Organization of plant populations and communities
Experimental Plant Ecology
Biodiversity – the variety of individuals, populations, species, and ecosystems and the natural processes occurring in them – is the basis of life and a main focus of the research at our institute. The landscape changes of the last decades have resulted in many plant species occurring in smaller and more isolated populations than in the past. Yet even in conditions of relatively intact habitat quality, such populations can be at risk from various factors: environmental fluctuations, genetic impoverishment and ensuing inbreeding problems, changes in biological interactions (such as insufficient pollination or increased susceptibility to herbivores and pathogenes). At the same time, landscape changes and human activities have led to the increase of exotic species which affect the native species and ecosystems. Our research focuses on these various aspects causing a loss of biodiversity. Furthermore, we investigate the consequences of biodiversity loss for populations and ecosystems. In particular, we ask how reductions in genetic diversity affect the viability of populations and how reductions in species diversity can make ecosystems less resilient to environmental impacts.
Research topics
Community assembly processes
Effects of forest biodiversity on ecosystem carbon flux
Ecological genetics
Plant–soil feedbacks
Invasion biology
Ecology of endangered plant species
Interdisciplinary
Biodiversity–ecosystem services
Trophic interactions between plants and other organisms (including mycorrhiza, pathogens, herbivores, pollinators)
Ecology of Arabidopsis and wheat in collaboration with geneticists
Perception and valuation of biodiversity
