Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems

Externally Funded Research Projects

Current Projects

  • Principal Investigator: RTG 2300: Enrichment of European beech forests with conifers: impacts of functional traits on ecosystem functioning (EnriCo)
    Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2023-2026) for Maliha Jerin Propa  (PhD candidate) [read more about RTG 2300 - EnriCo]
  • Principal Investigator: Chances and hurdles for the establishment and performance of different agroforestry systems in Lower Saxony - ELAN.
    Funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (2022-2025) for Madelein Victor (PhD candidate). [read more about the ELAN Project]
  • Principal Investigator: Establishment of attractive teaching modules in agroforestry for students of forestry and agricultural sciences.
    Funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation (2023-2026); Postdoc, Dr. Franziska Gaede.
  • Principal Investigator: Project A05: 'Optimizing nutrient management in oil palm plantations and upscaling greenhouse gas fluxes from plot to a rainforest-transformation landscape' of the Collaborative Research Center 990 (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)).
    Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2020-2023); Postdoc, Dr. Najeeb Al-Amin Iddris. [read more about CRC 990]
  • Speaker: SIGNAL - Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry in Germany.
    Principal Investigator: Sub-project 1.1 'Nutrient response and nutrient retention efficiencies, leaching losses, soil greenhouse gas fluxes in agroforestry and conventional systems' and sub-project 1.3 'Experimental set-up and coordination'.
    Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (2021-2024) for Sarah Choe (PhD candidate); Postdoc, Raphael Manu.
  • Principal Investigator: Nutrient response efficiency and leaching losses in newly and long-term established agroforestry versus conventional monoculture croplands
    Funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council (2018-2023) for Dan Niu (PhD candidate) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (2018-2021).

