level of a tropical mountain rain forest. Remote Sensing of Environment 194( ), 219-229.
• 2016
• Strobl, S.; Cueva, E.; Silva, B.; Knüsting, J.; Schorsch, M.; Scheibe, R.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2016): Water relations and photosynthetic water use efficiency as indicators of slow climate change effects on trees in a tropical mountain forest in South Ecuador. Ecological Indicators xxx, xxx-xxx.
• Knoke, T.; Paul, C.; Hildebrandt, P.; Calvas, B.; Castro, L.M.; Härtl, F.; Döllerer, M.; Hamer, U.; Windhorst, D.; Wiersma, Y.; Curatola Fernández, G.F.; Obermeier, W.A.; Adams, J.; Breuer, L.; Mosandl, R.; Beck, E.; Weber, M.; Stimm, B.; Haber, W.; Fürst, C. & Bendix, J. (2016): Compositional diversity of rehabilitated tropical lands supports multiple ecosystem services and buffers uncertainties. Nature Communications 7, Article number:11877.
• Silva, B.; Strobl, S.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2016): Canopy evapotranspiration, leaf transpiration and water use efficiency of an Andean pasture in SE-Ecuador – a case study. Erdkunde 70(1), 5-18.
• Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2016): Environmental Change And Its Impacts In A Biodiversity Hotspot Of The South Ecuadorian Andes–Monitoring And Mitigation Strategies. Erdkunde 70(1), 1-4.
• 2014
• Knoke, T.; Bendix, J.; Pohle, P.; Hamer, U.; Hildebrandt, P.; Roos, K.; Gerique, A.; Lopez Sandoval, M.F.; Breuer, L.; Tischer, A.; Silva, B.; Calvas, B.; Aguirre, N.; Castro, L.M.; Windhorst, D.; Weber, M.; Stimm, B.; Günter, S.; Palomeque, X.; Mora, J.; Mosandl, R. & Beck, E. (2014): Afforestation or intense pasturing improve the ecological and economic value of abandoned tropical farmlands. Nature Communications 5:5612, 1-50.
• Silva, B.; Roos, K.; Fries, A.; Rollenbeck, R.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2014): Mapping Two Competing Grassland Species from a Low-Altitude Helium Balloon. IEEE Journal of selected topics in applied earth observations and remote sensing 7(7), 3038 - 3049.
• 2012
• Silva, B.; Roos, K.; Voss, I.; König, N.; Rollenbeck, R.; Scheibe, R.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2012): Simulating canopy photosynthesis for two competing species of an anthropogenic grassland community in the Andes of southern Ecuador. Ecological Modelling 239, 14-26.
• 2011
• Roos, K.; Rödel, H.G. & Beck, E. (2011): Short- and long-term effects of weed control on pastures infested with Pteridium arachnoideum and an attempt to regenerate abandoned pastures in South Ecuador. Weed Research 51, 165-176.
• 2010
• Roos, K.; Rollenbeck, R.; Peters, T.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2010): Growth of Tropical Bracken (Pteridium arachnoideum): Response to Weather Variations and Burning. Invasive Plant Science and Management 3, 402-411.
• 2009
• Bendix, J.; Silva, B.; Roos, K.; Göttlicher, D.; Rollenbeck, R.; Nauss, T. & Beck, E. (2009): Model parameterization to simulate and compare the PAR absorption potential of two competing plant species. International Journal of Biometeorology OnlineFirs, xx-xx.
• Richter, M.; Diertl, K.; Emck, P.; Peters, T. & Beck, E. (2009): Reasons for an outstanding plant diversity in the tropical Andes of Southern Ecuador. Landscape Online 12, 1-35.
• Mahecha, M.D.; Martinez, A.; Lange, H. & Beck, E. (2009): Identification of characteristic plant co-occurrences in neotropical secondary montane forests. Journal of Plant Ecology 2, 31-41.
• Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2009): Spatial aspects of ecosystem research in a biodiversity hot spot of southern Ecuador - an introduction. Erdkunde 63, 305-308.
