Deutsch
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology

M.Sc. GeoInf. Jie Zhang

Jie Zhang

Data manager
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology
Biocenter, University of Würzburg
Am Hubland
97074 Würzburg
Room: C044
Phone: +49 931 31-83240
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2599-5983
JieZhang

I am a Data Manager and GIS Specialist with over 15 years of extensive experience. I specialize in constructing and managing data infrastructure for environmental research projects, as well as guiding and mentoring teams throughout the entire data life cycle, promoting efficient and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data management standards. My GIS expertise lies in spatial analysis within Landscape Ecology, thematic mapping, and interactive online GIS.

I have successfully coordinated data management for many international joint research projects, including EU Horizon 2020 projects Upscale and Safeguard, Bavarian State funded project LandKliF, and DFG research unit KiLi. I have established and maintained strong partnerships with key data archive centers in Germany such as PANGAEA, GFBio, WueData, along with international data centers like Zenodo and the EU Pollinator Hub.

Furthermore, I possess adept skills in designing and developing impactful websites for research projects and groups including WIR, DorfBienen, ANDIV, and Peru Cacao Diversity.

  • Geo-information and spatial data analysis
  • Data curation, data archiving and mining
  • Web and information systems, database systems, metadata, open data, data reuse

SIMPOLL: Sampling strategy, Indicators and Monitoring methodology for EU POLLinators. Funded by European Union, a collaboration of the Directorate-General for Environment and the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

STING II: Science and Technology for Pollinating Insects. Funded by European Union, a collaboration of the Directorate-General for Environment and the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

Safeguard: Safeguarding European wild pollinators. Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Upscale: upscaling the benefits of push-pull technology for sustainable agricultural intensification in east africa. Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

DorfBienen: Wildbienen in Dörfern - Artenvielfalt, Lebensräume und Förderung. Funded by Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Biodiversitätszentrum Rhön.

LandKlif: Effects of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services in semi-natural, agricultural and urban landscapes and strategies for management of climate change. Funded by Bayerische Staatsministerium für Bildung und Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst.

KiLi: Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change: Linking biodiversity, biotic interactions and biogeochemical ecosystem processes. Funded by DFG.

  • 11/2024 - present Expert at European Commission in the field of Data Management for project SIMPOLL
  • 09/2022 - 06/2024 Expert at European Commission in the field of Data Management for project STING II
  • 09/2021 - present Data Manager in EU Horizon 2020 Project: Safeguard - Safeguarding European wild pollinators. Project leader: Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter.
  • 10/2020 - present Data Manager and GIS analyst in EU Horizon 2020 Project: Upscale - Upscaling the benefits of Push-Pull technology for sustainable agriculture intensification in East Africa. Project leader: Prof. Dr. Emily Martin-Poppenbourg.
  • 12/2019 - present GIS analyst of Bavarian State funded Project: DorfBienen - Förderung von Wildbienen und anderen Bestäubern in Dörfern. Project leader: Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter.
  • 03/2018 - 05/2024 Data Manager in Bavarian State funded Project: LandKlif - Effects of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services in semi-natural, agricultural and urban landscapes and strategies for management of climate change. Project leader: Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter.
  • 07/2010 - 07/2018 Data Manager in DFG funded Project: DFG Research Group Kilimanjaro - Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change: Linking biodiversity, biotic interactions and biogeochemical ecosystem processes. Project leader: Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter.
  • 07/2010 - present Scientific staff at Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology in University of Würzburg.
  • 01/2010 - 06/2010 Research assistant at Institute for Landscape Planning and Ecology in University of Stuttgart. Project: Execution of GIS- supported analysis to the sustainable area management in Baden-Württemberg on the basis of the NBBW area systematic. Project leader: Dr. Hans-Georg Schwarz-v.Raumer.
  • 11/2009 - 02/2010 Research assistant at Institute of Hydraulic Engineering in University of Stuttgart. Project: GLOWA-Danube: Impact of Global Change on the Upper Danube. Project leader: Dr. Roland Barthel.
  • 09/2006 - 12/2009 Master degree of Geomatics at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
  • 09/2002 - 07/2006 Bachelor degree of Civil Engineering at Dalian University of Technology, China.

