Overview

The Biogeochemical Signals department is a newly formed department succeeding the former Biogeochemical Systems department headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Heimann, and the former research group on Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling. The main aim of the new department is to study and interpret observed large-scale biogeochemical signals in the Earth system by linking these signals to process-understanding and process-oriented modelling of key processes in the terrestrial biosphere. To accomplish this goal, the group develops and employs numerical models of terrestrial biosphere processes, and develops new observational constraints obtained from biosphere monitoring or ecosystem manipulation to challenge model formulations. An improved representation of key (eco-physiological) processes, in particular those affecting nutrient availability and its role in ecosystem dynamics, is a key component of the group's research. The group investigates the consequences of the coupling of the terrestrial biogeochemical cycles for biogeochemical and biogeophysical interactions with the climate system.

Latest Key Result

Meyerholt, J, Sickel, K, Zaehle, S. Ensemble projections elucidate effects of uncertainty in terrestrial nitrogen limitation on future carbon uptake. Glob Change Biol. 2020; 00: 1– 19. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15114

Latest publications

	Chadburn, S. E., Aalto, T., Aurela, M., Baldocchi, D., Biasi, C., Boike, J., Burke, E. J., Comyn-Platt, E., Dolman, A. J., Duran-Rojas, C., Fan, Y., Friborg, T., Gao, Y., Gedney, N., Göckede, M., Hayman, G. D., Holl, D., Hugelius, G., Kutzbach, L., Lee, H., Lohila, A., Parmentier, F. W., Sachs, T., Shurpali, N. J., Westermann, S. (2020). Modeled microbial dynamics explain the apparent temperature sensitivity of wetland methane emissions. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 34(11): e2020GB006678. doi:10.1029/2020GB006678.
	Fiehn, A., Kostinek, J., Eckl, M., Klausner, T., Galkowski, M., Chen, J., Gerbig, C., Röckmann, T., Maazallahi, H., Schmidt, M., Korben´, P., Neçki, J., Jagoda, P., Wildmann, N., Mallaun, C., Bun, R., Nickl, A.-L., Jöckel, P., Fix, A., Roiger, A. (2020). Estimating CH4, CO2 and CO emissions from coal mining and industrial activities in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin using an aircraft-based mass balance approach. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 20(21), 12675-12695. doi:10.5194/acp-20-12675-2020.
	Monteil, G., Broquet, G., Scholze, M., Lang, M., Karstens, U., Gerbig, C., Koch, F.-T., Smith, N. E., Thompson, R. L., Luijkx, I. T., White, E., Meesters, A., Ciais, P., Ganesan, A. L., Manning, A., Mischurow, M., Peters, W., Peylin, P., Tarniewicz, J., Rigby, M., Rödenbeck, C., Vermeulen, A., Walton, E. M. (2020). The regional European atmospheric transport inversion comparison, EUROCOM: first results on European-wide terrestrial carbon fluxes for the period 2006-2015. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 20(20), 12063-12091. doi:10.5194/acp-20-12063-2020.
	Tian, H., Xu, R., Canadell, J. G., Thompson, R. L., Winiwarter, W., Suntharalingam, P., Davidson, E. A., Ciais, P., Jackson, R. B., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Prather, M. J., Regnier, P., Pan, N., Pan, S., Peters, G. P., Shi, H., Tubiello, F. N., Zaehle, S., Zhou, F., Arneth, A., Battaglia, G., Berthet, S., Bopp, L., Bouwman, A. F., Buitenhuis, E. T., Chang, J., Chipperfield, M. P., Dangal, S. R. S., Dlugokencky, E., Elkins, J. W., Eyre, B. D., Fu, B., Hall, B., Ito, A., Joos, F., Krummel, P. B., Landolfi, A., Laruelle, G. G., Lauerwald, R., Li, W., Lienert, S., Maavara, T., MacLeod, M., Millet, D. B., Olin, S., Patra, P. K., Prinn, R. G., Raymond, P. A., Ruiz, D. J., van der Werf, G. R., Vuichard, N., Wang, J., Weiss, R. F., Wells, K. C., Wilson, C., Yang, J., Yao, Y. (2020). A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks. Nature, 586, 248-256. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2780-0.
	Yu, L., Ahrens, B., Wutzler, T., Zaehle, S., Schrumpf, M. (2020). Modeling soil responses to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization along a soil phosphorus stock gradient. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3: 543112. doi:10.3389/ffgc.2020.543112.