Research

The goal of ITES' research is to strengthen the scientific basis for the sustainable use of terrestrial natural resources. ITES explores the functioning of terrestrial environments as interconnected systems of physical, chemical, and biological processes and their response to management using quantitative methods. This requires a broad range of disciplines. The basic units of analysis are landscapes at spatial scales of hectares to many square kilometers, and temporal scales spanning years to centuries. These are the scales relevant to effective land management decisions, and they thus guide the integrative scientific core mission of ITES' research.

In particular, the research of the professorships of ITES addresses the following topics:

Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution: Climate change • Spatial mechanistic models • Biodiversity • Ecological interactions • Landscape change

Ecosystem Management: Climate change • Plant reproductive ecology • Conservation genetics • Land management • Ecosystem services

Forest Ecology: Forest dynamics • Mountain ecosystems • Population dynamics • Global change • Ecological processes

Forest Resources Management: Forest management planning • Forest dynamics • Spatial decision support systems • GIS based modelling and planning • Risk management

Physics of Soils and Terrestrial Ecosystems: Vadose Zone Hydrology • Soil-Plant Water Relations • Root water uptake • Rhizosphere • Plant Drought Tolerance

Soil Resources: Soil development • Biogeochemical cycling • Tropical biogeochemistry• Soil degradation • Alpine and arctic greening