Prof. Dr. Christiane Werner

Telefon: +49 (0)761 203 8301

Email: c.werner(at)cep.uni-freiburg.de

Professur für Ökosystemphysiologie

Institut für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften

Fakultät für Umwelt und natürliche Ressourcen

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Georges-Köhler-Allee 053 / 054

79110 Freiburg

Germany

Current scientific projects

SFB 1537 ECOSENSE

ERC Project VOCO2

Links

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

Research interest

As a plant ecophysiologist by training I am interested in plant and ecosystem responses to climate change, investigating processes from molecular to ecosystem scale with experimental lab and field work. Core areas of interest are: plant ecophysiology and ecosystem functioning, stress ecophysiology, adaptations to climate change, stable isotope ecology, primary and secondary metabolism, VOC, photoinhibition, respiration, photosynthesis and water relations, ecosystem-atmosphere exchange, ecohydrology, Mediterranean, invasive species, plant and ecosystem interactions, competition, global change

University Education and Professional Experience

Grants, Awards and Prizes

Academic Services and Synergistic Activities

• Editor in Chief Plant Biology (since 2021)
• Editorial board Funct. Plant Ecol since 2011, Scientific Data since 2015, Tree Physiol (2003),
• Review panel for the German (DFG), Austrian (FWF), Swiss (SNF), France (ASF), US (NSF), Israel (ISF) and Portuguese (FCT) national science foundation’s and reviewed papers for over 15 years in 30 scientific journals
• Since 2017 – Member of the scientific board of Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPI Geoscience Jena)
• co-organization of conference, summer schools and symposia, convener at AGU
• Jury member of the Habfast-Association of the German Association for Stable Isotope Research
• Mentor for young female scientists within the dual-career program (TANDEMplus etc.)
• mentoring ERASMUS students (Portugal, Greece)

Selected Publications

• Radolinski, Jesse; Vremec, Matevz; Wachter, Herbert; Birk, Steffen; Brüggemann, Nicolas; Herndl, Markus; Kahmen, Ansgar; Nelson, Daniel B.; Kübert, Angelika; Schaumberger, Andreas; Stumpp, Christine; Tissink, Maud; Werner, Christiane; Bahn, Michael (2025). Drought in a warmer, CO2-rich climate restricts grassland water use and soil water mixing. Science 387, 290-296. DOI: 10.1126/science.ado0734
• Große-Stoltenberg, Andre; Werner, Christiane; Hellmann, Christine; Oldeland, Jens; Thiele, Jan (2025). Quantifying the spatial impact of an invasive Acacia on ecosystem functioning using remote sensing. Ecological Indicators 170, 112928. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112928
• Werner, Christiane; Hellmann, Christine; Große-Stoltenberg, André (2024). An integrative framework to assess the spatio-temporal impact of plant invasion on ecosystem functioning. NeoBiota 94: 225-242. DOI: 10.3897/neobiota.94.126714
• Liao, Zhengqiao; Zhu, Lijun; Liu, Lei; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Werner, Christiane; Du, Baoguo (2024). Comparison of Growth and Metabolomic Profiles of Two Afforestation Cypress Species Cupressus chengiana and Platycladus orientalis Grown at Minjiang Valley in Southwest China. Metabolites, 14(8):453. DOI: 10.3390/metabo14080453
• Werner, Christiane; Wallrabe, Ulrike; Christen, Andreas; Comella, Laura; Dormann, Carsten; Göritz, Anna; Grote, Rüdiger; Haberstroh, Simon; Jouda, Mazin; Kiese, Ralf; Koch, Barbara; Korvink, Jan; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Lang, Friederike; Müller, Julian; Prucker, Oswald; Reiterer, Alexander; Rühe, Jürgen; Rupitsch, Stefan; Schack-Kirchner, Helmer; Schmitt, Katrin; Stobbe, Nina; Weiler, Markus; Woias, Peter; Wöllenstein, Jürgen (2024). ECOSENSE - Multi-scale quantification and modelling of spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystem processes by smart autonomous sensor networks. Research Ideas and Outcomes 10: e129357. DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e129357
• Meischner, Mirjam; Dumberger, Stefanie; Daber, Lars Erik; Haberstroh, Simon; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter; Werner, Christiane (2024). Jasmonic acid and heat stress induce high volatile organic compound emissions in Picea abies from needles, but not from roots. Tree Physiology, tpae059. DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpae059
• Ceperley, Natalie; Gimeno, Teresa E.; ... Werner, Christiane;... Rothfuss, Youri (2024). Toward a common methodological framework for the sampling, extraction, and isotopic analysis of water in the Critical Zone to study vegetation water use. WIREs Water, 11(4), e1727. DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1727
• Smith, Melinda D.; Wilkins, Kate D;... Werner, Christiane;... Zuo, Xiaoan (2024). Extreme drought impacts have been underestimated in grasslands and shrublands globally. PNAS, 121(4), e2309881120. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309881120
  
