Roman Link

Research Associate
NameDr. rer. nat. Roman Mathias Link
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Starting 2022 |
Scientific staff, Chair of Forest Botany (TU Dresden) |
2020-2022 |
Postdoc, Ecophysiology and Vegetation Ecology (University of Würzburg) |
2020 |
Doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat) at the University of Goettingen Title: “The role of tree height and wood density for the water use, productivity Thesis advisors: Prof. Dr. Christoph Leuschner, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schuldt |
2018-2020 | Scientific staff, Ecophysiology and Vegetation Ecology (University of Würzburg) |
2014-2018 | Scientific staff, Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research (University of Goettingen) |
2010-2014 | MSc Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution (University of Goettingen) |
2006-2010 | BSc Biodiversity and Ecology (University of Goettingen) |
The central focus of my scientific work is on the ecophysiology of the water transport system of plants, especially on the effect of drought events on the health and survival of trees. I hereby follow a mechanistic, process-based approach that aims to integrate the multitude of plant adaptations to regulate their water relations and withstand drought in an overarching framework to direct the attention on the physical processes driving drought-induced tree mortality. To enable this, a core area of my work is the optimizing existing as well as the developing new measurement methods, and using modern statistical methods to build computational and analytical tools to improve workflows for processing the resulting datasets.
A further focus of my work is the ecology of tropical forests, a topic that I am interested in since the field work for my bachelor thesis, and which I had the pleasure to work with during multiple field trips predominantly to Ecuador and Costa Rica.
Publications
Rieder JS, Link RM, Köthe K, Seidel D, Ullmann T, Žmegač A, Zang C, Schuldt B. 2024. TreeCompR: Tree competition indices for inventory data and 3D point clouds. Methods in Ecology and Evolution n/a.
Wimmler M-C, Nadezhdina N, Bowen H, Alvarado-Barrientos S, David T, Fontenla-Razzetto G, Kniesel B, Lange H, Link RM, Liu Y, et al. (2024). Sap Flow Analyzer: A tool to standardize sap flow estimation and scaling to whole-tree water use using the HFD method. Methods in Ecology and Evolution n/a.
Waite P-A, Kumar M, Link RM, Schuldt B. 2024. Coordinated hydraulic traits influence the two phases of time to hydraulic failure in five temperate tree species differing in stomatal stringency. Tree Physiology: tpae038.
Rieder JS, Link RM, Köthe K, Seidel D, Ullmann T, Žmegač A, Zang C, Schuldt B. 2024. TreeCompR: Tree competition indices for inventory data and 3D point clouds (preprint). biorXiv: 2024.03.23.586379.
Pierick K, Leuschner C, Link RM, Báez S, Velescu A, Wilcke W, Homeier J. 2024. Above- and belowground strategies of tropical montane tree species are coordinated and driven by small-scale nitrogen availability. Functional Ecology n/a.
Kurjak D, Petrík P, Konôpková AS, Link RM, Gömöry D, Hajek P, Liesebach M, Leuschner C, Schuldt B. 2024. Inter-provenance variability and phenotypic plasticity of wood and leaf traits related to hydraulic safety and efficiency in seven European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) provenances differing in yield. Annals of Forest Science 81: 11.
von Lampe F, Link RM, Bergmeier E. 2023. How gradients of climate and soil determine Mediterranean annual-rich dryland vegetation. Journal of Vegetation Science 34:e13214.
Paligi SS, Link RM, Isasa E, Bittencourt P, Cabral JS, Jansen S, Oliveira RS, Pereira L, Schuldt B. 2023. Assessing the agreement between the pneumatic and the flow‐centrifuge method for estimating xylem safety in temperate diffuse‐porous tree species. Plant Biology: n/a.
Isasa E, Link RM, Jansen S, Tezeh FR, Kaack L, Sarmento Cabral J, Schuldt B. 2023. Addressing controversies in the xylem embolism resistance – vessel diameter relationship. New Phytologist: nph.18731.
