Dr. Deborah Schäfer
Science officer
Plant Ecology / Botanical Garden
- Phone
- +41 31 631 49 38
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 49 82
- deborah.schaefer@boga.unibe.ch
- Office
- 63, main building, 1st floor
- Postal Address
- University of Bern
Institute of Plant Sciences
Plant Ecology
Altenbergrain 21
3013 Bern
Switzerland
Research
Research Interests
I am a plant ecologist and botanist with a main interest in biodiversity, conservation ecology and community assembly. I have previously been involved in a research project about the ex-situ cultivation of rare and endangered plant species and studied the influence of genetic diversity on the short-term success of reintroductions of rare and endangered plant species of Switzerland. My most recent research project was in the framework of the Biodiversity Exploratories program, where I studied the relative importance of plant species richness, land-use intensity and different community characteristics on the stability of ecosystem functions after different types of disturbances.
In my current position at the BOGA I am interested to study in more details, which factors lead to successful ex-situ collections (plants and seeds) and reintroductions of rare and endangered plant species of Switzerland. This position, at the intersection between science and public, offers the opportunity to communicate this important topic and to collaborate with other botanical gardens, scientists, conservation practitioners and the info flora to strengthen the role of botanical gardens in the protection and conservation of rare and endangered native plant species.
Publications
Journal Article
Jochum, Malte; Fischer, Markus; Isbell, Forest; Roscher, Christiane; van der Plas, Fons; Boch, Steffen; Boenisch, Gerhard; Buchmann, Nina; Catford, Jane A.; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Ebeling, Anne; Eisenhauer, Nico; Gleixner, Gerd; Hölzel, Norbert; Kattge, Jens; Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Lange, Markus; Le Provost, Gaëtane; Meyer, Sebastian T.; ... (2020). The results of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning experiments are realistic. Nature ecology & evolution, 4(11), pp. 1485-1494. Springer Nature 10.1038/s41559-020-1280-9
Dormann, Carsten F.; Bagnara, Maurizio; Boch, Steffen; Hinderling, Judith; Janeiro-Otero, Andrea; Schäfer, Deborah; Schall, Peter; Hartig, Florian (2020). Plant species richness increases with light availability, but not variability, in temperate forests understorey. BMC ecology, 20(1), p. 43. BioMed Central 10.1186/s12898-020-00311-9
Schäfer, Deborah; Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Boeddinghaus, Runa S.; Hinderling, Judith; Kandeler, Ellen; Marhan, Sven; Nowak, Sascha; Sonnemann, Ilja; Wurst, Susanne; Fischer, Markus; Hölzel, Norbert; Hamer, Ute; Prati, Daniel (2019). Recovery of ecosystem functions after experimental disturbance in 73 grasslands differing in land‐use intensity, plant species richness and community composition. Journal of Ecology, 107(6), pp. 2635-2649. Blackwell 10.1111/1365-2745.13211
Boch, Steffen; Fischer, Beat; Föhr-Heiniger, Christine; Grob, Stefanie; Gygax, Andreas; Krneta, Guy; Lienhard, Luc; Meister, Gerhard; Möhl, Adrian; Schäfer, Deborah; Schneeberger, Ruedi; Simon, Christoph; Eggenberg, Stefan Peter (2019). Von Menschen und Pflanzen - 100 Jahre Bernische Botanische Gesellschaft. Mitteilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bern, 76, pp. 7-73. Naturforschende Gesellschaft Bern
Schäfer, Deborah; Prati, Daniel; Schall, Peter; Ammer, Christian; Fischer, Markus (2019). Exclusion of large herbivores affects understorey shrub vegetation more than herb vegetation across 147 forest sites in three German regions. PLoS ONE, 14(7), e0218741. Public Library of Science 10.1371/journal.pone.0218741
Busch, Verena; Klaus, Valentin H.; Schäfer, Deborah; Prati, Daniel; Boch, Steffen; Müller, Jörg; Chisté, Melanie; Mody, Karsten; Blüthgen, Nico; Fischer, Markus; Hölzel, Norbert; Kleinebecker, Till (2019). Will I stay or will I go? Plant species‐specific response and tolerance to high land‐use intensity in temperate grassland ecosystems. Journal of vegetation science, 30(4), pp. 674-686. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/jvs.12749
Heuss, Lisa; Grevé, Michael E.; Schäfer, Deborah; Busch, Verena; Feldhaar, Heike (2019). Direct and indirect effects of land‐use intensification on ant communities in temperate grasslands. Ecology and evolution, 9(7), pp. 4013-4024. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10.1002/ece3.5030
