With global change (e.g. climate change, land use changes) plant communities and ecosystems may dramatically change in their composition and functioning. These complex ecological processes are difficult to study and understand because many different factors interact. We use two study systems to gain a multivariate understanding of ecological change processes. In both study systems we compare ecological patterns and processes across multiple case studies distributed worldwide. These two study systems are oceanic islands and elevational gradients in mountains. In my research I combine experimental plant ecology, functional ecology and statistical modelling (e.g. species distribution modelling).

A second research interest is transdisciplinary research on global ecological change. There I collaborate with social scientists, psychologists and philosophers to develop problem-solving strategies that adequately account for scientific uncertainties, valuation issues, and institutional and socioeconomic constraints to implementation.

• Functional ecology of invasive plants
• Functional ecology of oceanic island plants
• Plant conservation on oceanic islands
• Plant invasions on oceanic islands
• Plant invasions in mountains  
• Transdisciplinary research on ecological change with climate change

► Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1EJBgD8AAAAJ&hl=en

• Rapid upwards spread of non-native plants in mountains across continents
  E Iseli, C Chisholm, J Lenoir, S Haider, T Seipel, A Barros, AL Hargreaves, ...
  Nature Ecology & Evolution 7 (3), 405-413, 2022
• Think globally, measure locally: The MIREN standardized protocol for monitoring plant species distributions along elevation gradients
  Haider, Sylvia; Lembrechts, Jonas J.; McDougall, Keith; Pauchard, Anibal; Alexander, Jake M.; et al.
  Ecology And Evolution 10.1002/ece3.8590  FEB 2022
• Horticultural plant use as a so-far neglected pillar of ex situ conservation
  Ismail, Sascha A.; Pouteau, Robin; van Kleunen, Mark; Maurel, Noelie; Kueffer, Christoph
  Conservation Letters 10.1111/conl.12825  SEP 2021
• Promoting wildflower biodiversity in dense and green cities: The important role of small vegetation patches
  Vega, Kevin A.; Kuffer, Christoph
  Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127165  JUL 2021
• Discovering the wild side of urban plants through public engagement
  Vega, Kevin A.; Schlaepfer-Miller, Juanita; Kueffer, Christoph
  Plants People Planet10.1002/ppp3.10191  JUL 2021
• Human impact, climate and dispersal strategies determine plant invasion on islands
  Irl, Severin D. H.; Schweiger, Andreas H.; Steinbauer, Manuel J.; Ah-Peng, Claudine; Arevalo, Jose Ramon; et al.
  Journal Of Biogeography   10.1111/jbi.14119  Early Access: MAY 2021
• Moving up and over: redistribution of plants in alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic ecosystems under global change
  Rew, Lisa J.; McDougall, Keith L.; Alexander, Jake M.; Daehler, Curtis C.; Essl, Franz; et al.
  Arctic Antarctic And Alpine Research   DOI: 10.1080/15230430.2020.1845919   JAN 1 2020
• Endemic macrophyte is more plastic than two cosmopolitan species in fluctuating water levels and nutrient-enriched conditions
  Packer, Jasmin G.; Ganf, George; Kueffer, Cristoph; Facelli, Jose M.; Pysek, Petr
  Transactions Of The Royal Society Of South Australia   DOI: 10.1080/03721426.2020.1848981   DEC 2020
• Time for a biodiversity turn in sustainability science
  Kueffer, Christoph; Di Giulio, Manuela; Hauser, Katrin; Wiedmer, Caroline
  Gaia-ecological Perspectives For Science And Society   DOI: 10.14512/gaia.29.4.14   2020
• A conceptual map of invasion biology: Integrating hypotheses into a consensus network
  Enders, M; Havemann, F; Ruland, F; Bernard-Verdier, M; Catford, JA; Gomez-Aparicio, L; Haider, S; Heger, T; Kueffer, C; Kuhn, I; Meyerson, LA; Musseau, C; Novoa, A; Ricciardi, A; Sagouis, A; Schittko, C; Strayer, DL; Vila, M; Essl, F; Hulme, PE; van Kleunen, M; Kumschick, S ; Lockwood, JL; Mabey, AL; McGeoch, MA; Palma, E; Pysek, P; Saul, WC; Yannelli, FA; Jeschke, JM
  GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY DOI: 10.1111/geb.13082  MAR 2020
• Invasion syndromes: a systematic approach for predicting biological invasions and facilitating effective management
  Novoa, Ana; Richardson, David M.; Pysek, Petr; Meyerson, Laura A.; Bacher, Sven; et al.
  Biological Invasions  10.1007/s10530-020-02220-w  MAR 2020
• …

• Co-founder Environmental Humanities Switzerland, http://environmentalhumanities.ch
• Steering Committee member, Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), http://www.mountaininvasions.org
• Member, working group ‘Transdisciplinarity’ of SAGUF, https://saguf.ch