Gattmann M, McAdam SAM, Birami B, Link RM, Nadal-Sala D, Schuldt B, Yakir D, Ruehr NK. 2022. Anatomical adjustments of the tree hydraulic pathway decrease canopy conductance under long-term elevated CO2. Plant Physiology: kiac482.
Kahmen A, Basler D, Hoch G, Link RM, Schuldt B, Zahnd C, Arend M. 2022. Root water uptake determines the hydraulic vulnerability of temperate European tree species during the extreme 2018 drought. Plant Biology: n/a.
Pierick K, Link RM, Leuschner C, Homeier J. 2022. Elevational trends of tree fine root traits in species-rich tropical Andean forests. OIKOS: e08975.
Kotowska MM, Samhita S, Hertel D, Triadati T, Beyer F, Allen K, Link RM, Leuschner C. 2022. Consequences of tropical rainforest conversion to tree plantations on fine root dynamics and functional traits. OIKOS: e08898.
Arend M, Link RM, Zahnd C, Hoch G, Schuldt B, Kahmen A. 2022. Lack of hydraulic recovery as a cause of post-drought foliage reduction and canopy decline in European beech. New Phytologist 234: 1195–1205.
Hajek P, Link RM, Nock CA, Bauhus J, Gebauer T, Gessler A, Kovach K,Messier C, Paquette A, Saurer M, et al. 2022. Mutually inclusive mechanisms of drought-induced tree mortality. Global Change Biology 28: 3365–3378.
Ramesha MN, Link RM, Paligi SS, Hertel D, Röll A, Hölscher D, Schuldt B. 2022. Variability in growth-determining hydraulic wood and leaf traits in Melia dubia across a steep water availability gradient in southern India. Forest Ecology and Management 505: 119875.
Weithmann G, Link RM, Banzragch B-E, Würzberg L, Leuschner C, Schuldt B. 2022. Soil water availability and branch age explain variability in xylem safety of European beech in Central Europe. Oecologia 198: 629-644.
Arend M, Link RM, Patthey R, Hoch G, Schuldt B, Kahmen A. 2021. Rapid hydraulic collapse as cause of drought-induced mortality in conifers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118: e2025251118.
Fuchs S, Leuschner C, Link RM, Schuldt B. 2021. Hydraulic variability of three temperate broadleaf tree species along a water availability gradient in central Europe. New Phytologist 231: 1387–1400.
Hartmann H, Link RM, Schuldt B. 2021. A whole-plant perspective of isohydry: stem-level support for leaf-level plant water regulation. Tree Physiology 41: 901–905.
Paligi SS, Link RM, Isasa E, Bittencourt P, Cabral JS, Jansen S, Oliveira RS, Pereira L, Schuldt B. 2021. Accuracy of the pneumatic method for estimating xylem vulnerability to embolism in temperate diffuse-porous tree species (Pre-Print). BiorXiv. DOI: 10.1101/2021.02.15.431295
Röll A, Ramesha MN, Link RM, Hertel D, Schuldt B, Patil SL, Hölscher D. 2021. Water Availability Controls the Biomass Increment of Melia dubia in South India. Forests 12: 1675.
Weithmann G, Schuldt B, Link RM, Heil D, Hoeber S, John H, Müller-Haubold H, Schüller L-M, Schumann K, Leuschner C. 2021. Leaf trait modification in European beech trees in response to climatic and edaphic drought. Plant Biology n/a.
Zimmermann J, Link RM, Hauck M, Leuschner C, Schuldt B. 2021. 60-year record of stem xylem anatomy and related hydraulic modification under increased summer drought in ring- and diffuse-porous temperate broad-leaved tree species. Trees 35: 919–937.
Link RM, Fuchs S, Arias Aguilar D, Leuschner C, Castillo Ugalde M, Valverde Otarola JC, Schuldt B. 2020. Tree height predicts the shape of radial sap flow profiles of Costa-Rican tropical dry forest tree species. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 287: 107913.
