We study the functioning of plants, microbes and ecosystems, the mechanisms underlying the spatial and temporal patterns therein, and especially their reciprocal relations with several global changes. Our key research foci are:

  1. impacts of- and nature-based solutions for climate change,
  2. biogeochemistry and nutrient imbalances,
  3. functioning of complex systems and biodiversity loss, 
  4. plant growth and biomass production.

To enable research of the highest standards, PLECO has built world-leading infrastructures to perform long-term observations and to conduct manipulative experiments. Our analytical approaches further include modelling and statistical meta-analysis of self-constructed as well as external databases.