Second cohort PhDs Second cohort PhDs Our second cohort started in January 2021. Michela Audisio SP 4-2: Molecular physiology of tree nutrition in mixed and pure beech-conifer forests: interaction with mycorrhizae Christina Hackmann SP 1-2: Rooting patterns, root growth, and water uptake in response to interspecific competition Jens Lichter SP 10-2: Hierarchical Bayesian Regression Models with Applications in Ecology and Forestry Pedro Mittelman SP 7-2: Interactions between small mammals and trees according to different forest compositions Klara Mrak SP 3-2: Matter cycling and nutrient efficiency in mixed and pure stands Sharath Paligi SP 2-2: Hydraulic efficiency and drought response of Douglas-fir, Norway spruce and European beech Alice Penanhoat SP 8-2: Architectural traits of trees in response to different neighborhoods and their importance for stand structural characteristics Jan Schick SP 9-2: Predicting structural changes and growth in pure and mixed stands of European beech, Norway spruce, and Douglas-fir Jacob Schmidt SP 10-1: Structured Additive Distributional Regression Models in Ecology and Forestry: Applications, Software, and Inference Thalea Stuckenberg SP 5-2: Decomposer communities and decomposition processes in temperate forests Larissa Topanotti SP 11-2: Economic implications of species mixtures in European beech stands enriched with coniferous trees Benjamin Wildermuth SP 6-2: Arthropod diversity and functioning in mixed versus pure stands Michela Audisio Christina Hackmann Jens Lichter Pedro Mittelman Klara Mrak Sharath Paligi Alice Penanhoat Jan Schick Jacob Schmidt Thalea Stuckenberg Larissa Topanotti Benjamin Wildermuth