Dr. habil. Matthias Arend

Researcher and lecturer

Consultations by appointment

Campus II | Behringstr. 21 | Room H 121

Research Interest  Education and Professional Experience  Key Publications

Research Interest

I am an ecophysiologist broadly interested in the complex interactions between plants and their environment. My research focusses on trees and forest ecosystems and how they function in a rapidly changing climate. I mainly explore physiological processes at the level of the whole tree, but I am also interested in the molecular mechanisms behind them.

Education and Professional Experience

Since 2022        Senior Scientist, Plant Ecology Group, University Trier, Germany

2016 – 2022      Senior Scientist, Physiological Plant Ecology Group, University Basel, Switzerland

2008 – 2016      Research associate, Federal Institute WSL, Switzerland

2001 – 2008      Research associate, Wood Biology Group, Technical University Munich, Germany

1998 – 2001      PhD Student, Wood Biology Group, Technical University Munich, Germany

1992 – 1997      BSc/MSc Student, Forest Sciences, Technical University Dresden, Germany

Key publications

(full publication list on Research Gate)

Arend M, Hoch G, Kahmen A (2024) Stem growth phenology, not canopy greening constrains deciduous tree growth. Tree Physiology 44: tpad160

Kahmen A, Basler D, Hoch G, Link RM, Schuldt B, Zahnd C, Arend M (2022) Root water uptake depth determines the hydraulic vulnerability of temperate European tree species during the extreme 2018 drought. Plant Biology 24: 1224-1239.

Arend M, Link RM, Zahnd C, Hoch G, Schuldt B, Kahmen A (2022) Lack of hydraulic recovery as cause of post-drought foliage reduction and canopy deterioration in European beech. New Phytologist 234: 1195-1205.

McDowell N, Sapes G, Pivovaroff A, Adams H, Allen CD, Anderegg WRL, Arend M, Breshears DD, Brodribb T, Choat B, Cochard H, De Cáceres M, De Kauwe MG, Grossiord C, Hammond WH, Hartmann H, Hoch G, Kahmen A, Klein T, Mackay SD, Mantova M, Martínez-Vilalta J, Medlyn BE, Mencuccini M, Nardini A, Oliveira RS, Sala A, Tissue DT, Torres-Ruiz JM, Trowbridge A, Trugman AT, Wiley E, Xu C. (2022) Mechanisms of woody plant mortality under rising drought, CO2, and vapor pressure deficit. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 3: 294-308.

Arend M, Link RM, Patthey R, Hoch G, Schuldt B, Kahmen A (2021) Rapid collapse of the hydraulic system as cause of drought-induced mortality in mature conifers. PNAS 118 (16): e2025251118.

Gessler A, Bottero A, Marshall JD, Arend M (2020) The way back: recovery of trees from drought and its implication for acclimation. New Phytologist, doi: 10.1111/nph.16703

Hagedorn F, Joseph J, Peter M, Luster J, Pritsch K, Geppert U, Kerner R, Molinier V, Egli S, Schaub M, Liu JF, Li M, Sever K, Weiler M, Siegwolf RTW, Gessler A, Arend M (2016) Recovery of trees from drought depends on belowground sink control. Nature Plants 16111, doi: 10.1038/nplants.2016.111