Prof. Dr. Christiane Werner

• 2015 – present
  Full Professor of Ecosystem Physiology, University Freiburg (W3)
  
• 2012 – 2015
  Full Professor of AgroEcosystem Research, University Bayreuth (W2)
  
• 2004-2012
  Junior Professor of Ecophysiological Plant Ecology, University Bielefeld (W1)
  
• 2003 – present
  Head of the stable isotope laboratory
  
• 2001
  Scientific assistant, University Bielefeld
  
• 2000-2001
  Post-doc in the European project NETCARB, Lisbon, Portugal
  
• 1998-2000
  Research assistant in Ecological Restoration, University of Lisbon
  
• 1996-2000
  PhD, University of Bielefeld, Germany “Evaluation of structural and functional adaptations of Mediterranean macchia species to drought stress with emphasis on the effects of photoinhibition on whole-plant carbon gain – a modelling approach” (summa cum laude)
  
• 1992
  ERASMUS student at the University of Lisbon
  
• 1995
  Graduation (Diploma) of Biology, University of Cologne „Water relations and photosynthesis on cork- oak with special reference to the effect of bark-stripping“

Als ausgebildete Ökophysiologin interessiere ich mich für die Reaktionen von Pflanzen und Ökosystemen auf den Klimawandel und untersuche Prozesse von der molekularen bis zur ökosystemaren Ebene durch experimentelle Labor- und Feldarbeit. Kernbereiche meines Interesses sind: Pflanzenökophysiologie und Ökosystemfunktionen, Stressökophysiologie, Anpassungen an den Klimawandel, Ökologie stabiler Isotope, Primär- und Sekundärstoffwechsel, VOC, Photoinhibition, Atmung, Photosynthese und Wasserverhältnisse, Austausch zwischen Ökosystem und Atmosphäre, Ökohydrologie, Mittelmeerraum, invasive Arten, Wechselwirkungen zwischen Pflanzen und Ökosystemen, Wettbewerb, globaler Wandel

