Personal profile
Research interests
- Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in forest ecosystems
- Forest ecology and ecosystem-based forest management
- Response of plants and plant communities to multiple global change drivers (e.g. land-use change, climate change, nitrogen deposition)
- Plant conservation biology
Curriculum
- since 2026: Supernumerary Professorship in Conservation Biology and Fundamentals of Natural Sciences, Leuphana University Lüneburg
- 2025: Appointment as a Supernumerary Professor, Leuphana University Lüneburg
- 2021: Habilitation, Venia legend in Ecology, Leuphana University Lüneburg
- 2015-2025: Research Associate, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lüneburg
- 2014-2015: Employee at the Environment Division, Municipality Ratekau
- 2009-2014: Research Associate, Institute of Natural Resource Conservation, University of Kiel
- 2009: Dr. rer. nat. (PhD) in Ecology, University of Kiel
- 2006-2009: Research Associate, Institute for Ecosystem Research, University of Kiel
- 2004-2006: Freelance worker Silva Verde GmbH, Consulting for Forest Ecology and Management
- 1998-2003: Studies in Agriculture Science, Subject Landscape Development, University of Kiel
- 1994-1996: Completed vocational training as a gardener (specialisation in organic fruit farming)
Teaching
- Vegetation ecology
- Conservation biology
- Botany
- Physics
Hands-on projects for students
- Forest biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiment in subtropical China (Xingangshan)
- Forest biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiment in tropical Panama (Sardinilla)
- TreeDi - Tree Diversity Interactions experiment in subtropical China
- The Belgian Gagea (Gagea spathacea) in Germany: Conservation strategies in response to climate change within the context of sustainable forest management
Keywords
- Ecosystems Research
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
-
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 15 Life on Land
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Research collaborations from the last five years
-
DIVERSA: Climate future lab DIVERSA - Forest disturbances under climate change in Lower Saxony: Understanding drivers and impacts to enhance forest adaptability
Haider, S. (Project manager, academic) & Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.11.24 → 30.10.30
Project: Research
-
DFG Reserach Unit 5375: Enhancing the structural diversity between patches for improving multidiversity and multifunctionality in production forests - Sub Project 8: Understorey plant assemblages and primary production
Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.06.23 → 30.05.26
Project: Research
-
TreeDì: DFG Reserach Training Group 2324: TreeDì – Tree Diversity Interactions: The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests; P1: Spatial above- and belowground complementarity
von Oheimb, G. (Project manager, academic), Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic), Liu, X. (Project manager, academic), Ma, K. (Project manager, academic) & Bu, W. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.22 → 31.05.27
Project: Research
-
BETA-FOR: Understorey plant assemblages and primary production
von Oheimb, G. (Project manager, academic) & Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.22 → 01.05.26
Project: Research
-
TreeDi: TreeDiversity Interactions (TreeDi): The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests - International Research Training Group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic), von Oheimb, G. (Project manager, academic), Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic), Perles-García, M. D. (Project staff), Bruelheide, H. (Project manager, academic) & Wang, Y. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.18 → 30.09.22
Project: Research
Research output
-
Enhanced forest structural heterogeneity increases functional β-diversity but reduces α- and γ-diversity in soil nematodes
Schwarz, R., Bradler, P. M., Chao, A., Chuang, P.-Y., Ciobanu, M., Decker, O., Delory, B. M., Dietrich, P., Dittrich, S., Fichtner, A., Lettenmaier, L., Junginger, M., Mitesser, O., Mori, A., Müller, J., von Oheimb, G., Pierick, K., Eisenhauer, N. & Cesarz, S., 03.2026, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 214, 14 p., 110078.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Forest Heterogeneity by Chain Saw: How Between-Patch Variation in Old Growth Attributes Changes the Metacommunities of Beetles
