Introduced to lichenology by Josef Anders, Klement compiled a herbarium containing about 20,000 specimens and wrote nearly 100 titles related to floristic records, some of which were studies on lichens.
Despite significant challenges due to political upheaval post-World War II, Klement continued his lichenological research, and his work influenced the field in Germany and Austria.
In 1921, Klement joined Mannesmannröhren-Werke [de]'s Chomutov branch as an accountant, serving as the company's commercial representative in Romania between 1935 and 1936.
[2] From an early age, Klement was deeply interested in nature, independently identifying and classifying plants and animals, and in the process forming his personal botanical and zoological collections.
[3] His involvement with the Sudeten German Botanical Working Group enabled him to expand his network, particularly through Professor Adolf Pascher of Prague University.
His scientific efforts were not confined to personal studies; he established worldwide connections with fellow lichenologists, avidly exchanged lichens and research tools, and accumulated a substantial lichenological literature collection.
[2] However, the post-World War II political upheaval forced Klement, along with numerous German-origin individuals residing in the Nazi-occupied Sudetenland after the Munich Agreement, to abandon his possessions, including his herbarium and large library.
He also completed Christian Friedo Eckhard Erichsen's lichen flora of northwestern Germany in 1957 and Vitus Grummann's massive biographic-bibliographic work in 1974.
[7] Klement spent his retirement initially in the remote Kreuzthal [de], where his hospitably open house became a scientific meeting point for many academic visitors.
[2] Klement's scientific contributions, especially his Prodromus of Central European Lichen Communities published in 1955, earned him an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Bonn in 1959.