Images of Science

Our 325m high ATTO measurement tower is located in the remote Amazon rainforest. The station is a unique platform to study the interactions between rainforest, atmosphere and climate.  Huge amounts of energy, carbon and water circulate here, strongly influencing the regional but also global climate.

Trees are weakened by climate extremes and are then easy victims for insect pests such as the bark beetle. We investigate how vital functions (photosynthesis) are disrupted by drought or heat and how the weakened trees survive with fewer resources.

Tropical forests store large amounts of carbon and at the same time regulate the water cycle. We investigate how rainforest ecosystems respond to prolonged periods of drought. In the Arizona desert, we are experimenting with a rainforest biome under controlled environmental conditions.

Carbon is constantly circulating through different parts of our Earth, and this - through greenhouse gases such as CO₂ and methane - affects our global climate. We analyze how fast carbon passes through different ecosystems.

By burning plant samples, sediments or soils, we can measure the chemical elements they contain, in gaseous form, such as carbon, nitrogen and sulfur. Their ratios tell us something about the storage capacity of carbon in soils under different land uses.

In the Arctic, we study the stability of permafrost ecosystems, a mosaic of sub-areas that is constantly changing - depending on the climate. In the northern hemisphere, about half of the world's soil carbon is stored stably by permafrost.

With 40 ICOS measuring stations distributed all over Europe, greenhouse gases of different ecosystems and also of the oceans are permanently recorded. With highly precise and standardized measurements, we support the prediction of future climate developments and thus also provide information for political decision-makers.

There are many regions around the world where trees and grasses predominate. This is also the case in central Spain, where we are conducting fertilization experiments in the grazed holm oak groves. We want to find out how land use and fertilization affect ecosystems and the climate.

Climate change is altering biodiversity, and species extinction is threatening ecosystems and thus our livelihoods. To better monitor biodiversity, we have developed the Flora Incognita app for reliably identifying plants at their location.