Research Group - Ecosystems and Landscape Ecology

 
The Research Group Ecosystem and Landscape Ecology integrates relevant ecological disciplines and methods (soil and vegetation science, hydrology, micrometeorology, remote sensing, spatial statistics, ecological and geo-statistical modelling) to analyse ecosystem functions and services across spatial and temporal scales. Beneath systematic survey and monitoring of fundamental data, experiments and modelling of global change impacts on biodiversity, catchment yield, natural hazards risk and land-use/land-cover are conducted.

Research activities mainly take place in four subject areas, integrating ecosystem and landscape level (experimental and modelled) with the following research objectives: (i) LUCC, historical and current land use/cover change (LUCC) in the Alps and scenario development; (ii) Ecosystem Services, consequences of LUCC on ecosystem functions and services; (iii) Biogeochemical Cycles: impacts of global change on carbon and water balance of mountain grasslands; (iv) Sustainability, develop, test and implement sustainable monitoring systems at local and regional scale (human-environmental decision support systems). The central strategy of the research group is based on a wide and interdisciplinary understanding of ecological processes and functions as prerequisite to evaluate and model impacts of global change. The international collaborations and lead or participation in several international (EU: ERA-net, INTERREG) and national research projects guarantee cutting-edge research in mountain environments. The cooperation with disciplines from social and human sciences, statistics, and engineering attests the interdisciplinary dimension of the research group.

 
ProjectsResearch Sites Publications

Group Members

• Georg Leitinger Dr. Assoc.-Prof. (Head)
• Ulrike Tappeiner Dr. Univ.-Prof. (Deputy Head)
• Lisa Ambrosi PhD
• Friederike Barkmann MSc (PhD student)
• Laura Barraclough MSc (PhD student)
• Tamara Bibbò MSc (PhD student)
• Sebastian Brocco MSc
• Filippo Colla (PhD student)
• Eva Claudia Hochmuth
• Lucía Laorden Camacho MSc (PhD student)
• Tist Liekens MSc (PhD student)
• Christian Newesely Dr.
• Lisa Obwegs DI (PhD student)
• Johannes Rüdisser Dr.
• Uta Schirpke Dr. Priv.-Doz. (affiliated)
• Katja Gerlinde Schmölz MSc (PhD student)
• Erich Tasser Dr. Priv.-Doz. (affiliated)
• Elena Tello García PhD
• Sebastiano Zanini MSc (PhD student)

MSc-Students

Previous Group Members

Manuel Ebner, PhD; Matteo Anderle, PhD; Lena Marie Müller, PhD; Anna-Lena Neunteufel, MSc, Ananda Defrance (Intern Summer 2023), Simon Tscholl, PhD, Hieronymus Jäger, PhD, Elia Guariento, PhD, Martin Leupold, MSc, Uta Schirpke, PhD, Alberto Scotti, PhD, Brenda Zoderer, PhD, Nikolaus Obojes PhD, Sarah Kerle MSc, Katharina Antonie Schneider (Projekt AlpES), Claude Meisch DI (Projekt AlpES), Marina Kohler PhD, Veronika Fontana PhD, Georg Frenck PhD, Jacob Dein (Fulbright U.S. Student, Okt 2015-Jul 2016), Georg Johann Lair DI Dr., Laura Bischof MSc, Michael Heinl DI Dr., Ute Krainer (Szukics) Dr., Dagmar Rubatscher Dr.

Affiliated Researcher: