Katharina Strobl

• PhD
• Research Assistant at Technical University of Munich

Final report of a 3-year research project (Interreg, Alpine Space) on the transformation of Alpine industrial landscapes

Ecological restoration has great potential for reversing anthropogenic degradation, as it aims at the simultaneous recovery of several ecosystem functions and services. However, it can be challenging to evaluate multiple restoration targets based on a high number of indicators, and this calls for a multifunctionality approach. Multifunctionality is...

Ecological restoration has great potential for counteracting global losses in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning caused by unsustainable human land use. It aims at assisting the recovery of degraded ecosystems. Many restoration projects focus on peatlands, because of the significance of these ecosystems for adaptation and mitigation of climate...

Drainage and afforestation of peatlands cause extensive habitat degradation and species losses. Restoration supports peatland biodiversity by creating suitable habitat conditions, including stable high water tables. However, colonization by characteristic species can take decades or even fail. Peatland recovery is monitored shortly after restoratio...

The theory of island biogeography can be successfully applied to terrestrial habitats, and it needs more attention when restoring degraded ecosystems. Suitable model systems are degraded montane peatlands that are isolated by forest plantations, while the significance of local habitat factors and regional drivers of peatland recovery is largely unk...

Phytometers are indicator transplants that provide information on site conditions based on plant survival, growth and reproduction. Since this is a relatively new approach, standards for its implementation remain to be defined, for example, during peatland restoration. Peatland restoration frequently aims at recovering characteristic communities, a...

River restoration is widely applied, although its effects are poorly understood, and degraded habitats might be difficult to improve. Moreover, there is a lack of monitoring as well as few systematic comparisons of restoration methods. This study presents results of a 4‐year monitoring on River Inn (southern Germany) investigating restoration by gr...

The carbon stored in peatlands over milenia is threatened to be released due to peat mining, wild fires, drainage, agriculture and forestry. By means of re-wetting, restoration seeks to revert peatlands into C sinks. The complexity and the different factors affecting peatlands have led to contrasting results with little conclusive evidence of its s...

QuestionDoes long-term visitor trampling close to hiking trails affect the taxonomic and functional composition and diversity of a calcareous grassland, thus reducing its nature conservation value?LocationAncient calcareous grassland (nature reserve Garchinger Heide) in the Munich Gravel Plain, south Germany.Methods We sampled plant species composi...

Since anthropogenic activities have become concentrated along rivers, river regulations have strong-ly reduced the lateral connectivity by separating rivers from their floodplains. Consequently riparian habitat heterogeneity and the related species diversity are degrading, especially in highly modified prealpine rivers. Riverbank revitalisation mea...

Since anthropogenic activities have become concentrated along rivers, river regulations have strongly reduced the lateral connectivity by separating rivers from their floodplains. Consequently riparian habitat heterogeneity and the related species diversity are degrading, especially in highly modified prealpine rivers. Riverbank revitalisation meas...