2025[ to top ]
  • Ganuza C, Redlich S, Rojas-Botero S, Tobisch C, Zhang J, Benjamin C, Englmeier J, Ewald J, Fricke U, Haensel M, Kollmann J, Riebl R, Schiele S, Uhler J, Uphus L, Müller J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2025) Warmer temperatures reinforce negative land-use impacts on bees, but not on higher insect trophic levels. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292.
  • Biegerl C, Holzschuh A, Tanner B, Sponsler D, Krauss J, Zhang J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2025) Landscape management can foster pollinator richness in fragmented high-value habitats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292.
2024[ to top ]
  • Klimm FS, Bräu M, König S, Mandery K, Sommer C, Zhang J, Krauss J (2024) Importance of habitat area, quality and landscape context for heteropteran diversity in shrub ecotones. Landscape Ecology 39: 3.
  • Potts S, Bartomeus I, Biesmeijer K, Breeze T, Casino A, Dauber J, Dieker P, Hochkirch A, Høye T, Isaac N, Kleijn D, Laikre L, Mandelik Y, Montagna M, Montero Castaño A, Öckinger E, Oteman B, Pardo Valle A, Polce C, Povellato A, Quaranta M, Roy D, Schweiger O, Settele J, Ståhls-Mäkelä G, Tamborra M, Troost G, van der Wal R, Vujić A, Zhang J (2024) Refined proposal for an EU pollinator monitoring scheme. In.
2023[ to top ]
  • Uphus L, Uhler J, Tobisch C, Rojas-Botero S, Lüpke M, Benjamin C, Englmeier J, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Redlich S, Zhang J, Müller J, Menzel A (2023) Earlier and more uniform spring green-up linked to lower insect richness and biomass in temperate forests. Communications Biology 6: 1052.
  • Tobisch C, Rojas-Botero S, Uhler J, Müller J, Kollmann J, Moning C, Brändle M, Gossner MM, Redlich S, Zhang J, Steffan-Dewenter I, Benjamin C, Englmeier J, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Riebl R, Uphus L, Ewald J (2023) Plant species composition and local habitat conditions as primary determinants of terrestrial arthropod assemblages. Oecologia.
  • Englmeier J, Rieker D, Mitesser O, Benjamin C, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Kellner H, Lorz J, Redlich S, Riebl R, Rojas-Botero S, Rummler T, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stengel E, Tobisch C, Uhler J, Uphus L, Zhang J, Müller J, Bässler C (2023) Diversity and specialization responses to climate and land use differ between deadwood fungi and bacteria. Ecography: e06807.
2022[ to top ]
  • Benjamin CS, Uphus L, Lüpke M, Rojas-Botero S, Dhillon MS, Englmeier J, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Redlich S, Riebl R, Tobisch C, Uhler J, Zhang J, Menzel A, Peters W (2022) Modelling the Relative Abundance of Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) along a Climate and Land-Use Gradient. Animals 12: 222.
  • Dhillon MS, Dahms T, Kübert-Flock C, Steffan-Dewenter I, Zhang J, Ullmann T (2022) Spatiotemporal Fusion Modelling Using STARFM: Examples of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 NDVI in Bavaria. Remote Sensing 14: 677.
  • Ziegler A, Meyer H, Otte I, Peters MK, Appelhans T, Behler C, Böhning-Gaese K, Classen A, Detsch F, Deckert J, Eardley CD, Ferger SW, Fischer M, Gebert F, Haas M, Helbig-Bonitz M, Hemp A, Hemp C, Kakengi V, Mayr AV, Ngereza C, Reudenbach C, Röder J, Rutten G, Costa DS, Schleuning M, Ssymank A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tardanico J, Tschapka M, Vollstädt MGR, Wöllauer S, Zhang J, Brandl R, Nauss T (2022) Potential of Airborne LiDAR Derived Vegetation Structure for the Prediction of Animal Species Richness at Mount Kilimanjaro. Remote Sensing 14: 786.
  • Fricke U, Steffan-Dewenter I, Zhang J, Tobisch C, Rojas-Botero S, Benjamin CS, Englmeier J, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Riebl R, Uhler J, Uphus L, Ewald J, Kollmann J, Redlich S (2022) Landscape diversity and local temperature, but not climate, affect arthropod predation among habitat types. PLOS ONE 17: 1-15.
  • Englmeier J, Mitesser O, Benbow ME, Hothorn T, von Hoermann C, Benjamin C, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Redlich S, Riebl R, Rojas Botero S, Rummler T, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stengel E, Tobisch C, Uhler J, Uphus L, Zhang J, Müller J (2022) Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition. Ecosystems.
  • Ganuza C, Redlich S, Uhler J, Tobisch C, Rojas-Botero S, Peters MK, Zhang J, Benjamin CS, Englmeier J, Ewald J, Fricke U, Haensel M, Kollmann J, Riebl R, Uphus L, Müller J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2022) Interactive effects of climate and land use on pollinator diversity differ among taxa and scales. Science Advances 8.