• 2008
• Beck, E. & Kottke, I. (2008): Facing a hotspot of tropical biodiversity. Basic and Applied Ecology 9, 1-3.
• 2007
• Mahecha, M.D.; Martinez, A.; Lischeid, G. & Beck, E. (2007): Nonlinear dimensionality reduction: Alternative ordination approaches for extracting and visualizing biodiversity patterns in tropical montane forest vegetation data. Ecological Informatics 2, 138-149.
• 2006
• Cueva Ortiz, E.; Homeier, J.; Breckle, S.W.; Bendix, J.; Emck, P.; Richter, M. & Beck, E. (2006): Seasonality in an evergreen tropical mountain rain forest of South Ecuador. Ecotropica 12, 69-85.
• Bendix, J.; Homeier, J.; Cueva Ortiz, E.; Emck, P.; Breckle, S.W.; Richter, M. & Beck, E. (2006): Seasonality of weather and tree phenology in a tropical evergreen mountain rain forest. International Journal of Biometeorology 50(6), 370-384.
• 2005
• Beck, E.; Kottke, I. & Oberwinkler, F. (2005): Two members of the Glomeromycota form distinct ectendomycorrhizas with Alzatea verticillata, a prominent tree in the mountain rain forest of southern Ecuador. Mycological Progress 4(1), 11-22.
• 2003
• Hartig, K. & Beck, E. (2003): The bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) dilemma in the Andes of South Ecuador. Ecotropica 9, 3-13.
• 2001
• Beck, E. & Müller-Hohenstein, K. (2001): Analysis of undisturbed and disturbed tropical mountain forest ecosystems in Southern Ecuador. Die Erde 132, 1-8.

Other:

• 2019
• Bogner, F.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. 2019: El Bosque Tropical de Montaña - Hotspot de Biodiversidad. (Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, (Loja, Ecuador).
• 2017
• Beck, E.; Knoke, T.; Farwig, N.; Breuer, L.; Siddons, D. & Bendix, J. 2017: Landscape Restoration, Sustainable Land Use and Cross-scale Monitoring of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions. A Science-directed Approach for South Ecuador. (Universität Bayreuth).
• 2016
• Bogner, F.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. 2016: Biodiversity Hotspot - Tropical Mountain Rainforest. (NCI Foundation, Ecuador).
• 2013
• Bendix, J.; Beck, E.; Bräuning, A.; Makeschin, F.; Mosandl, R.; Scheu, S. & Wilcke, W. 2013: Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador.: Ecological Studies 221 (Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg).
• 2012
• Beck, E. (2012-09-24). (Why) Do we need Legal Regulations for Biodiversity Research. Presented at 21st International Symposium "Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology" of the German Botanical Society, Mainz, Germany.
• Roos, K.; Adams, J.; Curatola Fernández, G.F.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2012-04-18). Mountain pastures in tropical Ecuador: Ruin and rehabilitation. Presented at Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountain Areas, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
• Beck, E.; Roos, K.; Hamer, U.; Potthast, K.; Tischer, A.; Silva, B. & Bendix, J. (2012-02-24). Ecological Aspects of Repasturisation of Abandoned Mountain Pastures in South Ecuador. Presented at Annual Conference of the Society for Tropical Ecology, University of Erlangen, Germany.
• Roos, K.; Montero, M.; Cevallos Aleaga, X.K.; Weig, A. & Beck, E. (2012-2-24). Species composition and genetic diversity of tropical bracken invading montane pastures in southern Ecuador . Presented at Annual Conference of the Society for Tropical Ecology, University of Erlangen, Germany.
• Beck, E. (2012-01-21). Experiences in International Ecological/Biological Research. Presented at Conference on Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge, Göttingen, Germany.
• 2011
• Roos, K.; Hamer, U.; Potthast, K.; Tischer, A. & Beck, E. (2011-10-07). Ecología de los pastos y efectos de su manejo en los Andes en el Sur de Ecuador. Presented at Annual status symposium of the RU816, Loja, Ecuador.
