Max Planck Institutes and Experts

The consequences of climate extremes on the carbon cycle of land ecosystems are not yet fully understood. However, it is becoming apparent that climate extremes tend to trigger a disproportionately high release of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Current research in the department “Biogeochemical Integration” at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry aims at estimating the relevance of this phenomenon at global scales.

The traits of living organisms define their interaction with the environment and are an essential basis of ecological research. At the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry the TRY initiative has united and consolidated worldwide collections of plant traits in a global database and makes them available for further research. The improved usage of plant trait data is expected to promote a paradigm shift from species- to trait-based ecology. Moreover, it facilitates accounting for biodiversity aspects in Earth system sciences.

Calculations using a global Earth chemistry model show that about 80 % of the population worldwide is exposed to fine particulate matter concentrations that are higher than the guideline concentration by the World Health Organization (10 µg/m³) and 35 % to more than 25 µg/m³ (EU Directive). Presently, gaseous and particulate air pollution causes about 3.4 million premature deaths per year. In the coming decades air pollution and related public health impacts are projected to increase particularly rapidly in South and East Asia and in the Middle East.

Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz have investigated up to 2.70 m long giant spicules of the deep-sea glass sponge Monorhaphis chuni by new microanalytical techniques. They showed that the lifespan of these biogenic silica structures can be up to 13,000 years. Giant spicules therefore offer a unique opportunity to record changes of past oceanic and climatic conditions.

Simple methods applicable in liquids enable the construction of surfaces with defined porosity. The processes also allow the incorporation of drugs into the surface and by suitable coating also the controlled release. This enables the design of the contact between the surface and adjacent cells. For perspective hard implant materials like Ti it is thus possible to stimulate the growth of osteoblasts, the dominant cells of bones.