I would be happy to make my models and modelling expertise available to a consortium working on fundamental or applied questions in forest ecology, wood anatomy and plant physiology, as well as in other related fields.

Pillar 1 # iLand # structure of forest landscapes

I currently run a subproject in a collaborative project and really enjoy working in bigger, also interdisciplinary consortia. There, we apply the individual-based forest landscape model iLand related to questions on deadwood management and reforestation. Our reflections show how important an understanding of the structure of forest landscapes is for assessing resilience, and I would like to build on that.

Pillar 2 # XyLife # understanding tree xylem features as dynamic, emerging traits

We developed a model to simulate the formation of tree xylem in response to environmental conditions. Currently, we are fitting this model to wood anatomical data of European Beech in order to derive parameters to characterize the behavior of individual trees, as well as their variation among provenances and stands. To deepen our understanding of the causes and consequences of such intraspecific trait variation is one of my long term goals in science and I would like to develop new cooperations in this research direction, involving xylem and other traits.

At my small group, we develop and apply process-based models - rooted in first principles - to investigate the bottom-up mechanisms that govern the structure and dynamics of trees and forest systems. The Forest Department in Tharandt goes back to Heinrich Cotta and is one of the oldest Forest Science institutions worldwide. Now integrated into TUD Dresden University of Technology, we belong to one of the German Universities of Excellence since 2012.