Impact of management intensity and tree enrichment of oil palm plantations on below- and aboveground invertebrates in Sumatra (Indonesia) (B13*)

• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2016 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192626868

In this project, (1) the invertebrate fauna and microorganism as affected by different management intensities (two fertilizer levels, two weeding types) in oil palm plantations, and (2) above- and belowground invertebrate communities and microorganisms as affected by enrichment of oil palm plantations with forest tree species will be studied. We use keys of invertebrates from all over the world to determine the microarthropods, the method of stable isotopes (15N/13C) and the analysis of neutral fatty acids (NLFAs) for investigating their trophic ecology, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and a microrespiration method for the study of microorganisms.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 990: Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Mark Maraun