Julia Metzsch (Justus Liebig University Giessen)
The endangered species Sand Silvercrack Jurinea cyanoides in a nature reserve in Southern Germany. Photo: Julia Metzsch
Julia Metzsch's Master thesis was awarded with the Prize for the Best Plant Science Master Thesis, which was carried out at Justus Liebig University Giessen in the year 2021
Title: Investigation into the status Jurinea cyanoides (L.) Rchb., in a nature conservation context
This work analyses the reasons for the decline in the thistle Jurinea cyanoides and should help to protect this species.
Jurinea cyanoides (L.) Rchb. is a native and threatened species in Germany, whose populations continue to decline despite various conservation measures. This paper therefore aims to provide an overview of the status of the species and to identify possible reasons for the loss of J. cyanoides.
For this purpose, a population genetic analysis using AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) was performed. A comparative site characterization was made based species lists. Finally, conservation measures were evaluated.
The results showed that a decline of J. cyanoides due to population genetic reasons could be excluded. The site-specific characterizations measures did not provide clear results. Furthermore, grazing by sheep and donkeys was a positively evaluated measure, while fencing of the areas is rather not recommended.
The results obtained here should contribute to the protection of the endangered species J. cyanoides.
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Julia Metzsch conducted this work at the Institute of Botany in the research group of Prof. Dr. Wissemann (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen) an in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Birgit Gemeinholzer (Universität Kassel).