Modern ecology links to the past

The figure visualizing the current estate of our planet show a scientist (like Alexander von Humbolt in a highly diverse neotropical rainforest on the left), who now consciously studies the nature he lives in. Grasslands mediate between forests and deserts, which now spread. All cultivable land is nowadays opened up by highways and railroads. Desert plants, like cacti, are used as models for economization and recovery of water like fog collectors. Alpine glaciers retreat due to climate change.

In a nutshell

What does our research in this field focus on?
The past is the key to the present, and the present is the key to the past. This basic principle is the reason why the biogeology group also analyzes the actual ecological state of our planet. which is now heavily affected by human activities.

Which key methods or approaches do we commonly use?
For that we use a broad range of methods from pollen analysis, micrometeorology, soil science and isotopic tracking of trophic relationships to eco-physiological measurements during simulation experiments.

What is our main contribution to this research field?
We analyze structure, function and dynamics of ecosystems during the Anthropocene with special focus on human impact on climate conditions, biodiversity patterns and ecosystem services. In particular we examine the role of plants in water, carbon and nutrient cycling and use them as blueprints for nature inspired adaptions strategies towards climate change.

Associated Projects

Fog plant oases (FPO)

Garapia Agroforestry Project (GAP)

Core research team & scientific network

Biogeology research group

Scientific network

Dr. Huei Gan, University of Hohenheim (Germany)
Dr. Carsten Nowak, SGN Frankfurt (Germany)
Sabrina Streif, FVA Freiburg (Germany)
prof. Hjalmar Kühl, SGN Görlitz (Germany)

PhD, M.Sc. and B.Sc. students

Ongoing

Vivien Hirsch (B.Sc. Geowissenschaften):
Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for Late Cretaceous Hateg Island. (M. Ebner, H. Bocherens)

Nicole Riedinger (B.Sc. Biologie):
Life history of wildcats written in their whiskers (working titel). (C. Baumann, N. Anthes)

2025

Maxim Julius Pfeiffer (B.Sc. Geoökologie):
Vergleich der Aufnahme von Nebel- und Tauwasser durch Tillandsien aus zwei kontrastierenden Habitaten: Atacama-Wüste und Atlantischer Regenwald Brasiliens (M. Ebner, T. Miranda, H. Bocherens)

2024

Ayenne Sara Akarsu (B.Sc. Biologie):
Pilotstudie zur Haarisotopenanalyse für die Wildkatze, Hauskatze und Hybride aus dem Markgräflerland und Taunus (C. Baumann, N. Anthes)

2023

Eva Brehm (B.Sc. Geowissenschaften):
Funktion von Moosen als Partikelfallen und Wasserregulatoren. (H. Bocherens, M. Ebner)

2022

Moritz Baumeister (B.Sc. Geoökologie):
Characterization of sandy substrates in the Namib fog desert in terms of hydrology and habitat conditions. (H. Bocherens & M. Ebner) < see joint article >

Benjamin Stocker (B.Sc. Geoökologie):
Simulation experiments for assessment of fog harvest efficiency of leaves versus artificial objects - Impact of dimension, arrangement and surface structure. (H. Bocherens, M. Ebner)

2021

Raija Heikklia (M.Sc. Naturwissenschaftliches Archäologie):
Untangling human-reindeer relationships in Little Ice Age (17-19^th Century) Fennoscandia using a multi-istope (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ³⁴S) approach. (C. Spiteri, D. Drucker, A.K. Salmi)

Michael Usselmann (B.Sc. Geoökologie):
Die hydrologischen Eigenschaften mitteleuropäischer Laubmoose mit Bezug auf die Morphologie und den Lebensraum. (H. Bocherens, M. Ebner)

2020

Lydia Papkalla (M.Sc. Geowissenschaften):
Determining the diet and ecology of Canis lupus using stable isotope analysis. (H. Bocherens, H. Ansorge)

Paula Eisnecker (B.Sc. Geoökologie):
The influence of a moss cover on gable roofs on microclimate and the water cycle. (H. Bocherens, M. Ebner)

Felix Gschwender (B.Sc. Geoökologie):
Adaptation of Stipagrostis sabulicola to life in the Namib Desert. (H. Bocherens, M. Ebner) < see joint article >

