He studied the flora of the Danube region surrounding Regensburg. In June 1798 he first explored the Untersberg massif near Salzburg, and almost each summer until 1843 continued his botanical excursions from Salzburg into the Eastern Alps. With bryologist Christian Friedrich Hornschuch (1793-1850), he published a treatise involving an extended scientific journey to the Adriatic coast and the mountains of Carinthia and Tyrol, called Tagebuch einer Botanischen Reise nach den Küsten des Adriatischen Meeres und den Gebirgen von Kärnten, Tirol und Salzburg 1799. He explored the region around Heiligenblut and the Grossglockner several times, where he found and described Eriophorum scheuchzeri, Sesleria ovata, Polytrichum sexangulare, Pedicularis asplenifolia, and Braya alpina.