• Wannenmacher M., Meischner M., Stock C., Dumberger S., Kreuzwieser J., Haberstroh S., Werner C. (2026): Synergistic effect of heat and drought on leaf VOC emissions and root exudates in Norway spruce saplings bioRxiv. doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.29.721567
• Werner, C., Bahn, M., Grams, T.E.E. and Grossiord, C. (2026), Impacts of droughts and drought legacies on plants and ecosystems. Plant Biol J, 28: 549-552. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.70207
• Lee, H., Cadman, F.A., Dumberger, S., Frey, J., Soltani, S., Kattenborn, T., Haberstroh, S., Werner, C., Kreuzwieser, J. (2026). Unexpectedly high aldehyde emissions from stems of six major European tree species. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 385, 111193. doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111193
• Lee, H., Katlewski, S., Weber, P. C., Wehlings-Schmitz, S., Brzozon, J., Schack-Kirchner, H., … & Kreuzwieser, J. (2026). Soil terpenoid content and emissions are shaped by litter chemistry and soil depth. Plant and Soil, 518(2), 1589-1606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-025-08078-y
• Yingyan, Wang; Liao, Zhengqiao; Liu, Lei; Chen, Junhua; Gu, Jiacun; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Werner, Christiane; Du, Baoguo (2026). Effects of introducing different species mixtures on soil bacterial community and N and P cycling in Cupressus funebris monoculture. Plant and Soil, 518, 1129–1148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-025-08061-7
• Liao, Zhengqiao; Liu, Lei; Yang, Yulian; Lu, Nini; Wu, Guilin; Li, Ping; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Werner, Christiane; Du, Baoguo (2026). Fatty acids composition and secondary metabolites of cypress monoculture were differently influenced by neighboring species identity, Forest Ecology and Management 612, 123731. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123731
• Magh, R.-K., Paligi, S.S., Papastefanou, P., Klosterhalfen, A., Ammer, C., Beyer, M., Dubbert, M., Haberstroh, S., Rhode, C., Werner, C., Hildebrandt, A. (2026). Continuous stem water potential measurements with microtensiometry reveals species and soil matric potential control of stem water potential in temperate forests. Ecohydrology, 19, e70197. doi:10.1002/eco.70197
• Zakariapour, M.; Stock, C.; Werner, C.; Reiterer, A. (2026) Design and characterization of a compact and lightweight dual-wavelength chlorophyll fluorescence light detection and ranging sensor (ChloroFLiDAR) for remote plant stress assessment. Opt. Express 34, 12865-12883. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.585674
• Wannenmacher, M., Haberstroh, S., Kreuzwieser, J., Doan, T.H., Niederberger, J., Prietzel, J., Lang, F., Werner, C. (2025). Spatio-temporal plasticity of root exudation in three temperate tree species: effects of season, site and soil characteristics. Physiologia Plantarum, 177, e70681. doi:10.1111/ppl.70681
• Frey, Y., Simon, L., Dumberger, S., Haberstroh, S., Werner, C., Wallrabe, U. (2025). Sensor evaluation for leaf temperature within a minimal invasive leaf cuvette. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 396, 117045. doi:10.1016/j.sna.2025.117045
• Frey, Y., Dumberger, S., Haberstroh, S., Werner, C., Wallrabe, U. (2025). The ECOvette: Unveiling plant dynamics through direct leaf emission analysis. ACS ES&T Engineering, 5, 3096-3106. doi:10.1021/acsestengg.5c00462
• Meischner, M., Haberstroh, S., Kreuzwieser, J., Schnitzler, J.-P., Werner, C. (2025). Localized response of de novo terpenoid emissions through the jasmonate signaling cascade in two main European tree species. Physiologia Plantarum, 177, e70432. doi:10.1111/ppl.70432
• Werner, C., Bahn, M., Grams, T.E.E., Grossiord, C., Haberstroh, S., Lenczner, G., Tuia, D., Vallicrosa Pou, H. (2025). Impact of emerging compound droughts on forests: a water supply and demand perspective. Plant Biology, in press. doi:10.1111/plb.70080
• Kinzinger, L., Haberstroh, S., Mach, J., Weiler, M., Orlowski, N., Werner, C. (2025). Continuous in-situ water stable isotopes reveal rapid changes in root water uptake by Fagus sylvatica during severe drought. Plant, Cell & Environment, 48, 7627-7639. doi:10.1111/pce.70055
• Haberstroh, S., Christen, A., Sulzer, M., Scarpa, F., Werner, C. (2025). Recurrent hot droughts cause persistent legacy effects in a temperate Scots Pine forest. Plant Biology, early view. doi:10.1111/plb.70066
• Dumberger, S., Kinzinger, L., Weiler, M., Werner, C., Haberstroh, S. (2025). Dynamic shifts in radial sap flow of two temperate tree species in response to the dry summer 2022. Ecohydrology, 18, e70054. doi:10.1002/eco.70054
• Daber L.E., Kreuzwieser J., Meischner M., Williams J., Werner C. (2025): Chiral monoterpene dynamics of shoots and roots of Norway spruce in response to drought. bioRxiv. doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.02.651829