  • Fricke U, Redlich S, Zhang J, Tobisch C, Rojas-Botero S, Benjamin CS, Englmeier J, Ganuza C, Riebl R, Uhler J, Uphus L, Ewald J, Kollmann J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2022) Plant richness, land use and temperature differently shape invertebrate leaf-chewing herbivory on plant functional groups. Oecologia 199: 407-417.
  • Englmeier J, von Hoermann C, Rieker D, Benbow ME, Benjamin C, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Lackner T, Mitesser O, Redlich S, Riebl R, Rojas-Botero S, Rummler T, Salamon J-A, Sommer D, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tobisch C, Uhler J, Uphus L, Zhang J, Müller J (2022) Dung-visiting beetle diversity is mainly affected by land use, while community specialization is driven by climate. Ecology and Evolution 12.
  • Fricke U, Redlich S, Zhang J, Benjamin CS, Englmeier J, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Riebl R, Rojas-Botero S, Tobisch C, Uhler J, Uphus L, Steffan-Dewenter I (2022) Earlier flowering of winter oilseed rape compensates for higher pest pressure in warmer climates. Journal of Applied Ecology 60: 365-375.
2021[ to top ]
  • Redlich S, Zhang J, Benjamin C, Dhillon MS, Englmeier J, Ewald J, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Hovestadt T, Kollmann J, Koellner T, Kübert-Flock C, Kunstmann H, Menzel A, Moning C, Peters W, Riebl R, Rummler T, Rojas-Botero S, Tobisch C, Uhler J, Uphus L, Müller J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2021) Disentangling effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services: A multi-scale experimental design. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.
  • Albrecht J, Peters MK, Becker JN, Behler C, Classen A, Ensslin A, Ferger SW, Gebert F, Gerschlauer F, Helbig-Bonitz M, Kindeketa WJ, Kühnel A, Mayr AV, Njovu HK, Pabst H, Pommer U, Röder J, Rutten G, Costa DS, Sierra-Cornejo N, Vogeler A, Vollstädt MGR, Dulle HI, Eardley CD, Howell KM, Keller A, Peters RS, Kakengi V, Hemp C, Zhang J, Manning P, Mueller T, Bogner C, Böhning-Gaese K, Brandl R, Hertel D, Huwe B, Kiese R, Kleyer M, Leuschner C, Kuzyakov Y, Nauss T, Tschapka M, Fischer M, Hemp A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Schleuning M (2021) Species richness is more important for ecosystem functioning than species turnover along an elevational gradient. Nature Ecology & Evolution.
  • Uhler J, Redlich S, Zhang J, Hothorn T, Tobisch C, Ewald J, Thorn S, Seibold S, Mitesser O, Morinière J, Bozicevic V, Benjamin CS, Englmeier J, Fricke U, Ganuza C, Haensel M, Riebl R, Rojas-Botero S, Rummler T, Uphus L, Schmidt S, Steffan-Dewenter I, Müller J (2021) Relationship of insect biomass and richness with land use along a climate gradient. Nature communications 12: 1-9.
2019[ to top ]
  • Requier F, Paillet Y, Laroche F, Rutschmann B, Zhang J, Lombardi F, Svoboda M, Steffan-Dewenter I (2019) Contribution of European forests to safeguard wild honeybee populations. Conservation Letters 13: e12693.
  • Peters MK, Hemp A, Appelhans T, Becker JN, Behler C, Classen A, Detsch F, Ensslin A, Ferger SW, Frederiksen SB, Gebert F, Gerschlauer F, Gütlein A, Helbig-Bonitz M, Hemp C, Kindeketa WJ, Kühnel A, Mayr AV, Mwangomo E, Ngereza C, Njovu HK, Otte I, Pabst H, Renner M, Röder J, Rutten G, Costa DS, Sierra-Cornejo N, Vollstädt MGR, Dulle HI, Eardley CD, Howell KM, Keller A, Peters RS, Ssymank A, Kakengi V, Zhang J, Bogner C, Böhning-Gaese K, Brandl R, Hertel D, Huwe B, Kiese R, Kleyer M, Kuzyakov Y, Nauss T, Schleuning M, Tschapka M, Fischer M, Steffan-Dewenter I (2019) Climate–land-use interactions shape tropical mountain biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Nature 568: 88-92.
2016[ to top ]
  • Peters MK, Hemp A, Appelhans T, Behler C, Classen A, Detsch F, Ensslin A, Ferger SW, Frederiksen SB, Gebert F, Haas M, Helbig-Bonitz M, Hemp C, Kindeketa WJ, Mwangomo E, Ngereza C, Otte I, Röder J, Rutten G, Costa DS, Tardanico J, Zancolli G, Deckert J, Eardley CD, Peters RS, Rödel M-O, Schleuning M, Ssymank A, Kakengi V, Zhang J, Böhning-Gaese K, Brandl R, Kalko EK, Kleyer M, Nauss T, Tschapka M, Fischer M, Steffan-Dewenter I (2016) Predictors of elevational biodiversity gradients change from single taxa to the multi-taxa community level. Nature Communications 7: 13736.
2011[ to top ]
  • Jie Z, Heyden J, Bendel D, Barthel R (2011) Combination of soil-water balance models and water-table fluctuation methods for evaluation and improvement of groundwater recharge calculations. Hydrogeology Journal 19: 1487-1502.

