Anna-Liisa Laine
Professor of Plant Biodiversity
University of Helsinki, Finland
Director of the Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme
Director of the Research Centre for Ecological Change
Understanding biodiversity for a better future.
We study ecosystems from the top down and from the bottom up to understand how the world stays green.
The interactions that link species to one another are the building blocks of biodiversity. In our work we are broadly interested in the eco-evolutionary feedback loops that drive species interactions.
To uncover these, we combine experimental, and molecular approaches with field surveys and mathematical modelling. These complementary approaches allow us to pinpoint the processes by which natural communities are structured and how they function.
This offers irreplaceable insight to understand how our biodiversity is responding to ongoing global change, and how we can improve sustainability of the global food production system.
People
Ilona Peltoniemi
Research Technician
Greenhouse, laboratory, field
ilona.peltoniemi[at]helsinki.fi
Krista Raveala
Project Planner
Fieldwork, data management, illustrations
krista.raveala[at]helsinki.fi
Andréa Davrinche
Post doc
Plant ecology, biodiversity, functional traits
andrea.davrinche@helsinki.fi
Luiz Domeignoz Horta
Post doc
Microbial ecology, diversity
luiz.domeignoz-horta[at]ieu.uzh.ch
Michael Giolai
Post doc
Plant pathogen interactions, genomics
michael.giolai[at]uzh.ch
Tuuli Rissanen
Post doc
Species-environment relationships, biodiversity
tuuli.rissanen[at]helsinki.fi
Hanna Susi
Post doc
hanna.susi[at]helsinki.fi
Paula Thitz
Post doc
Plant-invertebrate interactions
paula.thitz[at]helsinki.fi
Carbon Action
Maija Jokinen
PhD student
Molecular biology, viruses
maija.jokinen[at]ieu.uzh.ch
Twitter
Sara Leino
PhD student
Plant-microbe interactions
sara.leino[at]helsinki.fi
Michael Rechsteiner
PhD student
co-supervisor Prof. Dr.Andreas Wagner
michael.rechsteiner[at]ieu.uzh.ch
Marie-louise Spalinger
MSc student
Supervisor Dr. Luiz Domeignoz-Horta
Soil ecology, diversity, nature
marie-louise.spalinger[at]uzh.ch
Research
Key Research Themes
Long-term ecology
Long-term nature observation series are indispensable records of how individual populations and species are responding to environmental change. In the Research Centre for Ecological Change we are systematically collecting long-term ecological data for an unprecedented syntheses of how communities of organisms are responding to change.
Biodiversity in a changing world
We are studying how natural communities are responding to global change and how interactions among species across trophic levels are changing as well.
Global plant demography
As part of PlantPopNet, we are driving a coordinated global effort combining data and theory to understand abiotic and biotic drivers of population persistence and distribution in a changing world.
Biological diversity and sustainable food production
Humans have intensified and mechanized agricultural processes in an effort to boost efficiency, productivity and profits. As a result, global food systems are increasingly generating severe social, environmental, economic and climate costs. We are investigating how mechanisms that promote stability in natural ecosystems could be utilized to develop sustainable and climate-smart food production systems.
Intraspecific variation in host-parasite interactions
Understanding how diversity is maintained in host and parasite populations is one of the core challenges in disease biology. Using long-term population dynamic data combined with genomics and experimentation, we address this question in a natural plant-pathogen interaction. This work brings us one step closer to answering questions of how risks of virulence and pathogen occurrence evolve – important questions from both basic and applied points of view.
Pathogen communities
Across biological systems it is becoming increasingly clear that host populations and even single host individuals are typically exploited by diverse pathogen communities. In our work we aim to understand the spatio-temporal determinants of this diversity, and what the eco-evolutionary implications are for both hosts and pathogens.
Funders
Funded by the European Union (ERC, Co-EvoChange, 101097545). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Publications
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News
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Contact
Anna-Liisa Laine
Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
PO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Email: anna-liisa.laine[at]helsinki.fi
Twitter: @annaliisalaine