• Beck, E.; Strobl, S.; Lemma, Y.S.; Abebe, G.T.; Fetene, M. & Zewdie, S. (2011-06-13). Coexistence of 3 different functional types of indigenous trees in a montane tropical forest in Ethiopia . Presented at Joint International Meeting of the ATBC and the Society for Conservation Biology, Arusha, Tanzania.
• 2010
• Beck, E. (2010-09-22 Keynote). Functional aspects of tropical biodiversity revealed by gradient analysis. Presented at The Biodiversity Day, Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Beck, E.; Malagón, O.; Valarezo, C.; Paladines, B. & Ribadeneira Sarmiento, M. (2010-03-23). Non-commercial benefits resulting from basic research - an Ecuadorian Case. Presented at Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing, Cali, Colombia.
• Bendix, J.; Paladines, B.; Ribadeneira Sarmiento, M.; Romero, L.M.; Valarezo, C. & Beck, E. (2010-01-25). Benefit sharing by research, education and knowledge transfer - a success story of biodiversity research in southern Ecuador. Presented at UNESCO IYB Biodiversity Science-Policy Conference, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris.
• 2009
• Bendix, J.; Behling, H.; Peters, T.; Richter, M. & Beck, E. (2009): Functional biodiversity and climate change along an altitudinal gradient in a tropical mountain rainforest. In: Tscharnke, T. et al. (eds.): Tropical rainforests and agroforests under global change (Environmental Science Series ), Springer.
• 2008
• Beck, E.; Mosandl, R.; Richter, M. & Kottke, I. (2008): The Investigated Gradients. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 55-62.
• Beck, E.; Makeschin, F.; Haubrich, F.; Richter, M.; Bendix, J. & Valerezo, C. (2008): The Ecosystem (Reserva Biológica San Francisco). In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 1-15.
• Bendix, J.; Rollenbeck, R.; Fabian, P.; Emck, P.; Richter, M. & Beck, E. (2008): Climatic variability. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 281-290.
• Beck, E. & Richter, M. (2008): Ecological aspects of a biodiversity hotspot in the Andes of southern Ecuador. In: Gradstein, S. Robbert; Homeier, Jürgen; Gansert, Dirk (eds.): The tropical mountain forest - Patterns and processes in a biodiversity hotspot (Biodiversity and Ecology Series 2), Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 195-217.
• Fiedler, K. & Beck, E. (2008): Investigating Gradients in Ecosystem Analysis. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 49-54.
• Beck, E.; Hartig, K.; Roos, K.; Preussig, M. & Nebel, M. (2008): Permanent Removal of the Forest: Construction of Roads and Power Supply Lines. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 377-386.
• Beck, E.; Kottke, I.; Bendix, J.; Makeschin, F. & Mosandl, R. (2008): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem - a Synthesis. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 467-480.
• Bräuning, A.; Homeier, J.; Cueva, E.; Beck, E. & Günter, S. (2008): Growth Dynamics of Trees in Tropical Mountain Ecosystems. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 291-302.
• Beck, E.; Bendix, J.; Kottke, I.; Makeschin, F. & Mosandl, R. 2008: Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador.: Ecological Studies 198 (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg).
• Beck, E.; Hartig, K. & Roos, K. (2008): Forest Clearing by Slash and Burn. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 387-390.
• Martinez, A.; Mahecha, M.D.; Lischeid, G. & Beck, E. (2008): Succession Stages of Vegetation Regeneration: Secondary Tropical Mountain Forests. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 425-432.
• Stimm, B.; Beck, E.; Günter, S.; Aguirre, N.; Cueva, E.; Mosandl, R. & Weber, M. (2008): Reforestation of Abandoned Pastures: Seed Ecology of Native Species and Production of Indigenous Plant Material. In: Beck, Erwin; Bendix, Jörg; Kottke, Ingrid; Makeschin, Franz; Mosandl, Reinhard (eds.): Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador (Ecological Studies 198), Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 433-446.