Current main research projects
Evolution of plant defenses during knotweed invasion
In this project...
People: Ramona Irimia, Isolde van Riemsdijk, Madalin Parepa, Christina Richards, Oliver Bossdorf
Funding: DFG, 2020 - 2022
Research
Our group works on a broad range of questions in plant ecology and evolutionary biology. The current main research themes are (1) the ecology and evolution of invasive species, (2) how plants respond to global change through phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution, and (3) ecological epigenetics. We also maintain – in the tradition of the previous group – several lines of research on the biology of fungi and plant-fungi interactions. We love experiments, and we sometimes combine them with observation, molecular or conceptual work.
Evolutionary Ecology
- Epigenetic diversity of grassland plants in the Biodiversity Exploratories (EpiDiv)
- Phenotypic plasticity and plant adaptation to variable environments
- Genetic differentiation and local adaptation among seed origins used for grassland restoration
- Evolution of plant phenotypic plasticity in response to grassland management (EvoPlast)
- Genomics of rapid Evolution in Novel Environments (GrENE net)
- Evolutionary responses of plants to environmental changes through
the lens of ecological theories (AraBreed) - Back to the Future
Biological invasions
- Exotic plant invasion under increased environmental variability
- WhoIsNext - Climate change and escaping ornamentals
- Invasion ecology of exotic knotweeds (Fallopia ssp.)
- Global Garlic Mustard Field Survey (GGMFS)