Zhang J., Steffan-Dewenter I. (2015) An infrastructure to innovate data intensive science. Proceeding of 45th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Gesellschaft für Ökologie), 31 August - 04 September 2015, Göttingen. Download

Zhang J., Owonibi M., Ratcliffe S., Stefan-Dewenter I. (2013): Ecological data management through its life cycle. Proceeding of 43th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Gesellschaft für Ökologie), 9 - 13 September 2013, Potsdam. Download

Zhang J., Böhning-Gaese K., Fischer M., Hemp A., Nauss T., Peters M.K., Steffan-Dewenter I. (2012): Central database design and data synthesis in the DFG Research Unit FOR1246 - Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change (KiLi). Proceeding of 42nd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Gesellschaft für Ökologie), 10 - 14 September 2012, Lüneburg. Download

Peters MK, Hemp A, Fischer M, Böhning-Gaese K, Nauss T, Hemp C, Zhang J, Keyyu J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2011) The KiLi project: Biodiversity and ecosystem processes on Mt. Kilimanjaro under global change. Poster. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Ökologie, 5-9 September 2011, Oldenburg (Germany). 

Peters MK, Hemp A, Fischer M, Böhning-Gaese K, Nauss T, Hemp C, Zhang J, Keyyu J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2011) The KiLi project: Biodiversity and ecosystem processes on Mt. Kilimanjaro under global change. Poster. International joint meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) & Africa Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), 12-16 June 2011, Arusha (Tanzania). 

Zhang, J., Barthel, R., van Heyden, J. und D. Bendel (2010): Development and application of a modified Water-Table Fluctuation (WTF) method to estimate groundwater recharge. In: Leven, C., Grathwohl, P., Kappler, A., Kaufmann-Knoke, A., Rügner, H. (eds.): Grundwasser für die Zukunft - Tagung der FH-DGG (12. - 16. Mai 2010, Tübingen). Schriftenreihe der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften 67. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften, Fachsektion Hydrogeologie in der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft: p 190. ISBN: 978-3-510-49213-8. 

2018 - present: Animal Ecology II (Tierökologie 2): "Introduction of GIS and analysis of landscape variables", Bachelor course, 5th semester (winter semester)

2018 - present: Ecology and Nature Conservation (Ökologie und Naturschutz): "Introduction of GIS and its role in Ecology", Bachelor course, 4th semester (summer semester)

Previous teaching:

2012 - 2017: Landscape Ecology (Landschaftsökologie): "The role of GIS in Landscape Ecology", Master course, 2nd semester (summer semester)