Concluded projects

  • Principal Investigator: 'Soil greenhouse gas fluxes, nutrient leaching losses and nutrient response efficiency in a large-scale oil palm plantation: conventional versus reduced management practices'. Funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council (2018-2023) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2020-2023). Dr. Guan-tao Chen (graduation 2023).
  • Principal Investigator: 'Soil greenhouse gas balance, yield and profit in intensively fertilized vegetable farms on an Andosol soil in Leyte, Philippines'. Funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (20017-2020). Dr. Cecille Marie O. Quiñones (graduation 2023).
  • Principal Investigator: ‘Soil greenhouse gas (N2O, CH4, CO2) fluxes from cropland agroforestry and monoculture systems in Germany’. Funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council (2017-2021) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (2018-2021). Dr. Guodong Shao (graduation 2022).
  • Principal Investigator: 'Gross rates of soil nitrous oxide emission and uptake in cropland agroforestry and monoculture systems in Germany'. Funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council (2017-2021) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (2018-2021). Dr. Jie Luo (graduation 2022).
  • Principal Investigator: SIGNAL - Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry. 'Nutrient response efficiencies and ecosystem functions in alley-cropping agroforestry versus open cropland and grassland'. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF (2016-2021). Postdoc, Dr. Marcus Schmidt.
  • Co-Investigator: 'RELIANCE: nutRiEnt Limitations In A ugaNdan tropiCal forEst' in Uganda. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2017-2020). Dr. Raphael Manu (graduation 2021).
  • Principal Investigator: Project A05 of the Collaborative Research Center 990 (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems) 'Nutrient use and retention efficiency, free-living N2 fixation and soil and tree-stem N2O and CH4 fluxes in rainforest transformation systems'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2016-2019). Dr. Greta Formaglio (graduation in 2020). [read more about CRC 990]
  • Principal Investigator: 'Nitrous oxide emissions from soils and tree stems of rainforests and cacao agroforests in the Congo basin, Cameroon'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2017-2020). Dr. Najeeb Al-Amin Iddris (graduation in 2020).
  • Principal Investigator: 'Soil nutrient stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes from conventional and reduced impact logging of forests on highly weathered soils in Cameroon'. Funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, 2016-2020) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2017-2020). Dr. Rodine Tchiofo (graduation in 2020).
  • Principal Investigator: Project A05 of the Collaborative Research Center 990 (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems) 'Conversion of forests to smallholder rubber and oil palm plantations: landscape-scale and inter-annual variations of soil greenhouse gas fluxes (GHG) and the contribution of tree-stem emission to soil GHG budget'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2016-2019). Dr. Joost Koks (graduation in 2019). [read more about CRC 99
  • Co-Investigator: 'Fire impacts on soil nutrients and trace gas fluxes from savanna systems in Burkina Faso'. Funded by the Livelihood, Management, Reforms and Processes of Structural Change program of the Volkswagen Foundation (2015-2016). Dr. Sabine Doamba (Post-doctoral fellow).
  • Principal Investigator: 'Gross N2O fluxes across soil-atmosphere interface and stem N2O emissions from temperate forests in Germany'. Funded by China Scholarship Council (2013-2016) and the DFG (2011-2014). Dr. Yuan Wen (graduation in 2017).
  • Principal Investigator: Project A05 of the Collaborative Research Center 990 (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems) 'Consequences of rainforest conversion to smallholder rubber and oil palm plantations on soil trace gas fluxes from highly weathered soil in Sumatra, Indonesia’. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2012-2015). Dr. Evelyn Hassler (graduation in 2016). [read more about CRC 990]
  • Principal Investigator: Project A05 of the Collaborative Research Center 990 (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems) 'Conversion of lowland forests to rubber and oil palm plantations changes nutrient leaching and nutrient retention efficiency in highly weathered soils of Sumatra, Indonesia'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2012-2015) and the Indonesian DGHE Post-graduate Scholarship (2012-2015). Dr. Syahrul Kurniawan (graduation in 2015). [read more about CRC 990]
  • Principal Investigator: Project A05 of the Collaborative Research Center 990 (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems) 'Impacts of land-use conversion in Sumatra, Indonesia, on soil nitrogen cycling, soil nutrient stocks and ecosystem dynamics'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2012-2015). Dr. Kara Allen (graduation in 2015). [read more about CRC 990]
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project B7 of the Research Training Group 1086 (The role of biodiversity for biogeochemical cycles and biotic interactions in temperate deciduous forest) 'Nutrient response efficiency, tree-microbial biomass competition for nutrients and tree neighborhood dynamics in a mixed-species temperate deciduous forest in central Germany'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2011-2015). Dr. Marcus Schmidt (graduation in 2015) [read more about RTG 1086]
  • Co-Investigator: 'Soil water controls on nitrogen oxide fluxes and N2O production and consumption along a rainfall gradient of tropical forests, Panama'. Funded by the German Research Foundation, DFG (2011-2014).
  • Co-Investigator: Changes in soil carbon stocks and mechanisms of carbon stabilization in soils with conversion from secondary forests to grasslands in Leyte, Philippines. Funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2012-2014). Postdoc, Dr. Ian Navarrete.
  • Co-Investigator: Anthropogenic impact on chemical weathering and soil formation in young volcanic soils, Ecuador. Funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2011-2014). Postdoc, Dr. Armando Molina.
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A7 of the Research Group 816 (Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of a Megadiverse Mountain Ecosystem in South Ecuador) ´Soil greenhouse gas fluxes under elevated nutrient input along an elevation gradient of tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2010-2013). Dr. Anke K. Müller (graduation in 2014). [read more about FOR 816]
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A7 of the Research Group 816 (Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of a Megadiverse Mountain Ecosystem in South Ecuador) 'Canopy soil nutrient cycling and response to elevated nutrient levels along an elevation gradient of tropical montane forests'. Funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2010-2013). Dr. Amanda L. Matson (graduation in 2014). [read more about FOR 816]
