We are a collection of researchers driven by our curiosity to understand how the terrestrial biosphere operates. We work at the intersection of Earth system science, ecophysiology, biogeochemistry, ecology, applied statistics, machine learning, and high-performance computing. With our research we contribute to a better understanding of issues that are becoming increasingly pressing to society and policy and that are key to creating a sustainable future.
We are committed to an Open Science practice. We’re building an environment of open source tools for ecosystem data and modelling. This should empower the community to use latest methodological innovations, developed by our group. Here is a list of our products.
Visit our group website at https://geco-group.org/.
- Bern drought monitor 🌡️
- rsofun - An R package for dynamic vegetation modelling -
- rpmodel - An R implementation of the P-model -
- grsofun - A wrapper of {rsofun} for global model simulations.
- rgeco - Internal R package for model development support, visualization and data wrangling ( 💥 experimental 💥 )
- FluxDataKit - Workflow to convert FLUXNET data to Land Surface Model formats
- FluxnetEO - Access and convert FluxnetEO data in R
- ingestr - Experimental package for data ingestion
- earthnet-minicuber - A fork from earthnet2021, complemented by additional data source ingestion (geospatial Earth Observation and climate data) and functionalities.
- leafnp_data - Leaf N, P, and N:P data by Tian et al. (2024), complemented with environmental covariates. Contains the data and code for generating it. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11071944
- mlflx4 - LSTM and DNN models for FLUXNET GPP modelling
- forest drought forecasting - leveraging minicubes to forecast forest drought events
- vegetation drought response forecasting - forecasting the response of drought events on vegeation using ConvLSTM models
- Land in the Earth System - introducing global patterns, processes, and underlying principles for how climate shapes the terrestrial biosphere and how land feeds back to Earth system dynamics.
- Applied Geodata Science - an introduction to data science in R
- A handful of Pixels - an introduction into geocomputation in R
- Digital Soil Mapping - an introduction to digital soil mapping
- Leaf Temperature Modelling - an introduction to modelling a leaf's energy balance
- Machine learning for Eddy Covariance data - a tutorial for data-driven ecosystem photosynthesis modelling
- Global wetland and peatland modelling - a tutorial introducing the TOPMODEL-based wetland and peatland model DYPTOP
- R project template - a basic R template to populate project directories
- R code tools - a selection of commonly used development tools and practices
- Youtube channel with tutorials - a video tutorial channel for the tools listed here 🎥
- rsofun demos - demonstrates typical use cases of the rsofun model, beyond simple use cases described on the rsofun website.
- [Land in the Earth System II](https://geco-bern.github.io/les/ - introducing how the terrestrial biosphere and land processes interact with climate change
- Applied Geodata Science I - an introduction to applied geodata science
- Applied Geodata Science II - an overview of real-world geodata science applications
- Applied Geodata Science Proseminar - an introduction to start your own applied geodata science project
- geco_code_of_conduct - mission, principles, and logistics for the group
- data management - data storage and management for research computing 🔒
- system administration - software installation and howtos 🔒
- lab infrastructure - details on lab equipment (what/where) 🔒
- GECO media - teaching materials
- GECO media - GECO media material - posters, presentations, visualizations 📖
- Diagnosing evapotranspiration responses to water deficit across biomes using deep learning - Giardina et al., 2023 New Phytologist
- Quantifying soil moisture impacts on light use efficiency across biomes - Stocker et al., 2018 New Phytologist
- Acclimation of phenology relieves leaf longevity constraints in deciduous forests - Marqués et al., 2023 Nature Ecology & Evolution
- Tree Growth Enhancement Drives a Persistent Biomass Gain in Unmanaged Temperate Forests - Marqués et al. 2023 AGU Advances
- Rooting zone water storage capacity - Stocker et al., 2023 Nature Geoscience
- Cumulative water deficit algorithm - Stocker et al., 2023 Nature Geoscience
- Environmental versus phylogenetic controls on leaf nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations of terrestrial plants - Tian et al., 2024 Nature Communications
- Empirical evidence and theoretical understanding of ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycle interactions - Stocker et al., 2025 New Phytologist
- Budyko-based analysis of patterns in AET/P across eddy covariance sites - BSc thesis of Anna Grossmann
- Droughts in the last millennium - MSc thesis of Patricia Helpap
Code use and collaboration policy The authors of these packages are open to collaborate. Where substantial intellectual inputs are provided by us, we ask for credit. Intellectual input can take the form of (but is not limited to) custom code, data manipulation, or methodological advice (including experimental design). The form of credit is to be determined in mutual agreement, considering contributions, and may include the authorship on manuscripts or on other research products resulting from respective work. For simple questions regarding the functioning of our open source software, please refer first to the extensive documentation on respective websites (see links above), our YouTube channel, and related published papers. For remaining questions, please raise an issue on Github (in the respective repository). Of course, for such types of support and issue resolution, we do not expect co-authorships. Fair acknowledgements and properly cited software and literature is appreciated. Thank you. More details are provided in the GECO code of conduct / mission statement.