Recent publications

Albrecht, J., Bocherens, H., Hobson, K., Drucker, D., Sergiel, A., Swenson, J., Zedrosser, A., Marciszak, A., Iregren, E., Drenzel, L., Kysely, R., Lipecki, G., Makowiecki, D., Wagner, J., Zwijacz-Kozica, T., Fritz, S., Revilla, E., Selva, N., 2025. Dynamic omnivory shapes the functional role of large carnivores under global change. Nature Communication16:10896. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65959-7
Ebner, M., Poli, F., Keil, R., Radtke, R., Miranda, T., 2020. In: (Werneburg, I., Betz, O., Eds) Phylogenie, Funktionsmorphologie und Bionik. Schriften zum 60. Phylogenetischen Symposium in Tübingen. Scidinge Hall Verlag Tübingen, 332 p.
Ebner, M., Roth-Nebelsick, A., Bocherens, H., Gschwender, F., Baumeister, M., Miranda Ebner, N., Hohberg, K., Gan, H.Y., Schneider, C., Maggs-Kölling, G., Marais, E., Lehmitz, R., Miranda, T., 2025. The fog harvesting Namib desert dune grass Stipagrostis sabulicola promotes establishment of oases-ecosystems by modifying substrate and atmosphere conditions. Journal of Arid Environments 227: 105312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105312
Fordham, D., Brown, S.C., Canteri, E., Austin, J., Lomolino, M., Haythorne, S., Armstrong, E., Bocherens, H., Manica, A., Rey-Iglesia, A., Rahbek, C., Nogues-Bravo, D., Lorenzen, E.D., 2024. 52,000 years of woolly rhinoceros population dynamics reveal extinction mechanism. PNAS 121(24): e2316419121.
Gan, H.Y., Hohberg, K., Schneider, C., Ebner, M., Marais, E., Miranda, T., Lehmitz, R., Maggs-Kölling, G., Bocherens, H. (2024) The hidden oases: unveiling trophic dynamics in Namib’s fog plant ecosystem. Sci Rep 14, 13334 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61796-8
Hohberg, K., Gan, H.Y., Miranda, T., Schneider, C., Magss-Kölling, G., Marais, E., Lehmitz, R., Bocherens, H., Ebner, M., 2023. Nebel Pflanzen Oasen. Senckenberg / Natur-Forschung-Museum 153(7-9): 110-121.
Konrad, W., Roth-Nebelsick, A., Kessel, B., Miranda, T., Ebner, M., Schott, R., Nebelsick, J., in press. The impact of raindrops on Salvinia molesta leaves — effects of trichomes and elasticity, Journal of the Royal Society Interface 18: 20210676. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0676
Llamas, B., van Loenen, A., Mitchelle, K.J., Hofman-Kaminska, E., Bocherens, H., Heiniger, H., Pacher, M., Makowiecki, D., Pilicinauskiene, G., Drucker, D.G., Brown, D., Thomas, Z.A., Turney, C.S.M., Kowalczyk, R., Cooper, A., 2025. Coexistence, extinction and survival – evolutionary history of Bison species in Western Eurasia. Global Change Biology 31(8): e70354. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70354
Miranda, T., Roth-Nebelsick, A., Junginger, A., Ebner, M., 2020. Habitat conditions, spatial districution and trichome morphology of different species of Tillandsia growing on trees on the Ilha Grande Island, Brazil. Flora 272: 151692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2020.151692
Roth-Nebelsick, A., Konrad, W., Ebner, M., Miranda, T., Thielen, SL, Nebelsick, J.H., 2022. When rain collides with plants - patterns and forces of drop impact and how leaves respond to them. Journal of Experimental Botany 73: 1155-1175. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac004
Shaikh, S., Bocherens, H., Suraprasit. K. 2025. Stable isotope ecology of Quaternary cervid and bovid species in Southeast Asia with implications for wildlife conservation. Scientific Reports 15 : 3939. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88065-6
Thielen, S.M., Gall, C., Ebner, M., Nebel, M., Scholten, T., Seitz, S., 2021. Water's path from moss to soil: A multi-methodological study on water absorption and evaporation of soil-moss combinations. J. Hydrol. Hydromech. 69(4): 421-435. https://sciendo.com/de/article/10.2478/johh-2021-0021