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