Research

Fungal Diversity and Conservation

Forest Experiments

Over recent years, we have established multiple forest experiments across scales, from deadwood logs to landscapes. These experiments enable us to assess fungal diversity using classical fruit body inventories and metabarcoding techniques. The data we collect on decomposition rates and other key processes allows us to analyze how complex factors shape fungal communities and influence ecosystem processes. We also study fungal adaptation along environmental gradients, including genetic (e.g., via transcriptomics), morphological, and behavioral levels.

Our goal is to more directly link fungal diversity with ecosystem processes in times of global change, including carbon and nutrient cycling and food web dynamics, through biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships.

Laboratory Experiments

Fungal life cycles are complex, and many environmental influences remain poorly understood, especially across various life stages. Our laboratory studies focus on these gaps by simulating different environmental factors and life stages (from monokaryotic to dikaryotic phases) in climate-controlled chambers. This approach allows us to study each stage, from hyphal growth to fruiting and spore production, under controlled conditions.

Fungal Macroecology

Despite the tremendous diversity of fungi, our understanding of large-scale patterns and underlying drivers is limited. By leveraging extensive distribution data (e.g., from citizen science, GBIF), developing large phylogenies (mega-phylogenies), and analyzing life-history traits, we aim to clarify how fungal diversity varies across time and space.

Reintroduction of Threatened Species 

We focus on conservation efforts for threatened fungal species, including reintroduction projects in collaboration with conservation organizations.