Research in the Grassland Sciences group focuses on the process- and system-oriented understanding of functional plant diversity and of ecosystem biogeochemistry, in particular biospheric-atmospheric greenhouse gas exchange, both in response to human and biophysical drivers, across spatial and temporal scales.

Based on a multidisciplinary approach, we use classical ecological methods and further develop innovative tools, such as stable isotope analyses and micrometeorological measurements, in our observational and experimental studies.

• Effects of plant productivity and species richness on the drought response of soil respiration in temperate grasslands
  Burri, S; Niklaus, PA; Grassow, K; Buchmann, N; Kahmen, A
  PLOS ONE 13(12) Article Number: e0209031, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209031, DEC 21 2018
• Multiple facets of biodiversity drive the diversity-stability relationship
  Craven, D; Eisenhauer, N; Pearse, WD; Hautier, Y; Isbell, F; Roscher, C; Bahn, M; Beierkuhnlein, C; Bonisch, G; Buchmann, N; Byun, C; Catford, JA; Cerabolini, BEL; Cornelissen, JHC; Craine, JM; De Luca, E; Ebeling, A; Griffin, JN; Hector, A; Hines, J; Jentsch, A; Kattge, J; Kreyling, J; Lanta, V; Lemoine, N; Meyer, ST; Minden, V; Onipchenko, V; Polley, HW; Reich, PB; van Ruijven, J; Schamp, B; Smith, MD; Soudzilovskaia, NA; Tilman, D; Weigelt, A; Wilsey, B; Manning, P
  NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2 (10):1579-1587; 10.1038/s41559-018-0647-7 OCT 2018
• The effect of saline-alkaline and water stresses on water use efficiency and standing biomass of Phragmites australis and Bolboschoenus planiculmis
  Liu, Y; Ding, Z; Bachofen, C; Lou, YJ; Jiang, M; Tang, XG; Lu, XG; Buchmann, N
  SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 644 207-216; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.321 DEC 10 2018
• Functional groups differ in trait means, but not in trait plasticity to species richness in local grassland communities
  Roscher, C; Schumacher, J; Lipowsky, A; Gubsch, M; Weigelt, A; Schmid, B; Buchmann, N; Schulze, ED
  ECOLOGY, 99 (10):2295-2307; 10.1002/ecy.2447 OCT 2018
• Climate and soils together regulate photosynthetic carbon isotope discrimination within C-3 plants worldwide
  Cornwell, WK; Wright, IJ; Turner, J; Maire, V; Barbour, MM; Cernusak, LA; Dawson, T; Ellsworth, D; Farquhar, GD; Griffiths, H; Keitel, C; Knohl, A; Reich, PB; Williams, DG; Bhaskar, R; Cornelissen, JHC; Richards, A; Schmidt, S; Valladares, F; Korner, C; Schulze, ED; Buchmann, N; Santiago, LS
  GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, 27 (9):1056-1067; https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12764 SEP 2018
• Management matters: testing a mitigation strategy for nitrous oxide emissions using legumes on intensively managed grassland
  Fuchs, K; Hortnagl, L; Buchmann, N; Eugster, W; Snow, V; Merbold, L
  BIOGEOSCIENCES, 15 (18):5519-5543; 10.5194/bg-15-5519-2018 SEP 18 2018
• Integrated management of a Swiss cropland is not sufficient to preserve its soil carbon pool in the long term
  Emmel, C; Winkler, A; Hortnagl, L; Revill, A; Ammann, C; D'Odorico, P; Buchmann, N; Eugster, W
  BIOGEOSCIENCES, 15 (17):5377-5393; 10.5194/bg-15-5377-2018 SEP 6 2018
• Employing stable isotopes to determine the residence times of soil water and the temporal origin of water taken up by Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies in a temperate forest
  Brinkmann, N; Seeger, S; Weiler, M; Buchmann, N; Eugster, W; Kahmen, A
  NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 219 (4):1300-1313; 10.1111/nph.15255 SEP 2018
• Interspecific trait differences rather than intraspecific trait variation increase the extent and filling of community trait space with increasing plant diversity in experimental grasslands
  Roscher, C; Schumacher, J; Gubsch, M; Lipowsky, A; Weigelt, A; Buchmann, N; Schulze, ED; Schmid, B
  PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS, 33 42-50; 10.1016/j.ppees.2018.05.001 AUG 2018
• Tackling Food System Challenges through Experiential Education Criteria for Optimal Course Design
  Grant, M; Shreck, A; Buchmann, N
  GAIA-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY, 27 (1):169-175; 10.14512/gaia.27.1.13 2018
• How do leaf trait values change spatially and temporally with light availability in a grassland diversity experiment?
  Bachmann, Dorte; Roscher, Christiane; Buchmann, Nina
  OIKOS, 127 (7):935-948; 10.1111/oik.04533 JUL 2018
• Trait means, trait plasticity and trait differences to other species jointly explain species performances in grasslands of varying diversity
  Roscher, C; Gubsch, M; Lipowsky, A; Schumacher, J; Weigelt, A; Buchmann, N; Schulze, ED; Schmid, B
  OIKOS, 127 (6):855-865; 10.1111/oik.04815 JUN 2018
• Crops, Nitrogen, Water: Are Legumes Friend, Foe, or Misunderstood Ally?
  Adams, MA; Buchmann, N; Sprent, J; Buckley, TN; Turnbull, TL
  TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE, 23 (6):539-550; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2018.02.009 JUN 2018
• Origin context of trait data matters for predictions of community performance in a grassland biodiversity experiment
  Roscher, C; Schumacher, J; Gubsch, M; Lipowsky, A; Weigelt, A; Buchmann, N; Schmid, B; Schulze, ED
  ECOLOGY, 99 (5):1214-1226; MAY 2018
• Greenhouse gas fluxes over managed grasslands in Central Europe
  Hortnagl, L; Barthel, M; Buchmann, N; Eugster, W; Butterbach-Bahl, K; Diaz-Pines, E; Zeeman, M; Klumpp, K; Kiese, R; Bahn, M; Hammerle, A; Lu, HY; Ladreiter-Knauss, T; Burri, S; Merbold, L
  GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 24 (5):1843-1872; https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1293-2018 MAY 2018
• Impacts of droughts and extreme-temperature events on gross primary production and ecosystem respiration: a systematic assessment across ecosystems and climate zones
  Authors: von Buttlar, J; Zscheischler, J; Rammig, A; et al.
  Source: BIOGEOSCIENCES, 15 (5):1293-1318; 10.5194/bg-15-1293-2018 MAR 5 2018 
• Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study
  Authors: Milcu, A; Puga-Freitas, R; Ellison, AM; et al.
  Source: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2 (2):279-+; 10.1038/s41559-017-0434-x FEB 2018 
• Biodiversity-multifunctionality relationships depend on identity and number of measured functions
  Authors: Meyer, ST; Ptacnik, R; Hillebrand, H; et al.
  Source: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2 (1):44-49; 10.1038/s41559-017-0391-4 JAN 2018
• Resilient Leaf Physiological Response of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) to Summer Drought and Drought Release 
  Author(s): Pflug, Ellen E.; Buchmann, Nina; Siegwolf, Rolf T. W.; et al. 
  Source: FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE, 9: FEB 19 2018

• Plant and Ecosystem Ecophysiology
• Biogeochemistry
• Greenhouse Gas Exchange (CO₂, H₂O, CH₄, N₂O)
• Biodiversity & Ecosystem Functioning
• Stable Isotope Ecology
• Policy Advice

• Global change biology
• Sustainable and efficient resource use.
• Ecosystem Ecology