Leonie Schönbeck
Researcher - Ecophysiologist
Welcome!
As a plant ecophysiologist, my research interests are related to species-specific responses to climatic stresses, such as drought, heat and VPD. I aim for holistic approaches that take into account the plant from root to leaf, as well as its interaction with its environment and competing plants. I have studied temperate, mediterranean and tropical ecosystems which are all special and experience climate change in their own way. My broad interest in forests from cell to ecosystem allows for many interesting collaborations and multi-disciplinary experiments.
I have studied and worked at multiple institutes in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States of America.
Currently I work as a postdoc, at the Swedish University for Agricultural sciences, funded by the Trees4Future program.
I am associate editor for Annals of Forest science.
News
2024-03-25 New paper out in Tree Physiology. One can always dig deeper and deeper into the details of tree functioning. Here, we applied a technique called metabolic fingerprinting, to assess in detail which chemicals a tree produces in response to drought stress. Two whole adult trees were pulled from the soil with a tractor, to get access to the root system. Root and leaf material were then analyzed for different metabolites. The results show that, when trees are severely suffering under drought (highly defoliated), they produce many stress-related metabolites, in contrast with trees that are also drought-stressed, but still look healthy in stature. Those trees with elevated levels of stress-related metabolites had a significantly higher chance of dying in the following years.The publication can be found on the website of Tree Physiology
2023-09-18 New paper out in Conservation Physiology. Plant physiological measurements can be incredibly useful for nature conservationists and land managers, especially when they target rare or endangered species with specific environmental niches. In this paper, we elaborate on the tools that researchers and land managers can use when working together on monitoring and conserving those species. Drought and heat tolerance of the water transport and photosynthetic system are important indicators for this. With easy and cost-efficient tools, many signs of stress can be recognized early on and corresponding measures can be taken. Read more on the website of Conservation Physiology
2023-09 - New position at the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre. Beginning September, I started a new position at the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences. I work together with Magnus Löf at the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre. Our research questions will be related to climate change-induced stresses such as drought and higher temperatures on Swedish / European tree species. Keep posted!
2023-03-13 - New paper out in Tree Physiology, led by Iris Le Roncé and Jean-Marc Limousin. The broader scope of this research is that we want to know how trees use their energy - towards growth, defense or reproduction. We tested whether early removal of fruits, before they developed, prevented the tree from using energy and nutrients, and thus would leave increased amounts of these carbohydrates and nutrients stored within the tree. The answer is of course as always more complicated than expected. Fruit removal had different effects on male flowers than female flowers, partly because they develop at different timepoints. Read more on the Tree physiology website
