World-class researchers in Göttingen: Climate research in focus!

World-class researchers in Göttingen: Climate research in focus!

On September 10, 2025, the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences in Göttingen will award a Gauss professorship. Prof. Dr. Dennis Baldocchi from the University of California at Berkeley will receive this award. Baldocchi is one of the leading experts on land-atmosphere interactions and has made significant contributions to research into the exchange of carbon and water between vegetation and the atmosphere. In the next two months he will be conducting research at the Faculty of Forestry and Forest Ecology at the University of Göttingen, where he will work closely with Prof. Dr. Alexander Knohl and his team will work together in the Bioclimatology department. This research collaboration aims to provide new insights into the complex interactions in near-natural ecosystems that are crucial for climate research, particularly with regard to the effects of climate change and land use.

Baldocchi is also co-founder and scientific leader of the international measurement network FLUXNET, which is used to record the exchange of greenhouse gases and energy worldwide. This illustrates the relevance of his work for the further development of climate research and the resulting assessment of the consequences of human activities on our environment. An upcoming international symposium on land-atmosphere exchange processes, which will take place in Göttingen in early October 2025, will provide a platform to present the latest research results and promote scientific exchange.

Interactions in natural ecosystems

As part of the investigations at the University of Göttingen, the work area of ​​Prof. Dr. Alexander Knohl will analyze the interactions between soil, life and air in natural ecosystems. There are numerous feedback processes between biological, pedological and atmospheric factors. Water, carbon, gases and solids are essential components of this exchange. Plants and vegetation play a central role and are significantly involved in these mutual interactions. On the other hand, human activities, especially land use, significantly influence the dynamics between the different spheres, which is intensified by climate change.

A central component of the research is agricultural meteorology, which deals with the growth of crops, weather-related production conditions and relevant risks for agriculture. Numerous research priorities are set that examine the effects of climate change on agricultural ecosystems at various spatial and temporal scales. This includes analyzing possible adaptation measures and applying new methods to examine weather-related risks.

Complex rhythms of the climate

The interactions between land surface processes and climate are also evident in the emergence of multiple equilibrium states. Particularly in regions such as North Africa, feedbacks between atmospheric circulation and vegetation cover can lead to stable conditions of desert and green spaces. Such explanations of the greening of the Sahara in the Middle Holocene illustrate how sensitive these ecological systems can be to changes.

Additional studies, which, among other things, analyze the influence of permafrost soils on the climatic balance, show that interactions between soil temperature, water and organic carbon can lead to two significantly different states. This research is essential to increase the understanding of the dynamic interactions between the different natural spheres and helps to identify the potential transition zones with lower resilience to disturbances.

Overall, the work of Prof. Dr. Dennis Baldocchi and the research in Göttingen are an important step towards a better understanding of the complex interactions between climate, vegetation and human activities. These insights are crucial for developing effective strategies to adapt to climate change.