Mitesser, O., Cadotte, M. W., Mori, A. S., van der Plas, F., Chao, A., Rothacher, J., Bässler, C., Bevanda, M., Biedermann, P. H. W., Bradler, P. M., Castaneda-Gómez, A., Decker, O., Delory, B. M., Dittrich, S., Feldhaar, H., Fichtner, A., Kreis, A., Köstler-Albert, L., Lettenmaier, L. & von Oheimb, G. & 9 others, , 05.03.2026, In: Ecology Letters. 29, 3, 11 p., e70355.Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research
Open Access -
The invisible heterogeneity of forests ‑β‑diversity of volatiles
Carlson, L., Müller, J., Ammer, C., Bässler, C., Bevanda, M., Biedermann, P. H. W., Bradler, P. M., Castaneda-Gómez, A., Delory, B. M., Dittrich, S., Dyson, B. L., Fichtner, A., Mitesser, O., von Oheimb, G., Pflumm, L., Pierick, K., Rothacher, J., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schwalb-Willmann, J. & Wegmann, M. & 2 others, , 14.03.2026, In: Landscape Ecology. 41, 18 p., 62.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Ecological assessment of forest management approaches to develop resilient forests in the face of global change in Central Europe
Huth, F., Tischer, A., Nikolova, P., Feldhaar, H., Wehnert, A., Hülsmann, L., Bauhus, J., Heer, K., Vogt, J., Ammer, C., Berger, U., Bernhardt-Römermann, M., Böhme, M., Bugmann, H., Demant, L., Buse, J., Dörfler, I., Ewald, J., Feldmann, E. & Fichtner, A. & 35 others, , 08.2025, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 86, p. 66-100 35 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
Open Access7 Citations (Scopus) -
Exploring priority and year effects on plant diversity, productivity and vertical root distribution: first insights from a grassland field experiment
Alonso-Crespo, I. M., Temperton, V., Fichtner, A., Niemeyer, T., Schloter, M. & Delory, B., 03.2025, In: Journal of Vegetation Science. 36, 2, 41 p., e70026.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
- 1 Editor of series
-
Jahrbuch des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins für das Fürstentum Lüneburg von 1851 (Journal)
Fichtner, A. (Editor), Härdtle, W. (Editor) & Prüter, J. (Editor)
01.01.2024 → 31.12.2024Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editor of series › Research
Datasets
-
Figure 3 from: Zumstein P, Bruelheide H, Fichtner A, Schuldt A, Staab M, Härdtle W, Zhou H, Assmann T (2021) What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest? In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 907-927. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.63803
Zumstein, P. (Creator), Bruelheide, H. (Creator), Fichtner, A. (Creator), Schuldt, A. (Creator), Staab, M. (Creator), Härdtle, W. (Creator), Zhou, H. (Creator) & Assmann, T. (Creator), ZENODO, 16.06.2021
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1044.63803.figure3, https://zenodo.org/record/5023380
Dataset
-
Figure 2 from: Zumstein P, Bruelheide H, Fichtner A, Schuldt A, Staab M, Härdtle W, Zhou H, Assmann T (2021) What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest? In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 907-927. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.63803
Zumstein, P. (Creator), Bruelheide, H. (Creator), Fichtner, A. (Creator), Schuldt, A. (Creator), Staab, M. (Creator), Härdtle, W. (Creator), Zhou, H. (Creator) & Assmann, T. (Creator), ZENODO, 24.06.2021
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1044.63803.figure2, https://zenodo.org/record/5023378
Dataset
-
Data and R code used in Alonso-Crespo et al (2024) Exploring priority and year effects on plant diversity, productivity and vertical root distribution: first insights from a grassland field experiment
Alonso-Crespo, I. M. (Creator), Temperton, V. (Creator), Fichtner, A. (Creator), Niemeyer, T. (Creator), Schloter, M. (Creator) & Delory, B. (Creator), ZENODO, 13.11.2023
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10119981, https://zenodo.org/records/10119982
Dataset
-
Data from: Neighbour species richness and local structural variability modulate aboveground allocation patterns and crown morphology of individual trees
Kunz, M. (Creator), Fichtner, A. (Creator), Härdtle, W. (Creator), Raumonen, P. (Creator), Bruelheide, H. (Creator) & von Oheimb, G. (Creator), DRYAD, 25.10.2019
Dataset
-
Figure 1 from: Zumstein P, Bruelheide H, Fichtner A, Schuldt A, Staab M, Härdtle W, Zhou H, Assmann T (2021) What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest? In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 907-927. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.63803
Zumstein, P. (Contributor), Bruelheide, H. (Contributor), Fichtner, A. (Contributor), Schuldt, A. (Contributor), Staab, M. (Contributor), Härdtle, W. (Contributor), Zhou, H. (Contributor) & Assmann, T. (Contributor), ZENODO, 24.06.2021
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1044.63803.figure1, https://zenodo.org/record/5023376
Dataset