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A7 of the Research Group 816 (Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of a Megadiverse Mountain Ecosystem in South Ecuador) 'Soil nitrogen cycling and fates of nitrogen in montane forests across a 1000-3000-m elevation gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes'. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2010-2013). Dr. Angelica P. Baldos (graduation in 2014). [read more about FOR 816]
  • Co-Investigator: Sub-project on 'Impact of land-use changes on soil carbon stocks in the Upper Mekong region' in the MMC (Making the Mekong Connected) Project '‘Developing carbon and biodiversity assets for multifunctional landscapes in the Upper Mekong'. Site: China. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) (2009-2013). Dr. Marleen de Blécourt (graduation in 2014).
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A2 ‘Grassland diversity effects on soil nitrogen dynamics and losses’ of the Cluster of Excellence (Functional Biodiversity Research). Site: Germany. Funded by the State of Lower Saxony (2008-2013). Dr. Andreas Keuter (graduation in 2013). [read more about Cluster of Excellence]
  • Principal Investigator: Work Package 3 'Quantification of GHG emissions from tropical deforestation' of REDD-ALERT (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation through Alternative Landuses in Rainforests of the Tropics). Sites: Cameroon, Indonesia and Peru. Funded by the European Union (2009-2012). Dr. Oliver van Straaten (Post-doctoral fellow). [read more about REDD-ALERT]
  • Co-Investigator: ‘Long-term fates of nitrogen in tropical forest soils exposed to chronic nitrogen addition'. Part of NITROF - Impact of elevated NItrogen input on the biogeochemistry and productivity of TROpical Forests. Site: Panama. Independent Research Group led by Dr. M. D. Corre, Funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation (2005-2011).
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A2 ‘Grassland management and diversity effects on soil nitrogen dynamics and losses’ in the Cluster of Excellence 'Functional Biodiversity Research'. Site: Germany. Funded by the State of Lower Saxony (2008-2011). Dr. Ina Hoeft (graduation in 2012). [read more about Cluster of Excellence]
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A 2.4 of the Research Group 816 ´Soil trace gas fluxes from tropical montane forest soils in South Ecuador´. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2007-2010). Dr. Guntars Martinson (graduation in 2011). [read more about FOR 816]
  • Co-Investigator (together with Dr. Rainer Brumme as Principal Investigator): ‘Origin and regulation of soil N2O and NOx fluxes from coniferous and deciduous temperate forests exposed to chronic high N depositions’. Site: Germany. Funded by the German Research Foundation, DFG (2007-2010). Dr. Nadine Eickenscheidt (graduation in 2011).
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project A 2.4 of the Research Group 816 ´Soil trace gas fluxes from tropical montane forest soils in South Ecuador´. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (2007-2010). Dr. Katrin Wolf (graduation in 2010). [read more about FOR 816]
  • Principal Investigator: ´Effectiveness of exclosures on restoration of soil ecological properties in Tigray, Ethiopia'. Funded by the DAAD, British Ecological Society, and International Foundation for Science (2007-2010). Dr. Wolde Mekuria (graduation in 2010).
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project B6 in the DFG Collaborative Research Centre 552: STORMA - Carbon dioxide production in soils under cacao agroforestry and natural forests: effects of drought and landscape variability´. Site: Indonesia. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) (2006-2009). Dr. Oliver van Straaten (graduation in 2010). [read more about STORMA]
  • Co-Investigator: ‘Impact of chronic N addition on trace gas exchange (N2O, NO, CO2, CH4). Part of NITROF - Impact of elevated NItrogen input on the biogeochemistry and productivity of TROpical Forests’. Site: Panama. Independent Research Group led by Dr. M. D. Corre, Funded by Robert Bosch Foundation (2005-2008). Dr. Birgit Köhler (graduation in 2009).
  • Principal Investigator (together with Dr. Marife D. Corre): ´Quantifying the internal soil nitrogen cycle to evaluate the nitrogen status of humid tropical forests´. Sites: Panama, Ecuador. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) (2005-2007). Dr. Julia Arnold (graduation in 2008).
  • Principal Investigator and daily supervisor (together with Prof. Dr. H. Flessa): 'Mechanisms of soil organic carbon stabilization following land use conversion in the humid tropics'. Site: Ecuador. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) (2004-2006). Dr. Sonja Paul (graduation in 2007).
  • Principal Investigator (together with Dr. R. Olschewski and Prof. Dr. T. Tscharntke): 'BIOSYS - Monetary valuation of biodiversity of land use systems in a mega-diverse Region of Ecuador (Chocó-Manabí)´. Funded by German Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF (2003-2005). Dr. Magdalena López-Ulloa (graduation in 2006). [read more on www.bio-sys.uni-goettingen.de]
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project in 'LBA-CARBONSINK - The fate of assimilated carbon in the soil´. Site: Brazil. Funded by EU (2001-2002) & DAAD (2003-2006). Dr. Eleneide Doff-Sotta (graduation in 2006).
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project B3 in ´Collaborative Research Centre 552: STORMA - Gaseous losses of nitrogen in montane forests and Agroecosystems of forest margins in Indonesia´. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) & DAAD (2000-2005). Dr. Joko Purbopuspito (graduation in 2005). [read more about STORMA]
  • Principal Investigator: ´Nutrient balances in land use systems of Ethiopia´. Funded by KAAD (2001-2005). Dr. Amare Haileslassie (graduation in 2005).
  • Principal Investigator: Sub-project D4 in ´Collaborative Research Centre 552: STORMA - Nutrient fluxes and their control in land use systems of forest margins´. Site: Indonesia. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) (2000-2003). Dr. Georg Dechert (graduation in 2003). [read more about STORMA]
  • Principal Investigator (together with Dr. R. Olschewski and Dr. Ir. GHJ de Koning): ´Evaluation of the CO2 sequestration potential of afforestation projects and secondary forests in two different climate zones of South America´. Site: Ecuador. Funded by GTZ-TÖB (2000-2002).
  • Principal Investigator: ´Land use change effects on soil nitrogen cycling and trace gas fluxes in the humid tropics of Brazil´. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) (1999-2002). Postdoc, Dr. Barbara Wick.
  • Principal Investigator: ´Climate dependence of below-ground carbon dynamics in undisturbed tropical forest soils´. Site: Costa Rica. Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) (1999-2002). Dr. Luitgard Schwendenmann (graduation in 2003).
  • Soil characterization of La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica (0.5 year). Project with and financed by Organization of Tropical Studies (2000). Postdoc, Dr. Jens Mackensen.