Li S, Li X, Link RM, Li R, Deng L, Schuldt B, Jiang X, Zhao R, Zheng J, Li S, et al. 2019. Influence of Cambial Age and Axial Height on the Spatial Patterns of Xylem Traits in Catalpa bungei, a Ring-Porous Tree Species Native to China. Forests 10: 662.
Link RM, Schuldt B, Choat B, Jansen S, Cobb AR. 2018. Maximum-likelihood estimation of xylem vessel length distributions. Journal of Theoretical Biology 455: 329–341.
Fuchs S, Leuschner C, Link RM, Coners H, Schuldt B. 2017. Calibration and comparison of thermal dissipation, heat ratio and heat field deformation sap flow probes for diffuse-porous trees. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 244–245: 151–161.
Oral presentations
9/2024 Annual meeting of the GfÖ, Freising, Germany. Link RM, Riedel VP, Waite P-A, Kumar M, Schuldt B. 2024. Conifers and broad-leaved trees fundamentally differ in their water storage strategies.
9/2022 5th Xylem International Meeting, Würzburg, Germany. Link RM, Hajek P, Nock CA, Bauhus J, Gebauer T, Gessler A, Kovach K, Messier C, Paquette A, Saurer M, et al. 2022. Mutually inclusive mechanisms of drought-induced tree mortality.
9/2021 International Online Meeting on Plant Pneumatics. Paligi SP, Link RM, Isasa M, Bittencourt P, Sarmento Cabral J, Jansen S, Oliveira R, Pereira L, Schuldt B. Accuracy of the pneumatic method for estimating xylem vulnerability to embolism in temperate diffuse-porous tree species.
9/2019 4th Xylem International Meeting, Padua, Italy. Link RM, Schuldt B, Choat B, Jansen S, Cobb AR. Estimating xylem vessel length distributions.
9/2019 Annual Meeting of the GfÖ, Münster, Germany. Link RM, Hartmann H, Arias Aguilar D, Valverde Otarola JC, Castillo Ugalde M, Schuldt B. Size, not wood properties, predicts the productivity of Costa Rican tropical forest trees along a lowland precipitation gradient.
3/2018 European Conference of Tropical Ecology, Paris, France. Link RM, Delzon S, Leuschner C, Arias Aguilar D, Valverde Otarola JC, Castillo Ugalde M, Schuldt B. Do structural, functional and wood anatomical traits predict drought responses of Costa Rican tropical forest tree species?
Posters
9/2023 Annual meeting of the GfÖ, Leipzig, Germany. Link RM, Hajek P, Nock CA, Bauhus J, Gebauer T, Gessler A, Kovach K, Messier C, Paquette A, Saurer M, et al. 2022. Neighborhood effects on drought-induced tree mortality.
7/2022 New Phytologist next generation scientists meeting, Tartu, Estonia. Link RM, Hajek P, Nock CA, Bauhus J, Gebauer T, Gessler A, Kovach K, Messier C, Paquette A, Saurer M, et al. Mutually inclusive mechanisms of drought-induced tree mortality.
12/2017 Jount Annual Meeting of the BES, GfÖ, NECOV & EEF, Ghent, Belgium. Link RM, Fuchs S, Arias Aguilar D, Valverde Otarola JC, Schuldt B. Tree height and wood density predict the shape of radial sap flow profiles in tropical dry forest species in Costa Rica.
2/2014 Annual Conference of the German Society of Tropical Ecology (gtö), Freising, Germany. Link RM & Homeier J. Small-scale spatial distribution of Piperaceae and Rubiaceae in a tropical montane ecosystem in southern Ecuador.
2/2011 Annual Conference of the German Society of Tropical Ecology (gtö), Frankfurt, Germany. Link RM, Cumbicus N, Valentin A, Homeier J. The variation of biomass and productivity along gradients of topography and elevation in the Andes of Southern Ecuador.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=MF4v9YEAAAAJ&hl=en
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roman-Link
Github: http://github.com/r-link