Plant-animal interactions and ecosystem function
Ecology of Plant Reproduction
The ecology of plant reproductive processes underlies the composition and dynamics of ecosystems and is essential for the viability of human food production systems. Yet rapid and widespread environmental changes disrupt processes such as pollination, seed dispersal and seedling establishment and growth.
Our group explores changes in plant reproductive processes at scales ranging from genes to landscapes, and evaluates the implications of such changes for natural and human-dominated ecosystems. Impacts of habitat fragmentation on pollination, gene flow and population viability is a research theme that transcends both human-dominated and natural systems through its relevance to plant conservation and crop productivity, while alpine plant reproductive responses to climate change is a theme that has particular resonance in Switzerland. Our research encompasses both temperate and tropical regions, and our research also addresses the environmental constraints and opportunities that people face in managing their resources and livelihoods in the tropics.
Research topics
Plant conservation biology
Gene flow and plant genetic diversity
Plant-pollinator interactions
Plant-mycorrhiza interactions
Ecological processes underlying crop productivity
Interdisciplinary
Ecosystem services
Conservation biology
Human livelihoods
Management of landscape mosaics
