Preparatory Meeting of a joint NSFC-DFG Research Proposal on a new Forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Experiment in Subtropical China

This project prepares a workshop of each seven to eight scientists from Europe and China for the preparation of a joint NSFC (National Science Foundation of China) and DFG research proposal. The workshop will last for three days and includes a meeting at the Martin Luther University in Halle and at the Max-Planck Institute of Biogeochemistry in Jena as well as visits to field sites of the BIOTREE and the Jena grassland experiments.The proposal to be prepared will focus on novel and so-far disregarded aspects of forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) experiments: the experiment will be the first BEF project in the subtropics, it will focus both on tree species (as main plot treatments) and shrub species (as subplot treatments) for establishing biodiversity levels, it will include sub-subplot manipulations as well as soil erosion and invasability as relevant ecosystem services. In addition, the experimental approach will be combined with observational studies. The consortium will include forest scientists, plant ecologists, soil scientists, zoologists, and hydrologists, teaming up Chinese and European researchers in the same methodological fields.