Global Change and Soil Ecology

The research conducted in my group focuses on the consequences of environmental change for plant communities and the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and water in ecosystems. A special emphasis is on plant-soil interactions in both agronomic and natural ecosystems, and how these affect soil structure and the ecosystem's greenhouse gas balance (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O). Methodologically, these questions are tackled using a wide range of analytical tools, including isotope labelling, gas exchange techniques, and the genetic analysis of soil microbial communities.

• Precipitation patterns and N availability alter plant-soil microbial C and N dynamics
  Engelhardt, Ilonka C.; Niklaus, Pascal A.; Bizouard, Florian; Breuil, Marie-Christine; Rouard, Nadine; et al.
  Plant And Soil 10.1007/s11104-021-05015-7  SEP 2021
• Soil Fungi Promote Biodiversity-Productivity Relationships in Experimental Communities of Young Trees
  Yang, Bo; Liang, Yu; Schmid, Bernhard; Baruffol, Martin; Li, Yangfan; He, Ling; Salmon, Yann; Tian, Qiuyang; Niklaus, Pascal A.; Ma, Keping
  Ecosystems 10.1007/s10021-021-00689-7  AUG 2021
• Remotely sensed between-individual functional trait variation in a temperate forest
  Guillen-Escriba, Carla; Schneider, Fabian D.; Schmid, Bernhard; Tedder, Andrew; Morsdorf, Felix; Furrer, Reinhard; Hueni, Andreas; Niklaus, Pascal A.; Schaepman, Michael E
  Ecology And Evolution 10.1002/ece3.7758  AUG 2021
• Ecological and evolutionary approaches to improving crop variety mixtures
  Wuest, Samuel E.; Peter, Roland; Niklaus, Pascal A.
  Nature Ecology & Evolution 10.1038/s41559-021-01497-x  AUG 2021
• Effects of plant community history, soil legacy and plant diversity on soil microbial communities
  Schmid, Marc W.; van Moorsel, Sofia J.; Hahl, Terhi; De Luca, Enrica; De Deyn, Gerlinde B.; Wagg, Cameron; Niklaus, Pascal A.; Schmid, Bernhard
  Journal Of Ecology 10.1111/1365-2745.13714  AUG 2021
• How does leaf functional diversity affect the light environment in forest canopies? An in-silico biodiversity experiment
  Plekhanova, Elena; Niklaus, Pascal A.; Gastellu-Etchegorry, Jean-Philippe; Schaepman-Strub, Gabriela
  Ecological Modelling,   DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109394 JAN 15 2021
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• Carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems
• Mechanisms controlling soil greenhouse gas efflux incl. CH₄ and N₂O
• Effects of plant biodiversity on the structure and functioning of ecosystems