21 July 2026, by Website Team Biologie

Photo: istock/AVTG

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has extended the Research Group FOR 5315 “Forest Floor: Functioning, Dynamics, and Vulnerability in a Changing World” by four years.

Since 2022, the research group has studied the properties of forest soil humus layers (forest floor), which are key “drivers” that regulate the material and water balance in forest ecosystems. Through 2030, the group will receive an additional €5.5 million in funding from the DFG and, as part of the D-A-CH collaboration, from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Prof. Dr. Ina Meier, a professor of Functional Forest Ecology in the department of biology at the University of Hamburg, leads a subproject within the research group's interdisciplinary team investigating the properties of mycorrhizal symbiosis between roots and fungi.

The humus layer of the forest soil consists of decomposing leaves, needles, twigs, and seeds. This layer forms an ecologically valuable transition zone between fresh biomass and mineral soil: It stores essential plant nutrients, provides a habitat for microorganisms and soil animals, improves the soil’s air and heat balance, and can store large amounts of carbon. The impact of climate change on this layer, which is central to forest soils yet highly sensitive to environmental changes, raises many unanswered questions. "Our group's findings to date demonstrate that the functionality of the forest floor depends on the interplay of biological and abiotic processes," says Prof. Dr. Friederike Lang, spokesperson for the research group at the University of Freiburg. "We have evidence that climate extremes disrupt this interplay and thus impair the provision of ecosystem services. This funding gives us the opportunity to further investigate these indications as part of an interdisciplinary team of experts.” Prof. Meier adds: "In the research group's second funding phase, we expect to make further breakthroughs in knowledge that will improve our understanding of how sensitive the forest ecosystem is to climate change."