Barbara Beikircher
Research Group Ecophysiology
Academic staff
Room number 110
“I study the impact of abiotic factors on physiology and anatomy of woody plants in alpine ecosystems. My main research interests thereby are hydraulics of seedlings and juvenile trees, and stress tolerance and acclimation capability of economically important fruit and forest plants. In my studies, I often combine laboratory experiments with field studies, and apply many different classic (flow measurements, porometry, microscopy) and modern (Cavitron, ultrasonic emissions, micro-CT) methods. Many of my projects combine basic and applied research.”
Projects
- KROOF3B: To the point of failure-water transport along SPAC, FWF, 2025-2028
- Hydraulic impairment in early ontogenetic tree stages, FWF, 2022-2026
- Drought acclimation and recovery of beech and Norway spruce, FWF, 2019-2022
Selected Publications
- Beikircher B., Held M., Losso A., Mayr S. (2024): New insights into a sensitive life stage: hydraulics of tree seedlings in their first growing season. New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.20243
- Beikircher B., Sack L., Ganthaler A., Losso A., Mayr S. (2021): Hydraulic-stomatal coordination in tree seedlings: tight correlation across environments and ontogeny in Acer pseudoplatanus. New Phytologist. doi.org/10.1111/nph.17585
- Beikircher B., Losso A., Gemassmer M., Jansen S., Mayr S. (2019): Does fertilization explain the extraordinary hydraulic behaviour of apple trees? Journal of Experimental Botany 70, 1915-1925. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erz070
- Losso A., Bär A., Dämon B., Dullin C., Ganthaler A., Petruzzellis F., Savi T., Tromba G., Nardini A., Mayr S., Beikircher B. (2019): Insights from in vivo micro-CT analysis: testing the hydraulic vulnerability segmentation in Acer pseudoplatanus and Fagus sylvatica seedlings. New Phytologist 221, 1831-1842. doi: 10.1111/nph.15549
- Cailleret M, …Beikircher B., …et al. (2017) A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality. Global Change Biology 23, 1675-1690. doi: org/10.1111/gcb.13535
All Publications ORCID Research Gate Google Scholar CV Barbara Beikircher
Additional research achievements
- Award of the Principality of Liechtenstein for scientific research at the University of Innsbruck, 2019
- Theodor Körner Award, Theodor Körner foundation, 2014
- Hertha-Firnberg Award, FWF, 2014-2020
- South Tyrolean research award for young researchers, Federal State Government of South Tyrol, 2013
- Prix de la France (Category PostDoc), University of Innsbruck, 2010
Teaching
- Plant Anatomy
- Plant Biology
- Applied aspects