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Dr. Kolja Bergholz

University of Potsdam

Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation
Zeppelinstraße 48 A, Room 1.06
14471 Potsdam

Phone: + 49 331 977 2562 31

bergholzuni-potsdamde

Education

2011 – 2019 PhD, University of Potsdam, “Trait-based understanding of plant species distributions along environmental gradients”

2009 – 2010 MSc thesis (German Diploma), “Relating colonization success to traits – a case study of dry grasslands adjacent to ex-arable fields”

2007 – 2010 Biology, University of Potsdam

2004 – 2007 Biology, University of Kassel

Current employment

PostDoc in the research group Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation

Research interests

  • Functional ecology of plants and insects
  • Mechanisms of coexistence
  • Landscape ecology

Projects

GrassYear

BioHet - Biodiversity in Heterogeneous Environments

Publications

Pellny N, Seifert B, Oberschelp de Meneses D, Ristow M, Bergholz K (2026). Dynamik der Sand-Grasnelke Armeria maritima subsp. elongata an Straßenrändern und in Siedlungsbereichen in Brandenburg. Natur und Landschaft, 6/2026, 254–261

Pärtel M et al. (Bergholz K, Jeltsch F, Ristow M among >100 co authors). (2025) Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity. Nature,  641, 917–924.

Bergholz K, Balthasar C, Weiss AM, Brunkhardt J, Ristow M, Weiss L (2023) Niche differentiation of arthropods and plants along small-scale gradients in temporary wetlands (kettle holes). Basic and Applied Ecology 73, 10-17. 10.1016/j.baae.2023.10.003

Bergholz, K., Sittel, L.-P., Ristow, M.,Jeltsch, F., & Weiss, L. (2022). Pollinator guilds respond contrastingly at different scales to landscape parameters of land- use intensity. Ecology and Evolution, 12, e8708. doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8708

Bergholz K, May F, Ristow M, Giladi I, Ziv Y, Jeltsch F, (2017). Two Mediterranean annuals feature high within-population trait variability and respond differently to a precipitation gradient. Basic and Applied Ecology, 25, 48–58. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2017.11.001

Bergholz K, May F, Giladi I, Ristow M, Ziv Y, Jeltsch F, (2017). Environmental heterogeneity drives fine-scale species assembly and functional diversity of annual plants in a semi-arid environment. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 24, 138–146. doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2017.01.001

Bergholz K, Jeltsch F, Weiss L, Pottek J, Geißler K, Ristow M, (2015). Fertilization affects the establishment ability of species differing in seed mass via direct nutrient addition and indirect competition effects. Oikos, 124, 1547–1554. doi:10.1111/oik.02193