Boeddinghaus, Runa S.; Marhan, Sven; Berner, Doreen; Boch, Steffen; Fischer, Markus; Hölzel, Norbert; Kattge, Jens; Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Oelmann, Yvonne; Prati, Daniel; Schäfer, Deborah; Schöning, Ingo; Schrumpf, Marion; Sorkau, Elisabeth; Kandeler, Ellen; Manning, Peter (2019). Plant functional trait shifts explain concurrent changes in the structure and function of grassland soil microbial communities. Journal of Ecology, 107(5), pp. 2197-2210. Blackwell 10.1111/1365-2745.13182
Klaus, Valentin H.; Hoever, Christina J.; Fischer, Markus; Hamer, Ute; Kleinebecker, Till; Mertens, Désirée; Schäfer, Deborah; Prati, Daniel; Hölzel, Norbert (2018). Contribution of the soil seed bank to the restoration of temperate grasslands by mechanical sward disturbance. Restoration ecology, 26, S114-S122. Blackwell 10.1111/rec.12626
Leimer, Sophia; Bischoff, Sebastian; Boch, Steffen; Busch, Verena; Escher, Peter; Fischer, Markus; Hänsel, Falk; Hölzel, Norbert; Kerber, Katja; Klaus, Valentin; Kleinebecker, Till; Michalzik, Beate; Nauss, Thomas; Schäfer, Deborah; Schöning, Ingo; Schwarz, Martin T.; Siemens, Jan; Thieme, Lisa; Wöllauer, Stephan and Wilcke, Wolfgang (2018). Does plant diversity affect the water balance of established grassland systems? Ecohydrology, 11(4), e1945. Wiley 10.1002/eco.1945
Kleinebecker, Till; Busch, Verena; Hölzel, Norbert; Hamer, Ute; Schäfer, Deborah; Prati, Daniel; Fischer, Markus; Hemp, Andreas; Lauterbach, Ralf; Klaus, Valentin H. (2018). And the winner is …. ! A test of simple predictors of plant species richness in agricultural grasslands. Ecological indicators, 87, pp. 296-301. Elsevier 10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.12.031
Klaus, Valentin H.; Schäfer, Deborah; Prati, Daniel; Busch, Verena; Hamer, Ute; Hoever, Christina J.; Kleinebecker, Till; Mertens, Désirée; Fischer, Markus; Hölzel, Norbert (2018). Effects of mowing, grazing and fertilization on soil seed banks in temperate grasslands in Central Europe. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 256, pp. 211-217. Elsevier 10.1016/j.agee.2017.11.008
Busch, Verena; Klaus, Valentin H.; Penone, Caterina; Schäfer, Deborah; Boch, Steffen; Prati, Daniel; Müller, Jörg; Socher, Stephanie A.; Niinemets, Ülo; Peñuelas, Josep; Hölzel, Norbert; Fischer, Markus; Kleinebecker, Till (2018). Nutrient stoichiometry and land use rather than species richness determine plant functional diversity. Ecology and evolution, 8(1), pp. 601-616. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10.1002/ece3.3609
Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Busch, Verena; Fischer, Markus; Hölzel, Norbert; Nowak, Sascha; Prati, Daniel; Schäfer, Deborah; Schöning, Ingo; Schrumpf, Marion; Hamer, Ute (2018). Land use intensity, rather than plant species richness, affects the leaching risk of multiple nutrients from permanent grasslands. Global Change Biology, 24(7), pp. 2828-2840. Blackwell Science 10.1111/gcb.14123
Klaus, Valentin H.; Schäfer, Deborah; Kleinebecker, Till; Fischer, Markus; Prati, Daniel; Hölzel, Norbert (2016). Enriching plant diversity in grasslands by large-scale experimental sward disturbance and seed addition along gradients of land-use intensity. Journal of Plant Ecology, rtw062. Oxford University Press 10.1093/jpe/rtw062
Book Section
Rembold, Katja; Junge, Anne-Laure; Amiet, Felix; Balzari, Carl’Antonio; Bergamini, Ariel; Blaser, Stefan; Boch, Steffen; Bürki, Markus; Eggenberg, Stefan; Eicher, Cécile; Ensslin, Andreas; Etter, Laurence; Friedli, Christina; Gattlen, Anne; Germann, Christoph; Gygax, Andreas; Hänggi, Ambros; Hertwig, Stefan T.; von Hirschheydt, Gesa; Hoess, René; ... (2020). Vielfalt bedingt Vielfalt - wildlebende Arten im Botanischen Garten der Universität Bern. In: Thalmann, Christoph (ed.) Zeitreisen. Mitteilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bern: Vol. 77 (pp. 24-68). Bern: Naturforschende Gesellschaft Bern
Working Paper
Jochum, Malte; Fischer, Markus; Isbell, Forest; Roscher, Christiane; van der Plas, Fons; Boch, Steffen; Boenisch, Gerhard; Buchmann, Nina; Catford, Jane A.; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Ebeling, Anne; Eisenhauer, Nico; Gleixner, Gerd; Hölzel, Norbert; Kattge, Jens; Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Lange, Markus; Le Provost, Gaëtane; Meyer, Sebastian T.; ... (5 August 2019). The results of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments are realistic (bioRxiv). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 10.1101/725812