Plant Ecology Research Laboratory PERL

The research group aims to better understand the physiological and ecological responses of terrestrial ecosystems to global change, with a focus on anticipating and counteracting its effects

Key research themes of the laboratory are the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functions and services, and the physiological processes involved in plant responses to climatic stress. The research team uses novel technics and approaches at scales going from the cell to the whole ecosystem in diverse environmental conditions in temperate, Mediterranean and tropical systems. Research is conducted in controlled conditions (e.g. greenhouses and growth chambers), in manipulative field experiments (e.g. drought and temperature manipulation) and uses long-term national and international inventory platforms. This integrative approach has both theoretical and applied aims to address the parameterization of climate-vegetation models and guide new climate-smart management practices.

Learn more about our activities in this video recently produced by SwissForestLab.