Johannes Metz

Competition in mesic sites and drought stress combined with short growing seasons in drier sites are key environmental factors along macroclimatic aridity gradients. They impose a triangular trade-off for local...

Ecotypic differentiation, reflected in substantial trait differences across populations, has been observed in various plant species distributed across aridity gradients. Nevertheless, ecotypic differentiation in leaf silicon concentration, known to alleviate...

We studied heavy metal levels in floodplain soils of the Innerste River in northern Germany and in the leaves of wild blackberries (Rubus fruticosus L. agg.) growing within and in...

Rapid evolution of traits and of plasticity may enable adaptation to climate change, yet solid experimental evidence under natural conditions is scarce. Here, we imposed rainfall manipulations (+30%, control, -30%)...

Bet-hedging via between-year seed dormancy is a costly strategy for plants in unpredictable environments. Theoretically, fitness costs can be reduced through a parental environmental effect when the environment is partly...

For evaluating climate change impacts on biodiversity, extensive experiments are urgently needed to complement popular non-mechanistic models which map future ecosystem properties onto their current climatic niche. Here, we experimentally...

The eastern Mediterranean faces a severe water crisis: water supply decreases due to climate change, while demand increases due to rapid population growth. The GLOWA Jordan River project generates science-based...