Ecosystems functioning, dynamics and ecology
Ecosystem functioning, dynamics and ecology
We aim at understanding how terrestrial ecosystems function and interact with the climate. A holistic understanding of an ecosystem can only be achieved by addressing processes on different levels, such as the environmental controls of leaf photosynthesis, species interactions, biomass growth, and the exchange of greenhouse gases with the atmosphere.
Our research integrates knowledge from various disciplines: plant physiology, ecology, geography, biogeochemistry and physics.
Studies range from the scale of an individual forest plot to all terrestrial ecosystems on earth, the terrestrial biosphere. Terrestrial ecosystems play a very important role in the climate system, for example through taking up about one-fourth of our CO2 emissions, which are the primary cause of global warming. When addressing such global issues, understanding ecosystems becomes a fundamental part of earth system science.
At our department, two areas are given particular emphasis: mathematical modelling of vegetation and ecosystems, and biodiversity.
Topics
- Ecosystem ecology and vegetation dynamics
- Carbon dynamics and biogeochemical cycling
- Forest management
- Dynamic vegetation and ecosystem modelling
- Climate and Earth system modelling