Most of our research is concerned with drivers and functional consequences of biodiversity change, with the ecology and evolution of rare and invasive plants, with Alpine ecology, with Botanical Gardens (Botanical Garden of the University of Bern), and with conservation biology.

• Plant and animal functional diversity drive mutualistic network assembly across an elevational gradient
  Albrecht, J; Classen, A; Vollstadt, MGR; Mayr, A; Mollel, NP; Costa, DS; Dulle, HI; Fischer, M; Hemp, A; Howell, KM; Kleyer, M; Nauss, T; Peters, MK; Tschapka, M; Steffan-Dewenter, I; Bohning-Gaese, K; Schleuning, M
  NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 9 10.1038/s41467-018-05610-w AUG 9 2018
• Opportunities for research on mountain biodiversity under global change
  Payne, D; Spehn, EM; Snethlage, M; Fischer, M
  CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, 29 40-47; 10.1016/j.cosust.2017.11.001 DEC 2017
• Understanding the evolutionary potential of epigenetic variation: a comparison of heritable phenotypic variation in epiRILs, RILs, and natural ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana
  Zhang, Yuan-Ye; Latzel, Vit; Fischer, Markus; Bossdorf, Oliver
  HEREDITY, 121 (3):257-265; 10.1038/s41437-018-0095-9 SEP 2018
• Connecting experimental biodiversity research to real-world grasslands
  Buchmann T; Schumacher J; Ebeling A; Eisenhauer N ; Fischer M; Gleixner G; Hacker N; Lange M; Oelmann Y; Schulze ED; Weigelt A; Weisser WW; Wilcke W; Roscher C
  PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS Volume: 33 Pages: 78-88 DOI: 10.1016/j.ppees.2018.06.002 AUG 2018
• Land use intensity, rather than plant species richness, affects the leaching risk of multiple nutrients from permanent grasslands
  Klaus VH; Kleinebecker T; Busch V; Fischer M; Holzel N; Nowak S; Prati D; Schafer D; Schoning I; Schrumpf M; Hamer U
  GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 24 (7):2828-2840; 10.1111/gcb.14123 JUL 2018
• Contribution of the soil seed bank to the restoration of temperate grasslands by mechanical sward disturbance
  Klaus, VH; Hoever, CJ; Fischer, M; Hamer, U; Kleinebecker, T; Mertens, D; Schafer, D; Prati, D; Holzel, N
  RESTORATION ECOLOGY, 26 S114-S122; 2 SI https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12626 JUN 2018
• Does plant diversity affect the water balance of established grassland systems?
  Leimer S; Bischoff S; Boch S; Busch V; Escher P; Fischer M; Hansel F; Holzel N; Kerber K; Klaus VH; Kleinebecker T; Michalzik B; Nauss T; Schafer D; Schoning I; Schwarz MT; Siemens J; Thieme L; Wollauer S; Wilcke W
  ECOHYDROLOGY, 11 (4):10.1002/eco.1945 JUN 2018
• Hemiparasite-density effects on grassland plant diversity, composition and biomass
  Heer, N; Klimmek, F; Zwahlen, C; Fischer, M; Holzel, N; Klaus, VH; Kleinebecker, T; Prati, D; Boch, S
  PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS, 32 22-29; 10.1016/j.ppees.2018.01.004 JUN 2018
• Intra- and interspecific tree diversity promotes multitrophic plant-Hemiptera-ant interactions in a forest diversity experiment
  Cao, HX; Klein, AM; Zhu, CD; Staab, M; Durka, W; Fischer, M; Fornoff, F
  BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY, 29 89-97; 10.1016/j.baae.2018.03.005 JUN 2018
• High land-use intensity exacerbates shifts in grassland vegetation composition after severe experimental drought
  Stampfli, A; Bloor, JMG; Fischer, M; Zeiter, M
  GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 24 (5):2021-2034; https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14046 MAY 2018
• Effects of mowing, grazing and fertilization on soil seed banks in temperate grasslands in Central Europe
  Klaus, VH; Schafer, D; Prati, D; Busch, V; Hamer, U; Hoever, CJ; Kleinebecker, T; Mertens, D; Fischer, M; Holzel, N
  AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 256 211-217; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.11.008 MAR 15 2018
• Redefining ecosystem multifunctionality
  Manning, P; van der Plas, F; Soliveres, S; Allan, E; Maestre, F T; Mace, G; Whittingham, M J; Fischer, M
  NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2 (3):427-436; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0461-7 MAR 2018
• Two closely related species differ in their regional genetic differentiation despite admixing
  Schmidt, Lisanna; Fischer, Markus; Oja, Tatjana
  AOB PLANTS, 10 (1): https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/ply007 FEB 2018

• Evolutionary Ecology
• Functional Biodiversity Research
• Conservation Biology
• Invasion Biology
• Alpine Ecology

Often in the framework of several larger research units in Switzerland, Germany, China and Africa we collaborate with

• Molecular biologists
• Population geneticists and biologists
• Biodiversity and ecosystem researchers of all kinds
• Modelers, mostly on plant interactions with other organisms.