--- Former member --- Now Director of the Biogeochemical Signals department

Sönke Zaehle

Director of the Biogeochemical Signals department fomerly: Scientist, Leader of the Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling Research Group room: C3.015 phone: +49 3641 576230 fax: +49 3641 577200 email: szaehle(at)bgc-jena.mpg.de

Professional background | My work at MPI-BGC | Research interests | Publications

Research Interests:

My main research interest lies in the quantification of the effects of nutrient limitation (nitrogen & phosphorus) on terrestrial biosphere dynamics (carbon cycling, water and energy balance, vegetation dynamics) and their interactions with the Earth system. My research focuses on the development and application of large-scale process-based terrestrial biosphere models to understand the interactions between land-surface and atmospheric processes. While such models are powerful tools to quantify biophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks mechanisms, they are subject to large uncertainties resulting from incomplete understanding of key processes. A significant proportion of my research is therefore dedicated to use new ecophysiological knowledge to improve key land surface processes in large-scale process-based modeling and to use observational data streams (including plant trait information, in situ measurements, atmospheric concentration measurements, and remote sensing data) to assess and improve these models.

My work at MPI Biogeochemistry

I was recently appointed Director of the newly formed Department of Biogeochemical Signals, succeeding the Department of Biogeochemical Systems led by Prof. Dr. Martin Heimann. Updates will follow in the near future.

My past research foci have been:

• Nutrient cycles and the global carbon cycle
  • QUINCY: Quantifying interactions between terrestrial nutrient cycles and the climate system (ERC consolidator grant; 2015-2020)
    
  • ÉCLAIRE: Air pollution and climate change
    
  • Systematic assessment of uncertainty in coupled carbon-nitrogen cycle models and their climate feedbacks
• Model evaluation and benchmarking activities
  • FACE model-data synthesis project (2008-2017)
    
  • Coordinated Research in Earth Systems and Climate: Experiments, kNowledge, Dissemination and Outreach (2015-2020)
    
• Carbon Cycle Synthesis studies
  
  • Carbon-Cycle Data Assimilation System using the MPI Earth System model land surface scheme: JSBACH
  • TRENDY: Trends in net land carbon exchange over the contemporary period.
    

Teaching:

In the winter-term, I contribute to the lecture series climatology for physical geographers at the Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena.

I also contribute to PhD-level courses on terrestrial and Earth system modeling and global change.

Community service:

I act as associate editor for the journal Biogeosciences, and as advisor for the journal New Phytologist.

I am a member of the Michael Stifel Centre Jena for data-driven and simulation-based science at the Friedrich Schiller Universität, Jena, and a faculty member of the IMPRS for Global Biogeochemical Cycles.

I am a member of the scientific steering committee of the German Climate Computing Service DKRZ.

Selected peer-reviewed publications:

Meyerholt, J., Sickel, K., Zaehle, S. (2020). Ensemble projections elucidate effects of uncertainty in terrestrial nitrogen limitation on future carbon uptake. Global Change Biology, 00: 1– 19. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15114
Thum, T., et al., Zaehle, S. (2019). A new terrestrial biosphere model with coupled carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles (QUINCY v1.0; revision 1772). Geoscientific Model Development, 12(11), 4781-4802. doi:10.5194/gmd-12-4781-2019.
Knauer, J., Zaehle, S., et al. (2017). The response of ecosystem water-use efficiency to rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations: sensitivity and large-scale biogeochemical implications. New Phytologist, 213(4), 1654-1666. doi:10.1111/nph.14288.
Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S. et al. (2015) Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models. Nature Climate Change, doi: doi:10.1038/nclimate2621
Zaehle, S. et al. (2014) Evaluation of 11 terrestrial carbon–nitrogen cycle models against observations from two temperate Free-Air CO2 Enrichment studies. New Phytologist, 202, 803-822. See also the related commentary by G. Bonan
Zaehle, S., Ciais P., Friend A.D., Prieur V. (2011) Carbon benefits of anthropogenic reactive nitrogen offset by nitrous oxide emissions. Nature Geoscience doi:0.1038/NGEO1207.
Zaehle, S., Dalmonech, D. (2011) Carbon-nitrogen interactions on land at global scales: Current understanding in modelling climate biosphere feedbacks. Current Opinions in Environmental Sustainability 3, 311-20; 10.1016/j.cosust.2011.08.008.
Zaehle, S., Friedlingstein, P., and Friend, A.D. (2010) Terrestrial nitrogen feedbacks may accelerate future climate change. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L01401: doi:10.1029/2009GL041345.
Zaehle, S., et al. 2006) The importance of age-related decline in forest NPP for modeling regional carbon balances Ecological Applications 16(4) 1555-1574.
Zaehle, S., et al. (2005) Effects of parameter uncertainties on the modeling of terrestrial biosphere dynamics Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 19 GB3020, doi:10.1029/2004GB002395.

Follow link for a full list of publications.

Professional background