• Haberstroh, S., Scarpa, F., Seeger, S. Christen, A., Werner, C. (2025). Continuous stem water potential measurements of a diffuse-porous tree species offer new insights into tree water relations. Ecohydrology, 18, e2761. doi:10.1002/eco.2761
• Ohlert, Timothy; Smith, Melinda D.; Collins, Scott L.; Knapp, Alan K.; Dukes, Jeffrey S.; Sala, Osvaldo; …Werner, Christiane; … et al. (2025). „Drought intensity and duration interact to magnify losses in primary productivity.“ Science 390 (6770), S. 284–289. DOI: 10.1126/science.ads8144.
• Radolinski, Jesse; Vremec, Matevz; Wachter, Herbert; Birk, Steffen; Brüggemann, Nicolas; Herndl, Markus; Kahmen, Ansgar; Nelson, Daniel B.; Kübert, Angelika; Schaumberger, Andreas; Stumpp, Christine; Tissink, Maud; Werner, Christiane & Bahn, Michael (2025). „Drought in a warmer, CO₂-rich climate restricts grassland water use and soil water mixing.“ Science, 387: 290-296. DOI: 10.1126/science.ado0734
• Bondaruk, Viviana F.; Xu, Chong; …; Werner, Christiane; et al.  (2025). „Aridity modulates grassland biomass responses to combined drought and nutrient addition.“ Nat Ecol Evol 9: 937–946. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-025-02705-8.
• Grosse-Stoltenberg, Andre; Werner, Christiane; Hellmann, Christine; Oldeland, Jens; Thiele Jan (2025). „Quantifying the spatial impact of an invasive Acacia on ecosystem functioning using remote sensing.“ Ecological Indicators 170, 112928, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112928
• Werner, C., Wallrabe, U., Christen, A., Comella, L., Dormann, C., Göritz, A., Grote, R., Haberstroh, S., et al. (2024). ECOSENSE – Multi-scale quantification and modelling of spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystem processes by smart autonomous sensor networks. Research Ideas and Outcomes, 10, e129357. doi:10.3897/rio.10.e129357
• Meischner, M., Dumberger, S., Daber, L.E., Haberstroh, S., Kreuzwieser, J., Schnitzler J.-P., Werner, C. (2024). Jasmonic acid and heat stress induce high leaf VOCs fluxes in Picea abies aboveground but not belowground. Tree Physiology, tpae059. doi:10.1093/treephys/tpae059
• Haberstroh, S., Kübert, A., Werner, C. (2024). Two common pitfalls in the analysis of water stable isotopologues with cryogenic vacuum extraction and cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Analytical Science Advances, 5, e202300053. doi:10.1002/ansa.202300053
• Kinzinger, L., Mach, J., Haberstroh, S., Schindler, Z., Frey, J., Dubbert, M., Seeger, S., Seifert, T., Weiler, M., Orlowski, N., Werner, C. (2024). Interaction between beech and spruce trees in temperate forest ecosystem affects water use, root water uptake pattern and canopy structure. Tree Physiology, 44, tpad144. doi:10.1093/treephys/tpad144
• Pugliese, Giovanni; Ingrisch, Johannes; Meredith, Laura K.; Pfannerstill, Eva Y.; Klüpfel, Thomas; Meeran, Kathiravan; Byron, Joseph; Purser, Gemma; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; van Haren, Joost; Dontsova, Katerina; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Werner, Christiane; Williams, Jonathan (2023). Effects of drought and recovery on soil volatile organic compound fluxes in an experimental rainforest. Nature Communications, 14(1), 5064. DOI: 1038/s41467-023-40661-8
• Honeker, Linnea K; Pugliese, Giovanni; Ingrisch, Johannes; Fudyma, Jane; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Carpenter, Elizabeth; Singer, Esther; Hildebrand, Gina; Shi, Lingling; Hoyt, David W.; Krechmer, Jordan E.; Claflin, Megan; Ayala-Ortiz, Christian; Freire-Zapata, Viviana; Pfannerstill, Eva Y.; Daber, L. Erik; Meeran, Kathiravan; Dippold, Michaela A.; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Williams, Jonathan; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Werner, Christiane; Tfaily, Malak M.; Meredith, Laura K. (2023). Drought re-routes soil microbial carbon metabolism towards emission of volatile metabolites in an artificial tropical rainforest. Nature Microbiology, 8(8), 1480–1494. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01432-9
• Byron, Joseph; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Purser, Gemma; van Haren, Joost; Ladd, S. Nemiah; Meredith, Laura K.; Werner, Christiane; Williams, Jonathan (2022). Chiral monoterpenes reveal forest emission mechanisms and drought responses. Nature, 609(7026), 307–312. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05020-5
• Haberstroh, Simon, Werner, Christiane (2022). The role of species interactions for forest resilience to drought. Plant Biology, 24(7), 1098-1107. DOI: 10.1111/plb.13415
• Werner, Christiane; Meredith, Laura K.;  Ladd, S. Nemiah; Ingrisch, Johannes; Kübert, Angelika; van Haren, Joost; Bahn, Michael; Bailey, Kinzie; Bamberger, Ines; Beyer, Matthias; Blomdahl, Daniel; Byron, Joseph; Daber, Erik; Deleeuw, Jason; Dippold, Michaela; Fudyma, Jane; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Honeker, Linnea K.; Hu, Jia; Huang, Jianbei; Klüpfel, Thomas; Krechmer, Jordan; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; Kühnhammer, Kathrin; Lehmann, Marco M.; Meeran, Kathiravan; Misztal, Pawel K.; Ng, Wei-Ren; Pfannerstill, Eva; Pugliese, Giovanni; Purser, Gemma; Roscioli, Joseph; Shi, Lingling; Tfaily, Malak; Williams, Jonathan (2021). Ecosystem fluxes during drought and recovery in an experimental forest. Science, 374(6574), 1514-1518. DOI: 10.1126/science.abj6789
