Professorship for Vegetation Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation

Organisational unit: Professoship

Organisation profile

As part of the Faculty of Sustainability, our research is deeply rooted in the university's commitment to addressing urgent environmental challenges and fostering sustainable development.

Main research areas

At the heart of our work lies the study of vegetation ecology, a field that explores the intricate interactions between plants, their environment, and the diverse organisms that rely on them. Plant functional traits are a focus of our investigations. By examining the characteristics and behaviours of plants, we gain valuable insights into the functioning of ecosystems and the vital services they provide, such as carbon sequestration, water purification, and habitat creation. By investigating traits like leaf morphology and nutrient acquisition strategies, we gain a better understanding of how plant communities adapt to environmental changes and how this impacts ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity.

Biodiversity conservation is another vital aspect of our research, and we strive to understand the drivers and the consequences of biodiversity loss. Through field studies, experimental approaches, and cutting-edge analytical methods, we investigate the factors influencing species distribution, abundance, and interactions, aiming to guide conservation efforts and promote the preservation of our natural heritage. Many of our research projects focus on using mountains as model systems due to their steep environmental gradients. This allows us to study community composition and biodiversity patterns on a global scale, and to examine how they respond to global change, especially to climate warming, human-induced disturbances, and the introduction of non-native species.

With our teaching activities, we aim to inspire and empower students, fostering their knowledge and critical thinking skills to drive positive change. Our courses provide a comprehensive disciplinary understanding of (vegetation) ecology, biodiversity conservation, and their relevance to sustainable land management, restoration ecology, and the provision of ecosystem services.

 
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  1. Working group “Consensus network of invasion hypotheses”

    Haider, S. (Partner), Jeschke, J. M. (Project manager, academic), Enders, M. (Project manager, academic), Bernard-Verdier, M. (Project staff), Catford, J. A. (Project staff), Gómez-Aparicio, L. (Project staff), Heger, T. (Project staff), Meyerson, L. A. (Project staff), Novoa, A. (Project staff), Ricciardi, A. (Project staff), Vila, M. (Project staff), Essl, F. (Project staff), Hulme, P. E. (Project staff), van Kleunen, M. (Project staff), Lockwood, J. L. (Project staff), Pyšek, P. (Project staff), Strayer, D. L. (Project staff) & Yannelli, F. A. (Project staff)

    01.01.1831.12.18

    Project: Research

  2. Using plant functional traits to reveal mechanisms behind species richness patterns along elevation gradients

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic), Ratier Backes, A. (Project manager, academic), Römermann, C. (Partner), Knight, T. M. (Partner), Keil, P. (Partner), Alexander, J. M. (Partner) & Arévalo, J. R. (Partner)

    01.01.1731.12.21

    Project: Research

  3. TTT: Tundra Trait Team

    Haider, S. (Project staff), Bjorkmann, A. (Project manager, academic) & Myers-Smith, I. H. (Project manager, academic)

    10.05.18 → …

    Project: Research

  4. TreeDi: Tree Diversity Interactions: The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests; P2: Complementarity through trait variation

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic), Harpole, W. S. (Project manager, academic), Ma, Z. (Project manager, academic) & Yang, B. (Project manager, academic)

    01.12.2231.05.27

    Project: Research

  5. TRACE: TRACE – TRAit-environment interactions driving elevational range expansions under ClimatE change

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic) & Ratier Backes, A. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.2231.12.23

    Project: Research

  6. Towards robust detection of plant diversity & management in grasslands’ spectral signals

    Doktor, D. (Project manager, academic) & Haider, S. (Project staff)

    01.01.2231.12.24

    Project: Research

  7. The Mountain TransPlant Network

    Haider, S. (Partner), Chisholm, C. (Project manager, academic), Walker, T. W. N. (Project manager, academic) & Alexander, J. M. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.17 → …

    Project: Research

  8. sUMMITDiv "Europe’s alpine flora: past, present and future"

    Wipf, S. (Project manager, academic), Haider, S. (Partner), Rixen, C. (Partner), Steinbauer, M. J. (Partner), Jurasinski, G. (Partner), Grytnes, J. A. (Partner) & Bjorkmann, A. (Partner)

    10.11.1431.12.18

    Project: Research

  9. sPlot "Plant trait-environment relationships across the world's biomes"

    Bruelheide, H. (Project manager, academic) & Haider, S. (Project staff)

    01.01.13 → …

    Project: Research

  10. SoilTemp Project

    Haider, S. (Project staff), Lembrechts, J. J. (Project manager, academic) & Lenoir, J. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.18 → …

    Project: Research

  11. Met-Total: Plant Meta-Metabolomics – Development of an Unbiased Survey of Habitat-Dependent Metabolic Diversity (Met-Total)

    Wessjohann, L. (Project manager, academic) & Haider, S. (Project staff)

    01.01.2231.12.24

    Project: Research

  12. NEu: Nutrient Network Europe

    Harpole, W. S. (Project manager, academic) & Haider, S. (Partner)

    01.01.2031.12.24

    Project: Research

  13. Nutrient Network

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic) & Eisenhauer, N. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.15 → …

    Project: Research

  14. Near-infrared spectra of leaves as predictors for forest ecosystem functions

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic), Proß, T. (Project manager, academic), Bruelheide, H. (Partner), Potvin, C. (Project manager, academic) & Auge, H. (Partner)

    01.01.17 → …

    Project: Research

  15. Mycorrhizae in tree diversity effects on ecosystem functioning

    Eisenhauer, N. (Project manager, academic), Ferlian, O. (Project manager, academic), Haider, S. (Partner), Bruelheide, H. (Project manager, academic) & Heklau, H. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.17 → …

    Project: Research

  16. MIREN: Mountain Invasion Research Network

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic), Seipel, T. (Partner), Alexander, J. M. (Partner), Arévalo, J. R. (Partner), Küffer, C. (Partner), Lembrechts, J. J. (Partner), McDougall, K. (Partner), Pauchard, A. (Partner) & Rew, L. J. (Partner)

    01.01.06 → …

    Project: Research

  17. RangeX: Mechanisms underlying the success and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of range-expanding species under climate change

    Haider, S. (Project manager, academic), Buhaly, M. (Project staff), Alexander, J. M. (Coordination), Clark, V. R. (Partner), Høye, T. T. (Partner), Kardol, P. (Partner) & Vandvik, V. (Partner)

    01.04.2131.03.25

    Project: Research

  18. Linkages between plant diversity, microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning in subtropical forest

    Haider, S. (Partner), Bruelheide, H. (Partner), Ma, K. (Partner), Erfmeier, A. (Partner), Liang, Y. (Partner), Liu, X. (Partner), Trogisch, S. (Project manager, academic), Wubet, T. (Partner) & Zhang, N. (Partner)

    01.01.1531.12.19

    Project: Research

  19. Impacts of plant invasions on the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional homogeni-zation of mountain ecosystems across a broad latitudinal gradient

    Haider, S. (Project staff), Pauchard, A. (Project manager, academic), Cavieres, L. (Project manager, academic), Bustamante, R. (Project manager, academic), García, R. A. (Project manager, academic) & Marticorena, A. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.1831.12.22

    Project: Research

  20. GCEF: Global Change Experimental Facility

    Haider, S. (Project staff) & Auge, H. (Project manager, academic)

    01.01.13 → …

    Project: Research

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