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Our research
A fundamental understanding of tree responses to environmental cues is necessary to address climate change impacts. Forests critically influence the Earth's climate and cycle large quantities of carbon and water, yet trees are increasingly at risk through an amplification of extreme climatic events.
We address tree and forest resilience to climate change and extreme climatic events, in particular heat and drought stress. Our research provides process knowledge to predict and guide the potential of forests in mitigating climate change. We combine controlled experiments, observational studies and ecosystem modelling approaches. We teach undergraduate and graduate students in process-based ecological research, as well as provide knowledge transfer into schools and society.
February, 2025: Marielle defended her PhD thesis on "Effects of drought and elevated CO2 on growth and mortality of pine trees” with great success. Congratulations!
In February 2025, our working group held a two-day retreat at the Schneefernerhaus on the Zugspitze. In the midst of an impressive landscape, we had an intensive exchange about our current and future research, with a focus on optimizing internal group work structures. Inspired and motivated, we bring new perspectives back to our everyday work.
Tree mortality is rising worldwide, yet patterns and causes remain unclear. A study of nearly 467,000 forest plots highlights progress in monitoring but also data gaps. Integrating ground inventories with remote sensing could help, but requires technical solutions and fair data sharing. The study published in New Phytologist highlights that a truly global system must ensure equitable collaboration and empower scientists from less wealthy regions.
Forests ecosystems are critical for climate regulation, land biodiversity, for providing fresh water, timber and non-timber products, and also for human well-being and security.
What we do - simply explained
Our mission is to facilitate collaboration between scientists to combine expertise, knowledge and data...
Network for scientists