Forb Ecology Research Group

The Forb Ecology Research Group (FERG) aims to contribute to an improved understanding of the ecology of grasslands and savannas of tropical and subtropical ecosystems with a particular interest in the ecological behaviour of forbs. Research projects are designed to study how the functions and services of forbs relate to their responses to disturbances with which they have evolved, e.g. herbivory, fire and climate variability. Despite a strong focus on forbs, most studies include comparisons with grasses to better understand the coexistence of these two life forms in grassy ecosystems. Assessing the bottom-up controls of aboveground vegetation patterns are also included in FERG for a more comprehensive outlook on complex global change effects, i.e. land-use and climate change, and changes to natural disturbance events.