Populations of Rhizophora mangle (salt-excluding) and Laguncularia racemosa (salt-secreting) in the Maracaibo strait in Venezuela showed: 1) significantly larger succulence in adult leaves of Laguncularia; 2) higher concentrations of N, K, and Mg in Rhizophora and higher P, Na, Ca, and S in Laguncularia; 3) both species resorbed C, N, P and K and accumulated S, Na, Mg, Ca, Mn, and Fe. Compared to Laguncularia, Rhizophora restricted Na and S uptake, resorbed more P, and accumulated Fe.

Arthropod monitoring in protected areas often requires non-destructive methods in order to avoid detrimental effects on natural communities. Video monitoring recorded the highest number of individuals followed by quadrat sampling and pitfall trapping. Quadrat sampling showed the highest diversity followed by video monitoring and pitfall trapping. Thus, video monitoring has a great potential as a supplementary method for biodiversity assessments especially at the level of parataxonomic units.

The paper presents key discussion issues from the named workshop, including local disaster culture, the balance between floodplain and hydrological works, versus renewable energy, and participation issues in landscape planning in this context. For all this it is relevant to consider traditional knowledge instead of modern interventions.

In this short paper, some consideration to the term biodiversity is given. The need for strong formal rigor in using this term is stressed in order to maintain credibility by non-ecologists and environmental agencies over the scientific community involved in biodiversity studies.

The effects of tree diversity on the photosynthetic efficiency of tree species were assessed on six European mature forests (distributed along a latitudinal gradient) and in forest stands planted ad hoc with different levels of tree-species richness. The behaviour of Picea abies (spruce) was compared at the different sites. Site-specific responses were detected in relation to the age of the stands and their developmental stage.

The state of “ecosystem” ecology before 1970 is discussed briefly with emphasis on development of a new paradigm – systems ecology. The philosophy and theory embedded in ecosystem science, the methodologies introduced for conducting research, and the development of a vast warehouse of knowledge as they developed after 1970 are explored. The discussion ends with the contributions of the new paradigm to current and future local- to global-scale environmental and societal problems and solutions.

Trees modify the physico-chemical and biological properties of the soil underneath. Here we present results for seven tree species planted at a site that was contaminated by a mine spill, after which soil was cleaned-up and remediated, and later was afforested. Although the observed tree effects on topsoil chemistry were weak, the footprint is expected to be reinforced with age of the plantation, contributing to the phytostabilization of contaminating elements and to the carbon sequestration.

Only little of current biodiversity knowledge reaches the young generation. We developed the educational software PRONAS to show how scientists handle questions about the impact of climate change on species' habitats. About fifty European species have been used to demonstrate habitat losses and shifts and the mismatch of habitat dynamics of interacting species. We found that “educational software” is a useful format for scientific outreach. PRONAS is freely accessible in German and English.