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Bacterial conglomerates such as biofilms and microcolonies are ubiquitous in nature and play an important role in industry and medicine. In contrast to well-mixed, diluted cultures routinely used in microbial research, bacteria in a…
This study investigates the impacts of grazing duration and intensity on vegetation population dynamics in semi-arid ecosystems characterized by seasonal succession. A novel piecewise periodic model is proposed, dividing the annual cycle…
We consider the impact of surface hydrodynamics on the interplay between curvature and composition in coarsening processes on model systems for biomembranes. This includes scaling laws and equilibrium configurations, which are investigated…
Nitrogen is a major nutrient for all life on Earth and could plausibly play a similar role in extraterrestrial biospheres. The major reservoir of nitrogen at Earth's surface is atmospheric N2, but recent studies have proposed that the size…
Abrupt transitions leading to algal blooms are quite well known in aquatic ecosystems and have important implications for the environment. These ecosystem shifts have been largely attributed to nutrient dynamics and food web interactions.…
There are two main life cycles in plants, annual and perennial. These life cycles are associated with different traits that determine ecosystem function. Although life cycles are textbook examples of plant adaptation to different…
Due to climatic changes, excessive grazing, and deforestation, semi-arid and arid ecosystems are vulnerable to desertification and land degradation. As aridity increases, vegetation cover often self-organizes into spatial patterns before…
This contribution reviews the effects of source heterogeneities, melt-rock reactions and intracrustal differentiation on magma chemistry across mid-ocean ridges, intraplate settings and subduction zones using experimental studies and…
Rapidly expanding insect populations, deforestation, and global climate change threaten to destabilize key planetary carbon pools, especially the Earth's forests which link the micro-ecology of insect infestation to climate. To the extent…
Deamination has historically been important for authenticating ancient biomolecules. However, expanding paleogenomic datasets indicate that damage patterns are more influenced by burial hydrology and microstructural context than by…
Creep deformation in shale rocks is an important factor in many applications, such as the sustainability of geostructures, wellbore stability, evaluation of land subsidence, CO2 storage, toxic waste containment, and hydraulic fracturing.…
Subsurface fluid flow and solute transport are pivotal in addressing pressing energy, environmental, and societal challenges, such as geological CO2 storage. Basaltic rocks have gained prominence as suitable geological substrates for…
As the impending consequences of climate change loom over the Earth, it has become vital for researchers to understand the role microorganisms play in this process. In this paper, we examine how environmental factors, including moisture…
Our planet is experiencing an accelerated process of change associated to a variety of anthropogenic phenomena. The future of this transformation is uncertain, but there is general agreement about its negative unfolding that might threaten…
Dryland vegetation can survive water stress by forming spatial patterns but is often subjected to herbivory as an additional stress that puts it at risk of desertification. Understanding the mutual relationships between vegetation…
Coral reefs play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance of the marine ecosystem. Various marine organisms depend on coral reefs for their existence and their natural processes. Coral reefs provide the necessary habitat for…
This thesis assesses the influence of astronomical phenomena on the Earth's biosphere and climate. I examine in particular the relevance of both the path of the Sun through the Galaxy and the evolution of the Earth's orbital parameters in…
Microbial ecosystems are commonly modeled by fixed interactions between species in steady exponential growth states. However, microbes often modify their environments so strongly that they are forced out of the exponential state into…
Vegetation in semi-arid ecosystems frequently organizes into spatially heterogeneous mosaics that regulate ecosystem functioning, productivity, and resilience. These patterns arise from local biological interactions, including facilitation…
Aims: The long-term carbon cycle for planets with a surface entirely covered by oceans works differently from that of the present-day Earth because inefficient erosion leads to a strong dependence of the weathering rate on the rate of…