Norbert Kunert Postdoc Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Hans Knöll Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia CPST Caixa Postal 478, Manaus AM 69011-970,Brazil Phone: +49 3641 57 6107 Email: nkunert(at)bgc-jena.mpg.de

Research Interests

Tropical forests play an important economic, ecological and climatic role on local, regional and global scales. Sustainable management and conservation practices are needed to preserve their high functionality for future generations. My research interest lies in the sustainable management of tropical forests, including tropical old-growth, secondary forests and tropical tree plantations, based on ecological and eco-physiological interactions. My past and recent research focuses on forest ecosystems in the neotropics. My primary expertise is in plant eco-physiological measurements to assess gas exchanges on ecosystem and individual plant level, plant water relations, sap flux as well as soil hydrological measurements. In the past I have worked extensively on plant water relations in a multiple species plantation in Sardinilla/Panama. Currently I am working on a manipulative experiment in the Amazonian forest to better understand how forest trees respond to disturbance.

Current Projects and Experiments

Tree Assimilation and Carbon Allocation Physiology Experiment (TACAPE)

The Biodiversity Project Sardinilla/Panama

Teaching

Curso de Manejo Florestal (INPA)
Ecologia Florestal (INPA)
International Course in Forest Carbon Management (INPA)
Tropical Forest Ecology (2016) (2015) (2014) (2013) (University of Freiburg)

Services

Weather Station ZF2-field site, Brazil

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Publications

Kunert, N., Edinger, J., accepted. Xylem sap flux affects conventional stem CO₂ efflux measurements in tropical trees. Biotropica.Abstract

Kunert, N., Aparecido, L. M. T., Barros, P., Higuchi, N., 2015. Modeling potential impacts of planting palms or trees in small holder fruit plantations on ecohydrological processes in the Central Amazon. Forests 6(8), 2530-2544. Abstract

Kunert, N., Aparecido, L. M. T., dos Santos, J., Higuchi, N., Trumbore, S, 2015. Higher tree transpiration due to road-associated edge effects in a tropical moist lowland forest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 213, 183–192.

Kunert, N., Mercado Cardenas, A., 2015. Are diverse tropical tree plantations more resistant to drought than monocultures? Forests 6(6), 2029-2046. Abstract, Full Article

Aparecido, L. M. T., dos Santos, J., Higuchi, N., Kunert, N., 2015. Ecological applications of differences in the hydraulic efficiency of palms and broad leaved trees. Trees - Structure and Function. Abstract

Da Silva, F., Suwa, R., Kajimoto, T., Ishizuka, M., Higuchi, N., Kunert, N., 2015. Allometric equations for estimating biomass including roots for Euterpe precatoria the most abundant palm species in the Amazon. Forests 6(2), 450-463. Abstract, Full Article

Jardine, K., Yañez-Serrano, A.M., Williams, J., Kunert, N., Jardine, A., Taylor, T., Abrell, L., Artaxo, P., Guenther, A., Hewitt, C.N., House, E., Florentino, A. P., Manzi, A., Higuchi, N., Kesselmeier, J., Behrendt, T., Veres, P. R., Derstroff, B., Fuentes, J. D., Martin, S., Andreae M. O. 2015. Dimethyl Sulfide in the Amazon Rainforest. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29(1), 19-32. Abstract, Full Article

Schwendenmann, L., Pendall, E., Sanchez-Bragado, R., Kunert, N., Hölscher, D., 2015. Tree water uptake in a tropical plantation varying in tree diversity: interspecific differences, seasonal shifts and complementarity. Ecohydrology 8 (1), 1-12. Abstract

Kunert, N., 2014. Evaluating the future of our forests. Biotropica 46 (6), 773. Full Article

Sapijanskas, J., Paquette, A., Potvin, P., Kunert, N., Loreau, M., 2014. Tropical tree diversity enhances light capture through crown plasticity and spatial and temporal niche differences. Ecology 95, 2479–2492. Abstract

Kunert, N., Barros, P., Higuchi, N., 2013. Do palm water use characteristics explain the spatial distribution of palms in the Central Amazon? Acta Horticulturae 991, 197-204. Abstract, Full Article

Trumbore, S., Angert, A., Kunert, N., Muhr, J., Chambers, J.Q., 2013. What’s the flux? Unraveling how CO₂ fluxes from trees reflect underlying physiological processes. New Phytologist 197 (2), 353-355. Full Article

Kunert, N., Mercado Cardenas, A., 2012. Effects of xylem water transport on CO₂ efflux of woody tissue in a tropical tree, Amazonas State, Brazil. Hoehnea 39(1), 139-144. Full Article