• Haberstroh, Simon, Kübert, Angelika, Werner, Christiane (2024). Two common pitfalls in the analysis of water stable isotopologues with cryogenic vacuum extraction and cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Analytical Science Advances, 5:2300053. DOI: 10.1002/ansa.202300053
• Huang, Jianbei; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Ingrisch, Johannes; Kübert, Angelika; Meredith, Laura; van Haren, Joost; Bamberger, Ines; Daber, Erik; Bailey, Kinzie; Hu, Jia; Fudyma, Jane; Shi, Lingling; Dippold, Michaela; Meeran, Kathiravan; Miller, Luke; O'Brien, Michael; Yang, Hui; Herrera-Ramírez, David; Hartmann, Henrik; Trumbore, Susan; Bahn, Michael; Werner, Christiane; Lehmann, Marco (2024). Drought slows carbohydrate export and phloem flow in an experimental rainforest. Journal of Exp. Botany, 75(8):2545-2557. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae030
• Kinzinger, Laura; Mach, Judith; Haberstroh, Simon; Schindler, Zoe; Frey, Julian; Dubbert, Maren; Seeger, Stefan; Seifert, Thomas; Weiler, Markus; Orlowski, Natalie; Werner, Christiane (2024). Interaction between Beech and Spruce trees in temperate forest ecosystem affects water use, root water uptake pattern and canopy structure. Tree Physiology, 44: tpad144. DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpad144
• Pugliese, Giovanni; Ingrisch, Johannes; Meredith, Laura K.; Pfannerstill, Eva Y.; Klüpfel, Thomas; Meeran, Kathiravan; Byron, Joseph; Purser, Gemma; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; van Haren, Joost; Dontsova, Katerina; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Werner, Christiane; Williams, Jonathan (2023). Effects of drought and recovery on soil volatile organic compound fluxes in an experimental rainforest. Nature Communications, 14(1), 5064. DOI: 1038/s41467-023-40661-8
• Honeker, Linnea K; Pugliese, Giovanni; Ingrisch, Johannes; Fudyma, Jane; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Carpenter, Elizabeth; Singer, Esther; Hildebrand, Gina; Shi, Lingling; Hoyt, David W.; Krechmer, Jordan E.; Claflin, Megan; Ayala-Ortiz, Christian; Freire-Zapata, Viviana; Pfannerstill, Eva Y.; Daber, L. Erik; Meeran, Kathiravan; Dippold, Michaela A.; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Williams, Jonathan; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Werner, Christiane; Tfaily, Malak M.; Meredith, Laura K. (2023). Drought re-routes soil microbial carbon metabolism towards emission of volatile metabolites in an artificial tropical rainforest. Nature Microbiology, 8(8), 1480–1494. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01432-9
• Byron, Joseph; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Purser, Gemma; van Haren, Joost; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Meredith, Laura K.; Werner, Christiane; Williams, Jonathan (2022). Chiral monoterpenes reveal forest emission mechanisms and drought responses. Nature, 609(7026), 307–312. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05020-5
• Haberstroh, Simon, Werner, Christiane (2022). The role of species interactions for forest resilience to drought. Plant Biology, 24(7), 1098-1107. DOI: 10.1111/plb.13415
• Werner, Christiane; Meredith, Laura K.;  Ladd, S. Nemiah; Ingrisch, Johannes; Kübert, Angelika; van Haren, Joost; Bahn, Michael; Bailey, Kinzie; Bamberger, Ines; Beyer, Matthias; Blomdahl, Daniel; Byron, Joseph; Daber, Erik; Deleeuw, Jason; Dippold, Michaela; Fudyma, Jane; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Honeker, Linnea K.; Hu, Jia; Huang, Jianbei; Klüpfel, Thomas; Krechmer, Jordan; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Kühnhammer, Kathrin; Lehmann, Marco M.; Meeran, Kathiravan; Misztal, Pawel K.; Ng, Wei-Ren; Pfannerstill, Eva; Pugliese, Giovanni; Purser, Gemma; Roscioli, Joseph; Shi, Lingling; Tfaily, Malak; Williams, Jonathan (2021). Ecosystem fluxes during drought and recovery in an experimental forest. Science, 374(6574), 1514-1518. DOI: 10.1126/science.abj6789
• Werner, Christiane; Fasbender, Lukas; Romek, Katarzyna M.; Yáñez-Serrano, Ana Maria; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; (2020). Heat waves change plant carbon allocation among primary and secondary metabolism altering CO₂ assimilation, respiration, and VOC emissions. Frontiers in plant science, 11, 1242. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01242
