Jasper Schreiber

Jasper Schreiber (Doctoral student)


Short CV

Ph.D. Candidate, since 2021 Goethe-University Frankfurt

M.Sc. Physical Geography, 2017 - 2020 Goethe-University Frankfurt

B.Sc. Geography, 2014 - 2017 Georg-August-University Göttingen


Research interest

Deadwood-dependent fungi and bacteria are among the most species-rich groups in forest ecosystems and are essential to ecosystem functioning because of their involvement in organic matter turnover. Our knowledge of these groups is very limited although these species have a tremendous impact on forest ecosystem functioning. Previous studies have focused on the relationship between wood-dependent fungi/bacteria and host-related factors such as tree species identity or deadwood volume. As a result, there is a gap in knowledge of how various abiotic factors such as microclimate influence these wood-dependent communities and associated ecosystem processes. Forest ecosystems are facing large-scale canopy dieback due to changing precipitation regimes and higher temperature variability. Regular forest management, however, also has an effect on canopy cover in the forest and the associated microclimate. Changes in canopy cover and the availability of deadwood create new habitat islands with a variety of different ecological niches. How these niches affect diversity patterns of fungi and bacteria is part of my research.

I want to investigate how these changes in forest microclimate affect the diversity pattern of deadwood-dependent fungi and bacteria, their assembly and decomposition processes. In addition, I am interested in morphological adaptation mechanisms within and between species (communities) under different microclimatic conditions. To answer these research questions, my research will be based on a long-term experiment and a new experimental setup in the Bavarian Forest.

Funded by the German Research Foundation and the Czech Science Foundation (CAČR), the MicroADAPT joint research project will provide a deeper mechanistic understanding of the microclimate- and deadwood-dependent diversity relationships. In addition, the project will improve predictions and provide concepts for climate-smart forest management by addressing the previously mentioned knowledge gaps.

If you are interested in supporting my research in the MicroADAPT project as part of an internship with field work in the Bavarian Forest, please feel free to contact me.

Research

MicroADAPT

This project is based on a long-term and a new supplementary experiment in the Bavarian Forest linking microclimate, microbial diversity in deadwood, adaptation mechanisms and ecosystem processes.