Joinus_olds

Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern Start of employment: 01.09.2024 (latest) Temporary employment Our group for Geocomputation and Earth Observation develops new model and data integration methods to gain a mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical cycling in ecosystems, water-carbon coupling, and forest responses to climate change.

Background The gross primary production (GPP) of an ecosystem, that is, the carbon it assimilates via photosynthesis, differs strongly from one year to the next. This variability between years is called the interannual variability (IAV) of GPP and the reasons for why GPP can change substantially from year to year are unclear.

Our group for Geocomputation and Earth Observation develops new model and data integration methods to gain a mechanistic understanding of the terrestrial biosphere. We are hosted at the Geography Institute of the University of Bern and work at the intersection of Earth system science, remote sensing, ecology, and hydrology.

Background Global terrestrial gross primary production (GPP), i.e., the uptake of CO2 by terrestrial plants, is often limited by the availability of soil water for evapotranspiration (ET). The amount of water a plant can take up from the soil depends on the soil texture, the depth of plant roots, and the storage capacity of the soil in the plant’s rooting zone.

Background The rate of CO2 uptake by photosynthesis is determined by the acclimation of leaves to the prevailing light environment. In dense forests, light intensity decreases exponentially as we go from the top of the canopy towards the ground, as light is absorbed and scattered by leaves.

Background Global terrestrial gross primary production (GPP), i.e., the uptake of CO2 by terrestrial plants, is often limited by the availability of soil water. The amount of water a plant can take up from the soil depends on the soil texture, the depth of plant roots, and the storage capacity of the soil in the plant’s rooting zone.

Background There is a current scientific debate if the intensity of the recent 2003, 2015, and 2018 droughts is exceptional in the context of the last millennium. Based on tree-ring reconstructions, some authors find them to be within the range of natural variability (Ionita et al.

Eco-evolutionary optimality for global photosynthesis and transpiration modelling

Modelling the carbon cycle impacts of preindustrial land use change