• Werner, Christiane; Fasbender, Lukas; Romek, Katarzyna M.; Yáñez-Serrano, Ana Maria; Kreuzwieser, Jürgen; (2020). Heat waves change plant carbon allocation among primary and secondary metabolism altering CO₂ assimilation, respiration, and VOC emissions. Frontiers in plant science, 11, 1242. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01242
• Schuldt, Bernhard; Buras, Allan; Arend, Matthias; Vitasse, Yann; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Damm, Alexander; Gharun, Mana; Grams, Thorsten E. E.; Hauck, Markus; Hajek, Peter; Hartmann, Henrik; Hilbrunner, Erika; Hoch, Günter; Holloway-Phillips, Meisha; Körner, Christian; Larysch, Elena; Lübbe, Torben; Nelson, Daniel B.; Rammig, Anja; Rigling, Andreas; Rose, Laura; Ruehr, Nadine K.; Schumann, Katja; Weiser, Frank; Werner, Christiane; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Zang, Christian S.; Kahmen, Ansgar (2020). A first assessment of the impact of the extreme 2018 summer drought on Central European forests. Basic and Applied Ecology, 45, 86-103. DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2020.04.003
• Dubbert Maren, Werner, Christiane (2019). Water fluxes mediated by vegetation: Emerging insights at the soil and atmosphere interfaces. New Phytologist, 221(4), 1754–1763. DOI: 10.1111/nph.15547
• Craine, Joseph M.; Elmore, Aandrew J.; Wang, Lixin; Aranibar, Julieta; Bauters, Marijn; Boeckx, Pascal; Crowley, Brooke E.; Dawes, Melissa A.; Delzon, Sylvain; Fajardo, Alex; Fang, Yunting; Fujiyoshi, Lei; Gray, Alan; Guerrieri, Rossella; Gundale, Michael J.; Hawke, David J.; Hietz, Peter; Jonard, Mathieu; Kearsley, Elizabeth; Kenzo, Tanaka; Makarov, Mikhail; Marañón-Jiménez, Sara; McGlynn, Terrence P.; McNeil, Brenden E.; Mosher, Stella G.; Nelson, David M.; Peri, Pablo L.; Roggy, Jean Christophe; Sanders-DeMott, Rebecca; Song, Minghua; Szpak, Paul; Templer, Pamela H.; Van der Colff, Dewidine; Werner, Christiane; Xu, Xingliang; Yang, Yang; Yu, Guirui; Zmudczyńska-Skarbek, Katarzyna (2018). Isotopic evidence for oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2(11), 1735-1744. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0694-0
• Große-Stoltenberg, André; Hellmann, Christine; Thiele, Jan; Werner, Christiane; Oldeland, Jens (2018). Early detection of GPP-related regime shifts after plant invasion by integrating imaging spectroscopy with airborne LiDAR. Remote Sensing of Environment, 209, 780–792. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.038
• Hellmann, Christine; Große-Stoltenberg, André; Thiele, Jan; Oldeland, Jens; Werner, Christiane (2017). Heterogeneous environments shape invader impacts: integrating environmental, structural and functional effects by isoscapes and remote sensing. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 4118. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04480-4
• Werner, Christiane; Dubbert, Maren (2016). Resolving rapid dynamics of soil–plant–atmosphere interactions. New Phytologist, Commentary, 210(3), 767–769.
• Caldeira, Maria C.; Lecomte, Xavier; David, Teresa S.; Pinto, Joaquim G.; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Werner, Christiane (2015). Synergistic effects of plant invasion and extreme drought reduce ecosystem functioning and resilience. Scientific Reports, 5(1), 15110. DOI: 10.1038/srep15110
• Werner, C.; Schnyder, H.; Cuntz, M.; Keitel, F. C.; Zeeman, M.J.; Dawson, T. E.; Badeck, F.-W.; Brugnoli, E.; Ghashghaie, J.; Grams, T. E. E.; Kayler, Z.; Lakatos, M.; Lee, X.; Máguas, C.; Ogée, J.; Rascher, K. G.; Siegwolf, R.; Unger, S.; Welker, J.; Wingate, L.; Gessler, A. (2012). Progress and challenges in using stable isotopes to trace plant carbon and water relations across scales. Biogeosciences, 9(8), 3083-3111. DOI: 10.5194/bg-9-3083-2012
• Rascher, K.G., Hellmann, C.; Máguas, C.; Werner, C. (2012). Community scale ¹⁵N isoscapes: tracing the spatial impact of an exotic N₂-fixing invader. Ecology Letters, 15(5), 484–491. DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01761.x awarded with the Wilhelm Pfeffer Prize of the German Botanical Society for the Best-Paper
• Werner, C.; Gessler, A. (2011). Diel variations in the carbon isotope composition of respired CO2 and associated carbon sources: a review of dynamics and mechanisms. Biogeosciences 8(9), 2437–2459. DOI: 10.5194/bg-8-2437-2011
• Unger, Stephan; Máguas, Cristina; Pereira, João Santos; David, Teresa S.; Werner,Christiane (2010). The influence of precipitation pulses on soil respiration – Assessing the “Birch Effect” by stable carbon isotopes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(10), 1800-1810. DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.06.01

