The complex relationships and feedback mechanisms of the different parts of the terrestrial systems require an interdisciplinary research approach. Important system variables, which are being monitored within TERENO, include: relocation and exchange processes of water, matter and energy in the groundwater-vegetation-atmosphere system, long-term changes in the structure and functioning of microorganisms, flora and fauna, as well as socioeconomic conditions that must be determined with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution.

We are tackling the following scientific questions:

• Which consequences will the expected climate change have on the groundwater, soils, vegetation and surface waters?
• In which way will the feedbacks mechanisms affect the terrestrial fluxes of water and matter (e.g. feedbacks between land surface and atmosphere)?
• Which direct influences have soil and landuse changes on water balance, soil fertility, biodiversity and regional climate?
• What are the consequences of large anthropogenic interferences (e.g. open mining, deforestation) on terrestrial systems?

The long-term data sets developed in TERENO will significantly foster the validation, advancement and integration of terrestrial models, e.g. groundwater and soil water balance models, regional climate and weather prognostic models, air quality models, runoff and forest/agronomic models as well as diversity and socioeconomical models. Integrated model systems can comprehensively support the management of agronomic and forest ecosystems, e.g. optimization of irrigation systems as well as development of warning systems for extreme weather occurrences and flooding, integrated control systems of water management constructions, and monitoring systems for air, groundwater and surface water quality.

All TERENO-Northeast data can be accessed via the Data Discovery Portal. Further information can be found at www.TERENO.net.

We investigate processes and drivers underlying (changes in) the geosphere-atmosphere exchange of heat, water vapor, and carbon on a range of temporal (hourly to multi-annual) and spatial (TERENO Northeast: local to regional) scales. The aim is to improve the understanding of the biological, chemical and physical processes that control the exchange of energy and greenhouse gases between soil, vegetation and atmosphere. We are combining ground-based and airborne micro-meteorological measurements, biogeochemical analyses, airborne and satellite remote sensing, numerical simulations, and machine learning methods. The current focus is on heavily disturbed and very dynamic peatland systems in NE Germany rewetted peat bog of the Peene near Zarnekow / Dargun. By determining the gas fluxes between the ecosystem and the atmosphere using the so-called eddy covariance method, we aim to quantify changes in atmospheric composition and radiative forcing resulting from Earth surface processes.  The eddy covariance gas exchange determination method is used at eddy-towers, as well as by means of helicopter or aircraft rides, in order to examine areas of different sizes.

Contact: Prof. Torsten Sachs

In the DEMMIN test field data on vegetation, soil and exchange processes between soil and atmosphere are recorded. The terrestrial data are compared with aircraft and satellite-based information from remote sensing. These algorithms can finally be transferred to areas for which there are remote sensing data, but only a few terrestrial data available. This facilitates to efficiently gain regional insights into environmental conditions.

Contact: Dr. Sibylle Itzerott

In the Great Lake Fürstensee and in its catchment area (Müritz National Park), the dynamics of water and matter moving between running water, sediment and groundwater are examined in detail. In addition, measuring stations are operated at various water gauges in order to monitor the water quality over an extended period of time. In summary, the landscape water balance in the region can be comprehensively stated.

Contact: Dr. Theresa Blume

Within TERENO Northeast, the Microbial Carbon Cycling research group focuses on microbial-mediated carbon turnover and greenhouse gas dynamics in rewetted peatlands. Using molecular techniques, the group identifies, quantifies, and characterizes key microbial taxa involved in methane production and oxidation across various peatland types, assessing their activity and ecological function. This research enhances process-level understanding of trace gas fluxes, providing insights into the microbial contributions to carbon cycling under both natural and anthropogenic peatland development.

Additionally, the group investigates environmental DNA (eDNA) from lake sediments as a proxy for reconstructing Holocene lake ecosystem dynamics. Study sites include near-natural oligo- and mesotrophic kettle bogs in Müritz National Park, the Hütelmoor coastal peatland, the eutrophic Zarnekow polder, and laminated sediments of Lake Tiefer See. These diverse environments offer a comprehensive perspective on microbial community shifts, biogeochemical processes, and long-term ecosystem evolution.

Contact: Prof. Susanne Liebner

Complex instrumental data and observations on climate variability and landscape development are collected to understand and better quantify the transfer of environmental and climate signals into annually laminated lake sediments and tree rings. Instrumental observations and time series help to transfer the physical and chemical parameters measured into proxy data (proxies = substitutes for direct observations) from terrestrial archives. In addition to studying young and old living trees historical, archaeological and fossil wood material from nearby locations is investigated in cooperation with the Department of Natural Sciences at the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Berlin.

Contact: Dr. Gerhard Helle (Dendroclimatology and -ecology, Terrestrial Climate Archives Group, Section 4.6)
Contact: Dr. Birgit Schröder (Lake sediments and Climate reconstructions, Terrestrial Climate Archives Group, Section 4.6)

WETSCAPES2.0: Sinks, links and legacies of novel ecosystems in rewetted fen landscapes (Feb-12 2025)
The rewetted fen “Polder Zarnekow,” a key site within TERENO-Northeastern Germany, is one of the core research locations of the DFG-Transregio-Sonderforschungsbereich 410 WETSCAPES2.0. During its funding period from 2025 to 2028, WETSCAPES2.0 aims to develop an advanced functional understanding of rewetted temperate peatlands and to investigate the spatiotemporal implications of peatland rewetting at the landscape scale and beyond. The research activities at GFZ are led by Torsten Sachs and Susanne Liebner.