• Schuldt, Bernhard; Buras, Allan; Arend, Matthias; Vitasse, Yann; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Damm, Alexander; Gharun, Mana; Grams, Thorsten E. E.; Hauck, Markus; Hajek, Peter; Hartmann, Henrik; Hilbrunner, Erika; Hoch, Günter; Holloway-Phillips, Meisha; Körner, Christian; Larysch, Elena; Lübbe, Torben; Nelson, Daniel B.; Rammig, Anja; Rigling, Andreas; Rose, Laura; Ruehr, Nadine K.; Schumann, Katja; Weiser, Frank; Werner, Christiane; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Zang, Christian S.; Kahmen, Ansgar (2020). A first assessment of the impact of the extreme 2018 summer drought on Central European forests. Basic and Applied Ecology, 45, 86-103. DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2020.04.003
• Dubbert Maren, Werner, Christiane (2019). Water fluxes mediated by vegetation: Emerging insights at the soil and atmosphere interfaces. New Phytologist, 221(4), 1754–1763. DOI: 10.1111/nph.15547
• Craine, Joseph M.; Elmore, Aandrew J.; Wang, Lixin; Aranibar, Julieta; Bauters, Marijn; Boeckx, Pascal; Crowley, Brooke E.; Dawes, Melissa A.; Delzon, Sylvain; Fajardo, Alex; Fang, Yunting; Fujiyoshi, Lei; Gray, Alan; Guerrieri, Rossella; Gundale, Michael J.; Hawke, David J.; Hietz, Peter; Jonard, Mathieu; Kearsley, Elizabeth; Kenzo, Tanaka; Makarov, Mikhail; Marañón-Jiménez, Sara; McGlynn, Terrence P.; McNeil, Brenden E.; Mosher, Stella G.; Nelson, David M.; Peri, Pablo L.; Roggy, Jean Christophe; Sanders-DeMott, Rebecca; Song, Minghua; Szpak, Paul; Templer, Pamela H.; Van der Colff, Dewidine; Werner, Christiane; Xu, Xingliang; Yang, Yang; Yu, Guirui; Zmudczyńska-Skarbek, Katarzyna (2018). Isotopic evidence for oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2(11), 1735-1744. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0694-0
• Große-Stoltenberg, André; Hellmann, Christine; Thiele, Jan; Werner, Christiane; Oldeland, Jens (2018). Early detection of GPP-related regime shifts after plant invasion by integrating imaging spectroscopy with airborne LiDAR. Remote Sensing of Environment, 209, 780–792. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.038
• Hellmann, Christine; Große-Stoltenberg, André; Thiele, Jan; Oldeland, Jens; Werner, Christiane (2017). Heterogeneous environments shape invader impacts: integrating environmental, structural and functional effects by isoscapes and remote sensing. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 4118. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04480-4
• Werner, Christiane; Dubbert, Maren (2016). Resolving rapid dynamics of soil–plant–atmosphere interactions. New Phytologist, Commentary, 210(3), 767–769.
• Caldeira, Maria C.; Lecomte, Xavier; David, Teresa S.; Pinto, Joaquim G.; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Werner, Christiane (2015). Synergistic effects of plant invasion and extreme drought reduce ecosystem functioning and resilience. Scientific Reports, 5(1), 15110. DOI: 10.1038/srep15110
• Werner, C.; Schnyder, H.; Cuntz, M.; Keitel, F. C.; Zeeman, M.J.; Dawson, T. E.; Badeck, F.-W.; Brugnoli, E.; Ghashghaie, J.; Grams, T. E. E.; Kayler, Z.; Lakatos, M.; Lee, X.; Máguas, C.; Ogée, J.; Rascher, K. G.; Siegwolf, R.; Unger, S.; Welker, J.; Wingate, L.; Gessler, A. (2012). Progress and challenges in using stable isotopes to trace plant carbon and water relations across scales. Biogeosciences, 9(8), 3083-3111. DOI: 10.5194/bg-9-3083-2012
• Rascher, K.G., Hellmann, C.; Máguas, C.; Werner, C. (2012). Community scale ¹⁵N isoscapes: tracing the spatial impact of an exotic N₂-fixing invader. Ecology Letters, 15(5), 484–491. DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01761.x awarded with the Wilhelm Pfeffer Prize of the German Botanical Society for the Best-Paper
• Werner, Christiane; Gessler, Arthur. (2011). Diel variations in the carbon isotope composition of respired CO2 and associated carbon sources: a review of dynamics and mechanisms. Biogeosciences 8(9), 2437–2459. DOI: 10.5194/bg-8-2437-2011
• Unger, Stephan; Máguas, Cristina; Pereira, João Santos; David, Teresa S.; Werner, Christiane (2010). The influence of precipitation pulses on soil respiration – Assessing the “Birch Effect” by stable carbon isotopes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(10), 1800-1810. DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.06.01