• 2024 Landesforschungspreis Baden-Württemberg
• 2015
  ERC consolidator grantee
• 2013
  Wilhelm Pfeffer Prize for best-Paper of the German Botanical Society (DBG) for Rascher et al. 2012, Ecol Letters
• 2000 – 2001
  Post-doc grant of the EC-Network Project NETCARB Network for Ecophysiology in Closing Terrestrial CARbon Budget) at the University of Lisbon, Portugal
• 2000
  Best “Dissertation 2000”, Award, Lippisch-Westf. Universitätsgesellschaft
• 2009
  Karl Peter Grotemeyer-Prize, award for outstanding achievements and personal engagement in teaching
• 2006
  Support for committed female scientist; University of Bielefeld

• Editor in Chief Plant Biology (since 2021)
• Editorial board
  Funct. Plant Ecol since 2011,
  Scientific Data since 2015,
  Tree Physiol (2003),
• Review panel for the German (DFG), Austrian (FWF), Swiss (SNF), France (ASF), US (NSF), Israel (ISF) and Portuguese (FCT) national science foundation’s and reviewed papers for over 15 years in 30 scientific journals
• Since 2017 – Member of the scientific board of Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPI Geoscience Jena)
• co-organization of conference, summer schools and symposia, convener at AGU
• Jury member of the Habfast-Association of the German Association for Stable Isotope Research
• Mentor for young female scientists within the dual-career program (TANDEMplus etc.)
• mentoring ERASMUS students (Portugal, Greece)