Simone Maria Stuenzi

I am a postdoctoral scientist at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, investigating the Arctic’s boreal forests and their underlying permafrost. These landscapes represent complex, coupled systems that play a pivotal role in Earth’s climate regulation.

My research trajectory began during my Master’s studies, where I first explored the intricate feedbacks between forest dynamics, permafrost stability, and atmospheric interactions. I focus on boreal regions in Siberia and Canada, home to one-third of global forest cover, where vegetation-permafrost-atmosphere couplings are acutely sensitive to climate change.

These forests function as thermal insulators for permafrost. The canopy modulates ground thermal regimes through shading, albedo modification, soil moisture reduction, and organic layer accumulation, effectively decoupling the subsurface from atmospheric warming. This delicate equilibrium preserves vast carbon stocks in frozen soils. However, rising temperatures disrupt this balance, triggering permafrost degradation, forest transformation, and subsequent climate feedbacks.

My research integrates physics-based numerical modeling, field observations, and optical remote sensing to address critical questions: What mechanisms maintain the forest-permafrost-climate equilibrium? How do warming-induced perturbations propagate through these systems? What are the implications for global climate trajectories?

My core expertise encompasses:

• Vegetation-permafrost coupling
• Land-atmosphere interactions in Arctic environments
• Permafrost landscape dynamics
• High-latitude ecosystem transitions
• Climate impact scenario development
• Optical remote sensing