Patrick Möhl defended his PhD thesis
Patrick Möhl successfully defended his PhD thesis and was awarded the grade "summe cum laude”!
In his thesis, Patrick investigated the effects of changing snow melt times and summer drought on the ecology of alpine plants. Among others he found that the common sedge Carex curvula closely tracks in its phenology snow melt time but that an earlier onset of the growing season does not mean a longer growing season Rather, Carex plants that started earlier in the season also senesced earlier. This finding is remarkable because it shows that a longe growing season in Alpine ecosystems due to earlier snow melt does not necessarily translate into a longer growing season.
Congratulations Patrick for an outstanding performance.