Lena Sachsenmaier

More Information on the call of abstract. They can also be found on the website.

Poster on CBC 2026 Conference on Connecting Biodiversity, Climate, and Human Behavior Sept 21-24, 2026 Leipzig, Germany Organized by: UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Universität Leipzig

👇 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦

🌍 𝗖𝗕𝗖 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 - 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿

📆 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝟭𝟰 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹

🔗 cbc-conference.org

Please share this with your colleagues 🙏

@ufz.de @unileipzig.bsky.social

🌱 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

Understanding leaf variability within tree species Leaf diversity arises from differences among species, but also from differences within species and even within the same crown. In a recent study, we show how intraspecific and intraindividual trait va...

"Understanding leaf variability within tree species" 🍃🌿🍂

I wrote a "behind the paper" post talking about our recent paper in @natcomms.nature.com
communities.springernature.com/posts/unders...

Very happy to see my first PhD chapter being published 🤍
Take a look if you are interested in how tree species richness and mycorrhizal associations affect soil multifunctionality on a small scale 🌳🌳

Intraspecific and intraindividual trait variability decrease with tree richness in a subtropical tree biodiversity experiment - Nature Communications In forests, trait expression is influenced by tree-tree interactions. Castro Sánchez-Bermejo et al. show how phenotypic variability of tree species decreases with tree diversity and contributes import...

In trees, intraspecific and intraindividual leaf trait variability decrease along a gradient of tree species richness and are an important part of functional diversity in forest stands,
Our new paper is already out in @natcomms.nature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Want to know more about it? 🧵

Here, the press releases of Leipzig University www.uni-leipzig.de/en/newsdetai...
and iDiv www.idiv.de/diverse-fore...

Diverse forests are more resistant to climate change

New study led by @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social shows: forest stands made up of tree species with different water-use strategies (not just many species) grow better in drought years. #iDivResearch #Biodiversity
www.idiv.de/diverse-fore...

Thanks for making this work possible!
@treedi.bsky.social, @idiv-research.bsky.social, @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social, @mixedforests.bsky.social, @fonrobinson.bsky.social, @castretis.bsky.social, @sharathpaligi.bsky.social, @bernhardschuldt.bsky.social, @eisenhauerlab.bsky.social

That means:
• There is no single hydro-functional strategy that always leads to more growth — in drought and non-drought years ⚖️
• Planting tree mixtures with distinct hydro-functional strategies can potentially help forests withstand future droughts 🌳💧

Key results:
• A tree's hydraulic safety and stomatal control were major drivers of growth
• Traits showed a performance trade-off: less advantageous in normal years → beneficial under #drought
• Trees grew better when surrounded by neighbours with contrasting hydro-functional traits

We analysed tree growth in the #MyDiv experiment (Germany) from 2016-2021 and measured 14 hydro-functional #traits of 10 #tree species to see how drought, a tree’s hydro-functional traits, and trait differences with neighbours affect growth.

Hydro‐Functional Traits and Their Dissimilarity to the Neighbourhood Buffer Tree Growth Against the 2018–2020 Central European Drought Climate change is putting forests at risk. Our research shows that a tree's water-use strategy largely determines its growth across years: whereas one strategy performs better in normal years, the ot....

Over 2,600🌳 #trees during the 2018–2020 #drought :
• Traits disadvantageous in normal years became beneficial under drought
• Trees grew better with neighbours whose hydro-functional traits differed from their own
🗞️Paper out now @globalchangebio.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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.

Trajectories of alpine plant communities under climate change.

I had the honour to write a @newphyt.bsky.social commentary on this fantastic paper — summarizing its key insights and exploring exciting directions for future research. Hope it may spark new ideas and helps the community! ✨
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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....

Busy making needle imprints and diving into stomatal worlds under the microscope 🔬🌲
Measuring stomatal size and density — still amazed by the incredible variation, even among conifers!
#ARBOfun #stomata #conifer #drought #forest

Such a great week with the #sTREND working group — lots of ideas on tree traits and neighbourhood diversity taking shape. 🌲🌳 Grateful to have been part of it! #FunctionalTraits #ForestDiversity @idiv-research.bsky.social

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

A person standing on a ladder collecting conifer needles of the species Tsuga canadensis

Close-up of the abaxial side of Abies needles showing the white wax layers over the bands of stomata

Needle of Picea sitchensis under the binocular with wax layers of stomatal pores visible

