Research Group Coastal Ecology
Welcome!
In this working group we focus on the ecology and geomorphology of coastal ecosystems such as salt marshes. In times of climate change salt marshes are threatened by sea level rise and an increased storm frequency. Therefore we investigate whether salt marshes are able to keep pace with sea level rise. Furthermore, the establishment of national parks has led to a land use change in these areas. In the last decades marshes previously used for intensive livestock grazing with sheep have been abandoned. How will these changes in climate and land use affect ecosystem functions, such as carbon cycling, and ecosystem services, such as the coastal protection function? These are the questions we want to answer in our research projects.
In addition to our work in the Wadden Sea salt marshes, we study the marshes of the Yangtze estuary together with our collaboration partners of FUDAN University (Shanghai, China).