Ecophysiology of Water & Matter Cycling

 

The working group “Ecophysiology of water and matter cycling” investigates key processes that regulate the flow of matter and water within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) in agricultural landscapes across scales. The research aims to better understand how land use and climate extremes impact ecosystem resilience. We focus on arable land, grassland, and peatlands, looking into processes.

Of particular importance for the working group is the ecophysiological link between the various matter cycles and the water balance along spatio-temporal scales their impact on GHG emissions as well as the link between system form and function, A core strength is our methodological focus on multiscale (isotope-enabled) gas exchange, other in-situ stable isotope and classical ecophysiological techniques and the development of novel, tailored and low-cost sensing systems, facilitating the spatial integration of our work into the landscape scale as well as advance the scientific representation of the global south in observation initiatives.

Our system-based, interdisciplinary approach led to the development of the "AgroFlux" sensor platform, which we plan to continuously advance in collaboration with the Innovation Center for Agricultural Systems Transformation. It allows us to study important system variables such as carbon sink functions, GHG emissions, the partitioning of net ecosystem exchange (root water uptake, ET and NEE partitioning etc.), nutrient and water use efficiency in concert and detect the “hot moments” in time and space that are effectively dominating system responses and adaptation capacity to stress or management.

We work closely with all working groups of Research Area 1 "Landscape Functioning" and partners within ZALF and beyond.

Core Infrastructure:

AgroFlux Sensor Plattform with FluxCrane

Stable isotope laboratory 

GC laboratory 

Incubation facilities