View of the arboretum ARBOfun in Großpösna, Germany

Into the canopy for tiny pores 🌲🔎
We sampled needles from 12 #conifer species at the arboretum #ARBOfun to study stomatal density and size. Looking forward to the lab work & to uncovering what these traits can reveal about tree drought responses in a changing climate. #stomata #drought #forest

Experiment in Leipzig’s floodplain forest Using tree mortality to support oak regeneration

16 April is the day when Leipzig celebrates its floodplain forest – and fittingly, a new paper by Annalena Lenk @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social shows how the current tree dieback combined with the thinning of certain understorey species, can support oak regeneration.🌳🍃

www.idiv.de/experiment-i...

iDiv-Gründungsdirektor Christian Wirth bekommt Urkunde als neues Mitglied der Leopoldina Die Aufnahme in die 1652 gegründete Gelehrtengesellschaft gilt als hohe wissenschaftliche Anerkennung.

Congratulations to iDiv’s founding director Christian Wirth!🥂

Yesterday, he received the member certificate of the Academy of Sciences @leopoldina.org - a high scientific honour.👏

Read more (in German): www.idiv.de/de/christian...
@agwirthweigelt.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social #iDivImpact

🌍 Ever wondered what life is made of - literally?
We just launched StoichLife, a global dataset of the elemental building blocks of life across nearly 6,000 species! 🌱🐟
Spanning land, water, and sea, it opens up new insights into how organisms are shaped by their environments 🏜️🏔️🌊 #stoichiometry

Lena Sachsenmaier: Forest growth resistance and resilience to the 2018–2020 drought depend on tree diversity and mycorrhizal type 2024 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2024 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research pape…

Interested in how #forest #resilience to #drought depended on tree diversity and #mycorrhiza?

The study by @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social in @journalofecology.bsky.social was just shortlisted for the Harper Prize🚨👏 Read more on the paper here👇

jecologyblog.com/2025/04/04/l...

Karl Andraczek: Weak reciprocal relationships between productivity and plant biodiversity in managed grasslands 2024 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2024 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research pape…

👏 And also congrats to @karlandraczek.bsky.social! His paper on #biodiversity – #productivity relationships in managed #grasslands was as well shortlisted for the 2024 Harper Prize! 🌱 Read more on the Journal of Ecology blog: jecologyblog.com/2025/04/02/k...

Lena Sachsenmaier: Forest growth resistance and resilience to the 2018–2020 drought depend on tree diversity and mycorrhizal type 2024 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2024 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research pape…

🎉 Congrats to our PhD student @lsachsenmaier.bsky.social, whose paper on #forest #growth #resistance & #resilience to drought was shortlisted for the 2024 Harper Prize! 🌳 Read more on the Journal of Ecology blog: jecologyblog.com/2025/04/04/l...

Elevated tree mortality as a regeneration niche for oak? Testing different management approaches in a meliorated floodplain forest Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur L.), a keystone species in European temperate floodplain forests, faces regeneration challenges due to dense canopies c…

New paper by our PhD student Annalena Lenk in #Forest #Ecology and Management: #Climate change-induced tree mortality can promote #oak regeneration in #floodplain forests – if flood-intolerant maple species are selectively removed. #Biodiversity #Research
sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Tree Diversity Increases Forest Temperature Buffering via Enhancing Canopy Density and Structural Diversity Making use of 6 years of microclimate measurements in a large-scale tree diversity experiment covering a species richness gradient ranging from 1 to 24 tree species, we demonstrate that tree species ....

Are you interested in #forest microclimate, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning? 🌲🌳🌡️

🗞️In our new study we show: Tree diversity increases #forest temperature buffering🗞️

doi.org/10.1111/ele....

/w @remybeugnon.bsky.social, @uni-freiburg.de, @unileipzig.bsky.social, @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social

Tree Diversity Increases Forest Temperature Buffering via Enhancing Canopy Density and Structural Diversity Making use of 6 years of microclimate measurements in a large-scale tree diversity experiment covering a species richness gradient ranging from 1 to 24 tree species, we demonstrate that tree species ...

🌴🌳 Tree species richness increases climate buffering 🌡️🥵

I am so happy to share our latest piece, now published in Ecology Letters!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Very cool paper reviewing how the Root Economics Space advances our understanding of fine-root functioning 🫚🌾☀️

It was a great pleasure to work with such an amazing team of coauthors, especially the fantastic lead team @elsaelsam.bsky.social , @joanabergmann.bsky.social