Ecophysiology | Plant Functional Ecology | Applied Botany
and their applications in agriculture, forestry and land restoration - Dr. Maik Veste
The research fields are with in general and physiological ecology of terrestrial ecosystems and their applications in agriculture, forestry and post-mining restoration. A key question is the integration of plant ecophysiology into understanding biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functioning.
Major approaches includes investigations of plant ecophysiological and biogeochemical responces to environmental variations, disturbances, and climate variability. Short-term acclimation and long-term adaptation of plants to changing environmental conditions are the focus of the ecophysiological investigations. Understanding these basic physiological processes and their response to biotic and abiotic stress is crutical for plant production and ecosystem function and ecosystem services. The analyses is based on measurements of ecophysiological parameters like leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, water-use efficiency, plant water status, and chemical analysis of plants and soils in controlled greenhouse experiments and field trials.
Research
- Agroforestry and bioenergy crops
- Biological soil crusts
- Ecophysiology and biophysical ecology
- Ecophysiology of desert plants (Karoo, Namib, Negev)
- Ecological climatology in agro-ecosystems
- Plant biogeochemistry and soil-plant interactions
- Ecosystem development and post-mining restoration
Recent publications
Agrarholz - Schnellwachsende Bäume in der Landwirtschaft
Planting of trees into agricultural systems have economical benefits as they provide timber, fuelwood and other products. In those contemporary agroforestry systems, selection of tree species and their management are more economically oriented towards an optimizing biomass production, use and harvest, especially in short-rotation systems for bioenergy. The book give an overview about biology, ecology and management of fast-growing trees in short-rotation forestry and agroforestry. Read more at Springer
Springer Spektrum November 2018
Key drivers of competition and growth partitioning among Robinia pseudoacacia L. trees.
Competition for above- and below-ground resources depends on their availability and results in varied growth partitioning. This becomes clear as the supply and limitation of the main resources influence the slope of the size-growth relationship in stands. Nevertheless, growth partitioning among trees, especially among black locust (R. pseudoacacia) trees is not understood in sufficient detail. Read more.
Simulating climate change impacts on hybrid-poplar and black locust short-rotation coppies
In Brandenburg, north-eastern Germany, climate change is associated with increasing annual temperatures and decreasing summer precipitation. This paper investigates the prospective growth sensitivity of poplar and black locust SRCs, established in Brandenburg to a variety of weather conditions and long-term climate change, from 2015 to 2054, by a combined experimental and simulation study. Read more.
Identification of spatial pattern of photosynthesis hotspots in biological soil crusts by combining chlorophyll fluorescence imaging and multispectral BNDVI images
For the evaluation of biocrusts functions and their impact on soil carbon pools, the analysis of the interrelationship between photosynthetic activity and the variations of spatial distribution pattern and types of biocrust is indispensable. For this purpose, an image processing approach was applied that combined chlorophyll fluorescence analyses and multispectral BNDVI to comprehensively characterize the spatial patterns of photosynthetic hotspots in biological soil crusts. Read more