New position available!
We are hiring a new researcn assistant, starting January 1st, 2023 (part time, 3 years, TV-L 13) in the new project “ROOTS@ArtIGROW
The interdisciplinary joint project 'ArtIGROW - Prediction of plant growth, yield and
profitability with an AI-supported system' is funded by the German Federal Ministry of
Education and Research within the WIR! alliance ArtIFARM. The overall project goal is to
develop a scalable demonstrator (platform) of a precision agricultural data analysis and
optimization platform for the agricultural market.
The position advertised here is located in the subproject 'ROOTS@ArtIGROW' and will
advance the development of a fully automated root observation system in quasi-real time.
Methodically, a self-sufficient and automatically working minirhizotron for field conditions
shall be developed in the parallel subproject 'SCAN@ArtIGROW'.
more information: here
Send your questions or application to: Jürgen Kreyling.
New position available!
30.03.2022
We are hiring a new doctoral student starting October 1, 2021 (65%, 3 years, TV-L 13) in the new project “Paludiculture in practice: Optimisation of cattail and reed
cultures”, funded by the FNR.
more information: here
Send your questions or application to: Jürgen Kreyling.
Huge interest in our Mesocosm Facility!
a short clip about our current research and its significance in sociopolitical topics
Thekla and Robin interviewed Franziska Tanneberger on our Mesocomfacility about the importance of mires for our climate. See yourself!!
Rewetting does not return drained fen peatlands to their old selves
New Paper in Nature communications
Authors:
Kreyling, J., Tanneberger, F., Jansen, F., van der Linden, S., Aggenbach, C., Blüml, V., Couwenberg, J., Emsens, W-J, Joosten, H., Klimkowska, A., Kotowski, W., Kozub, L., Lennartz, B., Liczner, Y., Liu, H., Michaelis, D., Oehmke, C., Parakenings, K., Pleyl, E., Poyda, A., Raabe, S., Röhl, M., Rücker, K., Schneider, A., Schrautzer, J., Schröder, C., Schug, F., Seeber, E., Thiel, F., Thiele, S., Tiemeyer, B., Timmermann, T., Urich, T., van Diggelen, R., Vegelin, K., Verbruggen, E., Wilmking, M., Wrage-Mönnig, N., Wołejko, L., Zak, D., Jurasinski, G.
Abstract:
Peatlands have been drained for land use for a long time and on a large scale, turning them from carbon and nutrient sinks into respective sources, diminishing water regulation capacity, causing surface height loss and destroying biodiversity. Over the last decades, drained peatlands have been rewetted for biodiversity restoration and, as it strongly decreases greenhouse gas emissions, also for climate protection. We quantify restoration success by comparing 320 rewetted fen peatland sites to 243 near-natural peatland sites of similar origin across temperate Europe, all set into perspective by 10k additional European fen vegetation plots. Results imply that rewetting of drained fen peatlands induces the establishment of tall, graminoid wetland plants (helophytisation) and long-lasting differences to pre-drainage biodiversity (vegetation), ecosystem functioning (geochemistry, hydrology), and land cover characteristics (spectral temporal metrics). The Paris Agreement entails the rewetting of 500,000 km2 of drained peatlands worldwide until 2050-2070. A better understanding of the resulting locally novel ecosystems is required to improve planning and implementation of peatland rewetting and subsequent management.
New position available!
08.06.2021
We are hiring a new doctoral student starting October 1, 2021 (65%, 3 years, TV-L 13) in the new project "Evidence-based Cultivation Recommendations in Climate Change Subproject 3: Plasticity of Forest Tree Species", funded by the FNR in the course of the Forest Climate Fund.
more information: here
Send your questions or application to: Jürgen Kreyling.
New publication of student project!
Sarah Schwieger, Gesche Blume-Werry and Alba Anadon-Rosell (AG Ökosystemforschung und Landschaftsökologie)have now published a study on root characteristics of alder in fen soils in the journal Annals of Botany. The results of this study partly originate from Felix Ciesiolka's B.Sc.-thesis.
New thesis topics online!
We now have new topics for BSc or MSc final theses in our group! Contact us and we will discuss your topic of interest or any other topic.
Lena Muffler-Weigel defends her PhD
Lena defended her PhD-thesis on phenotypic plasticity and adaptation of european beech (Fagus sylvatica)
- congratulations and all the best for Göttingen!
Title of the PhD-thesis:
„Phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation in European beech: Insights into natural regeneration patterns and adult growth performance across the distribution range“
First 'voluntary ecological year' at the University of Greifswald has started!
We are happy to welcome Lena Schmidt to our group who started the first 'voluntary ecological year' at the Institute for Botany & Landscape Ecology!
Welcome, and we hope to introduce you to all the exciting research at our insitute!