Franco-German joint field campaign at Lake Hinnensee (Nov-28 2024)

During the week of November 25-28, 2024, the TERENO-Northeast team, together with Ingo Heinrich, German Archaeological Institute (DAI), and the French team led by Jonathan Barichivich, conducted a field campaign for sampling oaks and pines at Lake Hinnensee.
Jonathan Barichivich is a Research Professor (Directeur de Recherche) at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). He is based at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE) in Paris, France. He leads the ERC project CATES – Long-term Consequences of Altered Tree Growth and Physiology in the Earth System. The project’s goal is to improve the ecology of the terrestrial component of the IPSL Earth System Model using tree rings.
Jonathan’s research team is distributed across various locations in France (LSCE), the United Kingdom (CRU and the University of Leeds), and South America (Austral University of Chile, University of Chile, and Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso). Together with the TERENO team at GFZ, they utilize the TERENO infrastructure at Lake Hinnensee to address pressing global change questions using a broad range of direct and indirect observations, as well as models.

Prof. Achim Brauer honored with DEUQUA Medal of Merit (Oct-10 2024)

On 25 September 2024, Prof. Dr Achim Brauer was awarded the DEUQUA Medal of Merit. The German Quaternary Association honoured Brauer's outstanding scientific achievements in Quaternary research with its highest award. Quaternary, the most recent period in Earth’s history, began around 2.6 million years ago and extends to the present day.  DEUQUA e.V. is the association of German-speaking Quaternary scientists. The award was presented during the joint international annual conference of the Austrian Geological Society (AGS) and DEUQUA, “Pangeo-DEUQUA 2024” in Salzburg.

Exploring Tree Crowns by Crane (May-17 2023)

How can the health status of different tree species in mixed forests be better identified with the help of aerial and satellite images? Is this even possible in time to intervene? A 45-meter-high construction crane located in the middle of a mixed forest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is helping to answer these questions. The crane hoists people and measuring equipment above the treetops to obtain comparative data. The aim is to improve forest monitoring.

The crane is part of a cross-state research network that has been funded by the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR) since the end of 2022. In the research project called FeMoPhys, the Brandenburg State Forestry Office (LFB), the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Forestry Office, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), the LUP company from Potsdam, the University of Greifswald and the Technical University of Berlin are working together.

The test site is located near the town of Demmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Each individual crown of the different tree species - beech, oak, spruce, larch, Douglas fir - can be reached in any position via a personnel conveyor cage on the crane boom. Researchers then measure a variety of parameters at airy heights, the contents of needles and leaves, such as proteins, phenols, tannins, chlorophyll and carotenoids, the density of the crowns and the leaf water content, as well as photosynthesis parameters such as transpiration and assimilation rates. In addition, meteorological measurements, soil moisture and sap flow will be used to record water turnover in the ecosystem. In this way, the researchers want to clarify a question, which has been open since the emergence of remote sensing methods, i.e. whether physiological processes internal to trees can be detected at all via external physical sensors of spectral on-site and remote sensing.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister for Climate Protection, Agriculture, Rural Areas and Environment, Till Backhaus, and Brandenburg's Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection, Axel Vogel, have now informed themselves about the research work directly at the crane site. Vogel said: "The long-standing results of the forest condition survey can now be supplemented by modern remote sensing methods. The findings here are also transferable to other federal states." Till Backhaus added: "In times of climate change, scientifically sound findings on the development of our forests are of central importance. Especially here at the site, it becomes clear that science is not an end in itself, but brings great benefits to society."

The importance of the project was also underlined by Benedikt Wilhelm from the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR): "This project is particularly valuable because methods for monitoring the vitality development of mixed forests are being advanced here." The FNR is supporting the project with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. GFZ project manager Sibylle Itzerott said the project “has ambitious scientific goals and is an excellent example of close cooperation between research institutions and the relevant departments of the German states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg, as well as the FNR.”

• More information:

Project website:  FeMoPhys - Development of a remote sensing-based monitoring procedure based on a physiologically founded vitality assessment of main tree species in mixed stands

All TERENO-Northeast data can be accessed via the Data Discovery Portal. Further information can be found at www.TERENO.net.

Eddy covariance flux towers

Equipped with sonic anemometers, fast high-precision gas analyzers with open and/or closed measurement path (H2O, CO2, CH)

Meteorological stations

A network of meteorological stations that provide air and ground temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, precipitation, wind direction and speed, incoming and outgoing short- and long-wave radiation

Water Storage Dynamics

Monitoring the dynamics of water storage by terrestrial in-situ gravimetry

Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensors

Using cosmic rays and and GNSS reflectometry to measure soil moisture in the ground. It utilises the interaction between cosmic rays and soil to estimate the water content in the soil over large areas.

Groundwater Monitoring Network

Precipitation and canopy shielding

Monitoring canopy shielding by measuring precipitation and stemflow with high temporal resolution in 7 different forest stands