Kunert, N., Schwendenmann, L., Potvin, C., Hölscher, D., 2012. Tree diversity enhances tree transpiration in a Panamanian forest plantation. Journal of Applied Ecology 49, 135-144. Abstract

Schneebeli,M., Wolf, S., Kunert, N., Eugster, W. & Mätzler, C., 2011. Relating the X-band opacity of a tropical tree canopy to sap flow, rain interception and dew formation. Remote Sensing of Environment 115, 2116-2125. Abstract

Dierick, D., Kunert, N., Köhler, M., Schwendenmann, L. & Hölscher, D., 2010. Comparison of tree water use characteristics in reforestation and agroforestry stands across the tropics. In: T. Tscharntke, Ch. Leuschner, E. Veldkamp, H. Faust, E. Guhardja, A. Bidin (eds.) Tropical Rainforests and Agroforests under Global Change. Springer, Berlin, pp 293-308. Abstract

Kunert, N., Schwendenmann, L. & Hölscher, D., 2010. Seasonal dynamics of tree sap flux and water use in nine species in Panamanian forest plantations. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 150, 411-419. Abstract

Google Scholar profile

Theses

Kunert, N., 2010. Tree transpiration in forest plantations: effects of species, seasonality and diversity (Panama). Ph.D. thesis, Georg-August Universität, Göttingen (in English).

Kunert, N., 2007. Population management of white- (Ceratotherium simum; BURCHELL, 1817) and black rhinos (Diceros bicornis; LINNÉ, 1758) in the southern African countries. Master thesis, TU-Munich (in German).

Kunert, N., 2006. The insect fauna in the tree canopy of beech and spruce under the influence of ozone and light. Diploma and Master thesis, TU-Munich (in German).

Kunert, N., 2005. Phenotype of Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Coleoptera) in different forest ecosystems. Bachelor thesis, TU-Munich (in German).

Research presentations (selected)

Kunert, N., Aparecido, L.M.T., Higuchi, N., Trumbore, T., 2015. How old is the storage carbon used for resprouting? Annual meeting, ATBC, Honululu, Hawaii, USA.

Kunert, N., Aparecido, L.M.T., Wolff, S., 2015. Partitioning the contribution to stand transpiration by different tree size classes. GTOE, Zurich, Switzerland. Abstract

Kunert, N., Edinger, J., 2014. Low xylem sap flux reduces daytime CO2 efflux in mango trees. Annual meeting, ATBC, Cairns, Australia.

Kunert, N., Aparecido, L.M.T., Higuchi, N., dos Santos, J., Trumbore, T., 2014. Road associated edge effects increase tree transpiration in a tropical moist lowland forest. Annual meeting, ATBC, Cairns, Australia.

Kunert, N., Teixeira, L.M., Marra, D., Chambers, J.Q., dos Santos, J., Higuchi, N., Trumbore, S., 2013. Forest disturbance reduces stem CO₂ efflux from trees in the central Amazon. Annual meeting, ATBC, San Jose, Costa Rica. Abstract

Kunert, N., Barros, P., Higuchi, N., 2012. Palms versus trees: water use characteristics of native fruit-bearing plant species in the Central Amazon. Annual meeting, AGU, San Franzisco, USA.

Sapijanskas, J., Paquette, A. , Potvin, C., Kunert, N., Loreau, M., 2012. Tropical tree diversity enhances light capture through overyielding, plastic architectural changes, and temporal niche differences. ESA Annual Meeting, Portland, USA.

Kunert, N., Schwendenmann, L., Potvin, C., Hölscher, D., 2012. Tree transpiration in forest plantations: effects of species, seasonality and diversity. Annual Meeting, ATBC, Bonito, Brazil.

Kunert, N., Mercado Cardenas, A., 2012. Effects of xylem water transport on CO₂ efflux of woody tissue in a tropical tree. Annual Meeting, ATBC, Bonito, Brazil.

Kunert, N., 2012. Effects of xylem water transport on CO₂ efflux of woody tissue in a tropical tree. SAB, Jena, Germany.

Schwendenmann, L., Sánchez Bragado, R., Kunert, N., Hölscher, D., 2010. Complementary soil water use is indicated in mixed native tree plantations, Panama. Annual meeting, AGU, San Franzisco, USA.

Kunert, N., Schwendenmann, L., Hölscher, D., 2009. Tree water use in relation to tree diversity in a Panamanian forest plantation. Joint Annual Meeting, ATBC/gtö, Marburg, Germany.

Kunert, N., Schwendenmann, L., Hölscher, D., 2008. Seasonal changes in foliage and xylem flux rates of young native trees, Central Panama. Annual Meeting, ATBC, Paramaribo, Suriname.

'View on the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimões forming the Amazon River (Manaus, Brazil).'