Research
Climate and land use change are key drivers influencing terrestrial environmental systems that need to be managed by society in the coming decades. These changes act on all compartments of terrestrial systems and provoke system reactions on different spatial and temporal scales. The development of management and adaptation strategies to cope with these changes defines the key research fields in the Agrosphere. The development of these strategies is, however, hampered by our limited ability to predict states and fluxes in terrestrial systems at scales relevant for management and this issue constitutes the main core of our research activities in the institute.
Environmental processes and technologies
Measurements of environmental variables are essential to improve the understanding of key processes in the terrestrial environment.
Modelling terrestrial systems
We work on modelling of terrestrial processes across scales, including biogeochemical and bioenergetic soil modelling, functional-structural plant modelling, crop modelling, agroecosystem modelling, land surface modelling, hydrological modelling and integrated atmosphere-land surface-subsurface modelling.
Terrestrial biogeochemistry
At Terrestrial Biogeochemistry, we investigate soil-plant interactions, elemental cycles, and biogeochemical processes. Using cutting-edge techniques like stable isotope analysis and advanced mass spectrometry, alongside numerical modeling, we explore nutrient transport, organic matter cycling, and the role of colloids and interfaces.
Measurements of environmental variables are essential to improve the understanding of key processes in the terrestrial environment.