Greenpeace learns about importance of peatlands
A delegation from Greenpeace Germany visited the Greifswald Mire Centre on August 26. with plenty to learn about peatlands. Staff of the University and the Michael Succow Foundation brought them up to date and left them with new questions. Their visit to the 'Karrendorfer Wiesen' peatland in pouring rain was especially eventful. Dr. Nina Seifert of the Succow Foundation gave an introduction to the location's history before Daniel Köhn from Rostock University demonstrated the greenhouse gas measurements on the two field sites of the WETSCAPES project. At the end of the day everyone was thoroughly soaked and all agreed on the importance of field research and the first hand experience of field conditions for the understanding of these ecosystems.
New publication on interactions of roots and microbes on permafrost soils!
A collaboration of scientists of 20 universities has now published a study on interactions of plant roots and microbes on carbon in permafrost soils in Nature Geoscience.
Read the press release at IDW.
Keuper F., Wild B., Kummu M., Beer C., Blume-Werry G., et al. (2020): Carbon loss from northern circumpolar permafrost soils amplified by rhizosphere priming. Nature Geoscience 13, 560–565.
BBC Podcast on uses and threats from earthworms
Gesche Blume-Werry talks about her findings on the effects of invasive earthworms on Arctic tundra ecosystems in the BBC podcast ‘CrowdScience’
Listen to the podcast ‘Could earthworms help transform the future of farming?’
New publication shows the influence of earthworms on arctic tundra
Gesche Blume-Werry and collaborators from Umeå University in Sweden show the influence that earthworms can have on ecological processes in arctic tundra ecosystems in a new publication in the journal 'Nature Communications'!
Blume-Werry, G., Krab, E.J., Olofsson, J. et al. Invasive earthworms unlock arctic plant nitrogen limitation. Nat Commun11, 1766 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15568-3
Press release by the University of Greifswald.
New publication on microbial communities after rewetting of mires
Researchers from several european universities have now published a comprehensive study on the recovery on microbes after rewetting of peatlands as part of the project REPEAT.
The study was published in the Journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME Journal):
Emsens, W., van Diggelen, R., Aggenbach, C.J.S. et al.Recovery of fen peatland microbiomes and predicted functional profiles after rewetting. ISME J14, 1701–1712 (2020).
A summary can be found here.
New publication on the effect of climate change on tree growth
Results of an international project to investigate the effect of climate change on tree growth in northern forests was now published in the Journal 'Global Change Biology'. The project, which was led by our former colleague Jill Harvey and the Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Dynamics lab, was in collaboration with members of our lab and researchers from several german and international universities.
Click here for the press release
New thesis topics online!
We now have new topics for BSc or MSc final theses in our group! Have you ever scanned roots, measured photosynthesis, or chilled trees? These and other methods can be learned or refined in exciting theses!
Masterstudent wins Sustainability Award 2019
MSc. Alexander Seliger was awarded the University of Greifswald's Sustainability Award for his thesis on options when replacing non-native spruce stands with native species in the beautiful Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park in north-eastern Germany. The award with a 500 € prize is handed out anually by the University's Rectorate and Sustainability Officer.
Thesis title:
Management options for the conversion of non-native coniferous forest patches towards more natural species composition in the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park (Germany)
The Thesis was supervised by Jürgen Kreyling and Michael Manthey.
Experimental Plant Ecology now on Twitter!
Follow us for news from our lab and interesting findings from our field: @expleco
New project DESIRE has started
The project DESIRE has started successfully! At the kick-off meeting we will visit the protected area 'Karrendorfer Wiesen' north of Greifswald.
New position available!
We are looking to employ a research assistant (50% TV-L13 with additional funding available) in our new project "DESIRE"!
More information here, contact Jürgen Kreyling if you have questions.
REPEAT at the climate conference
The research project REPEAT was has been presented at two peatland-related events at the UNFCCC climate confererence COP24 in Katowice. On December 6th, a side event in the German Pavilion showcased peat fires and peatland rewetting. On December 11th, the Climate Hub focused on food from drained peatlands - from gouda cheese to palm oil cookies. Hans Joosten, Wiktor Kotowski and Franziska Tanneberger presented the project.
See the tweets of the Greifswald Mire Centre from COP24.
WETSCAPES on television
Yesterday's episode of "45 Min" of the Northern German Broadcast NDR is debating the sustainability of peat-mining and the importance of bogs in mitigating climate change. Prof. Hans Joosten of the Paleoecology group emphasizes the necessity for the rewetting of bogs and shortly describes the research in project WETSCAPES.
Follow this link to the video (German only).
New position available!
We are hiring a new PhD student starting January 15, 2019 in our new project PRIMA! Apply until December 31, 2018: contact Jürgen Kreyling.
Read the full job offer here (see page 3 for english!).
New MSc/BSc thesis topics online!
New topics for MSc and BSc theses are now online!
If you are interested in specific topics, please contact the responsible person! In case of questions concerning several topics or your own ideas please contact Prof. Jürgen Kreyling.
Gesche Blume Werry on permafrost in podcast
Gesche Blume Werry and other young researchers from Sweden are talking about changes in permafrost and its global effects in the podcast Threshold.
Listen to Episode 3: Impermafrost!