GreenRobust: Understanding Robustness of Plant Systems from Molecules to Ecosystems

01/01/2026 to 31/12/2032

Plants are the foundation of terrestrial life. To ensure survival, plants have evolved effective
and versatile strategies that cope with changes in the environment, ensuring robustness, i.e.
the maintenance of function despite perturbation. Given increasing anthropogenic pressures on our planet, understanding the mechanisms and limits of plant robustness is crucial
for developing effective, knowledge-based mitigation strategies to preserve plant-based ecosystems and ensure agricultural productivityTo elucidate the principles underpinning the robustness of plant life, the GreenRobust
Cluster of Excellence combines scientific expertise at the universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Hohenheim into an ambitious, high-risk/high-gain research program. This program
is structured along three Research Axes: (A) climatic and biotic perturbations, (B) levels of
biological organization, from molecules to populations, and (C) biodiversity across a judiciously selected set of species from three plant families of ecological and agricultural significance, plus a multicellular outgroup. Collaborative Research Projects intersecting these three
axes will be supported by two central structures, the Plant Perturbation Atlas (PPA) and the
Central Data Hub (CDH). The PPA will produce a comprehensive dataset on the multi-level
responses of plants to perturbation and their robustness, from molecules to populations. The
CDH will ensure the quality and integrability of all datasets generated in this cluster. Analyses
of these datasets, leveraging causal inference, network theory, and incorporating recent advances in artificial intelligence, will enable GreenRobust to develop multi-factorial quantitative
models, which will identify and predict mechanisms that shape robustness across perturbations, levels of biological organization, and species. Building on basic science, GreenRobust
will transfer its findings for societal benefit through application-oriented Emerging Translational Projects (ETPs), in collaboration with non-academic partners, and the GreenRobust
College, which will communicate science to the wider public. Early-career researchers will be
supported by the career program RobustTracks. Three new full professorships and three
tenure-track junior professorships will strengthen existing academic structures and advance research and education within and beyond the cluster.
GreenRobust will be a centre of scientific excellence and societal relevance that i) leverages
the distinctive repertoire of scientific expertise of the Tübingen-Heidelberg-Hohenheim area,
ii) provides a thorough understanding of plant robustness along three Research Axes, iii) delivers roadmaps for the sustainable management of plants in natural and agricultural ecosystems, iv) fosters academic infrastructure and public outreach, and v) trains the next generation
of systems-oriented plant scientists.