Dr Jan Henning Sommer

Dr. Jan Henning Sommer is a researcher at the Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants, University of Bonn, Germany, focusing on macroecology, biogeography, and conservation biology in the context of climate change. He is particularly interested in a better understanding of the processes responsible for the distribution of species ranges and biodiversity patterns, and on the possible impact of climate change and landuse on biodiversity. In the frame of the BIOTA-Africa project network funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education & Research, he is involved in the analysis of the African biodiversity and the development of sustainable, climate change and landuse-integrated conservation concepts.

He finished his Ph.D. thesis on the topic, “Plant Diversity & Future Climate Change: Macroecological Analyses of African & Global Species Distributions” from Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants in 2008, and has been co-ordinating BIOMAPS BIOTA working group at the Nees Institute since 2006.

Research

• Main Interests: Climate Change & Biodiversity, Macroecology, Biogeography, and Conservation Biology
• Impact of climate change and landuse on biodiversity and consequences for its sustainable conservation
• Understanding the processes responsible for the distribution of species ranges and biodiversity patterns
• Scale-crossing assessment of the spatial patterns of biodiversity and its dynamics with a focus on continental Africa

Publications

• Sommer, J. H., Kreft, H., Kier, G, Jetz, W., Mutke, J. & Barthlott, W. 2010 Projected impacts of climate change on regional capacities for global plant species richness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0120.
• Sommer, Jan Henning (2008). Plant Diversity and Future Climate Change – Macroecological analyses of African and global species distributions. Doctoral Thesis, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.
• Burgess, N. D., Balmford, A., Cordeiro, N. J., Fjeldså, J., Küper, W., Rahbek, C., Sanderson, E., Scharlemann, J. P. W., Sommer, J. H. and Williams, P. H. (2007): Relationships between biodiversity value, human density and human infrastructure across the high biodiversity tropical mountains of Africa. Biological Conservation 134, 164-177.
• Barthlott, W., Hostert, A., Kier, G., Küper, W., Kreft, H., Mutke, J., Rafiqpoor, M. D. & Sommer, J. H. (2007): Geographic patterns of vascular plant diversity at continental to global scales. Erdkunde 61: 305-315.
• Küper, W., Sommer, J. H., Lovett, J. C. and Barthlott, W. (2006): Deficiency in African plant distribution data – missing pieces of the puzzle. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 150 (3), 355-368.
• Kreft, H., Sommer, J. H. and Barthlott, W. (2006): The significance of geographic range size for the explanation of spatial diversity patterns. Ecography 29, 21-30.
• McClean, C. J., Doswald, N., Küper, W., Sommer, J. H., Barnard, P. and Lovett, J. C. (2006): Potential impacts of climate change on Sub-Saharan African plant priority area selection. Diversity and Distributions 12, 645-655.
• McClean, C., Lovett, J. C., Küper, W., Hannah, L., Sommer, J. H., Barthlott, W., Termansen, M., Smith, G. F., Tokumine, S. and Taplin, J. (2005): African Plant Diversity and Climate Change. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 92, 139-152.
• Küper, W., Sommer, J. H., Lovett, J. C., Mutke, J., Linder, H. P., Beentje, H. J., van Rompaey, R. A. S. R., Chatelain, C., Sosef, M. and Barthlott, W. (2004): Africa’s hotspots of biodiversity redefined. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 91, 525-536.
• Nowicki, C., Ley, A., Caballero, R., Sommer, J. H., Barthlott, W. and Ibisch, P. L. (2004). Extrapolando rangos de distribución. BIOM 1.1 – un modelo bioclimático computerizado para la extrapolación de rangos de especies y patrones de diversidad. / Extrapolating distribution ranges – BIOM 1.1., a computerized bio-climatic model for the extrapolation of species ranges and diversity patterns. – In: Vásquez, R. and Ibisch, P. L. (eds.), Orquídeas de Bolivia / Orchids of Bolivia. Diversidad y estado de conservación / Diversity and conservation status. Editorial F.A.N., 39-68.
• Rafiqpoor, D., Nowicki, C., Villarpando, R., Jarvis, A., Sommer, J. H., Jones, P. & Ibisch, P. L. (2004): The factor that most influences the distribution of biodiversity: the climate. In: Ibisch, P.L. & Mérida, G. (Eds.): Biodiversity: the richness of Bolivia. State of knowledge and conservation. Ministerio de Desarrollo Sostenible y Planificacion / Editorial FAN, Santa Cruz.
• Sommer, J. H., Nowicki, C., Rios, L., Barthlott, W. and Ibisch, P. L. (2003): Extrapolating species ranges and biodiversity in data-poor countries: The computerized model BIOM. Revista de la Sociedad Boliviana de Botánica 4, 171-190.
• Rafiqpoor, D., Nowicki, C., Villarpando, R., Jarvis, A., Sommer, J. H., Jones, P. & Ibisch, P. L. (2003): El factor abiótico que más influye en la distribución de la biodiversidad: el clima. In: Ibisch, P. L. & Mérida, G. (Eds.): Biodiversidad: la riqueza de Bolivia. Estado de conocimiento y conservación. Ministerio de Desarrollo Sostenible y Planificacion / Editorial FAN, Santa Cruz.