Research Portfolios
Comparative Evolutionary Biology and Systematics
Adaptation and diversification of succulent plants
PD Dr. Reto Nyffeler, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Systematic Botany
The succulent life form is a tried and true strategy for flowering plants to thrive in arid environments. The adaptation...
Plant Community Ecology
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
Prof. Dr. Andy Hector, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
The research interests of Andy Hector’s group focus on how biodiversity is maintained, how it is lost, and the...
Ecosystem Functioning and Global Change
Biogeochemistry and biodiversity of agro- and forest ecosystems
Prof. Dr. Nina Buchmann, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Systematic Botany
Chemical and evolutionary ecology of plant - insect interactions
Prof. Dr. Florian P. Schiestl, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Systematic Botany
Plants interact with a vast array of insects in antagonistic and mutualistic associations. Among the various channels...
Chemical Ecology
Chemical signals involved in plant-insect interactions
Prof. Dr. Ted Turlings, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
Plants under attack by herbivores initiate the production and release of volatiles that are attractive to the natural...
Global Change and Soil Ecology
Consequences of environmental change on plant communities and plant-soil interactions
PD Dr. Pascal Niklaus, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
The research conducted in my group focuses on the consequences of environmental change for plant communities and the...
Plant Population Ecology
Ecology and evolution in invasive plants
Prof. Dr. Heinz Müller-Schärer, BeNeFri, University of Fribourg, Dept. of Biology
Invasion ecology, the study of the distribution and spread of organisms in habitats to which they are not native, has...
Ecology and Evolution of Plant Sexual Systems
Ecology and Evolution of Plant Sexual Systems
Prof. Dr. John Pannell, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution
Paleoecology and Vegetation Dynamics
Ecosystem and vegetation responses to climatic change, disturbance and land use
Prof. Dr. Willy Tinner, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
We use a long-term perspective to address questions about the ecological and societal consequences of climatic change....
Plant Ecology
Ecosystem function and biodiversity under global change
Prof. Dr. Christian Körner, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Institute of Botany
Plant ecology studies the interaction between plants and their environment. Ecosystem science considers life processes...
Reconciliation of Conservation and Development
Environmental science and policy
Prof. Dr. Lian Pin Koh, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems
Global human population will continue to grow over the next four decades. The ensuing demands for water, food and energy...
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Dr. Caroline Weckerle, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Systematic Botany
Ethnobotanical studies involve the investigation of biocultural diversity and thus the interactions between plants and...
Plant Evolutionary Ecology
Experimental and evolutionary ecology of plants in changing environments
Dr. Oliver Bossdorf, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
I am particularly interested in plant intraspecific variation, the different causes of this variation (phenotypic...
Molecular Ecology of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
Experimental fungal community assembly
Dr. Hannes A. Gamper, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
We aim at understanding the ecological and evolutionary determinants of biodiversity in natural arbuscular mycorrhizal...
Plant Developmental Genetics
Genetic and epigenetic control of plant reproduction
Prof. Dr. Ueli Grossniklaus, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology
Our research centers on the genetic and epigenetic control of plant reproduction. We are interested in both sexual...
Molecular Genetics and Evolution
Genetics and evolution of the mycorrhizal symbiosis
Prof. Dr. Ian R. Sanders, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution
Our work focuses on the mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The symbiosis occurs...
Plant Ecological Genomics
Genome dynamics and reproductive isolation
Dr. Christian Parisod, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
Our research is mainly focused on the impact of Transposable Elements - or jumping genes - on polyploid evolution (i.e....
Global Change Ecology
Global change ecology
Dr. Christoph Küffer, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
With global change (e.g. climate change, land use changes) plant communities and ecosystems may dramatically change in...
Plant Ecological Genetics
Grass endophytes
Prof. Dr. Adrian Leuchtmann, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Symbiotic associations between organisms are common in ecosystems, but mutual benefits may be conditional depending on...
Biosphere–Atmosphere Exchange Processes
Greenhouse gas fluxes in forests and agroecosystems
PD Dr. Werner Eugster, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
My main interest is the quantification of greenhouse gas fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O and the surface energy fluxes of...
Plant Ecology and Evolution
How species cope with environmental change
Dr. Regula Billeter, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Limits to the adaptive evolution process
Prof. Dr. Yvonne Willi, BeNeFri, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology
The process of adaptive evolution – in the simplest models – occurs as long as selection acts on the population and...
Plant Ecology and Evolution
Modern approaches to important environmental problems
Prof. Dr. Peter J. Edwards, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
The study of plant evolution is not only fascinating scientifically but is also of great environmental importance. Human...
Experimental Plant Ecology
Organization of plant populations and communities
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schmid, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
Biodiversity – the variety of individuals, populations, species, and ecosystems and the natural processes occurring in...
Plant Nutrition
Phosphorus and nitrogen (re-)cycling in agro-ecosystems
Dr. Astrid Oberson, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Globally food demand is increasing while natural resources are shrinking. Human alterations of nutrient cycles are a...
Plant Population Biology
Plant adaptation and genetic connectivity in the face of climate change
Dr. Andrea R. Pluess, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems
Plants are expected to react to climate change with adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, migration or extinction. Given...
Plant Community Ecology
Plant community ecology
Dr. Lindsay A. Turnbull, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
My research is mainly focused on plant coexistence mechanisms. I am interested in the relative merits of neutral and...
Plant Developmental Biology
Plant developmental biology
Prof. Dr. Cris Kuhlemeier, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
<b>Leaf development.</b> The vegetative shoot apical meristem consists of a small group of dividing cells, which give...
Plant Ecology
Plant ecology
Prof. Dr. Markus Fischer, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Most of our research is concerned with drivers and functional consequences of biodiversity change, with the ecology and...
Plant Population and Evolutionary Biology
Plant life in alpine habitats
Prof. Dr. Jürg Stöcklin, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Institute of Botany
Adaptation and phenotypic plasticity are both crucial for the long-term survival of plants in changing world. Our actual...
Whole Plant Physiology
Plant nutrient dynamics and ecophysiology
Prof. Dr. Urs Feller, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
Nutrients and pollutants are taken up from the soil into the roots and distributed via the transpiration stream in the...
Plant Pathology
Plant pathology
Dr. Monika Maurhofer Bringolf, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Monika Maurhofer is the leader of a research group with interest in elucidating the multitrophic interactions going on...
Plant Ecology
Plant population dynamics
PD Dr. Peter Stoll, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Section of Conservation Biology
Understanding plant population dynamics is important in ecology and conservation biology including basic (coexistence...
Plant Systematic and Biodiversity
Plant systematic and biodiversity laboratory
Prof. Dr. Daniel Jeanmonod, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
From ecosystems to genes, the lab concentrates on the study of plants and fungi, as well as the biodiversity that they...
Ecology of Plant Reproduction
Plant-animal interactions and ecosystem function
Prof. Dr. Jaboury Ghazoul, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems
The ecology of plant reproductive processes underlies the composition and dynamics of ecosystems and is essential for...
Plant reproductive Biology
Plant-insect interactions: pollination and reproductive biology
Prof. Dr. Andreas Erhardt, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Section of Conservation Biology
Conservation Biology
Plants and animals in a rapidly changing environment
Prof. Dr. Bruno Baur, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Basel, Section of Conservation Biology
Quantifying and conserving biodiversity is now recognized as more important than ever. We are investigating origins of...
Environmental History
Plants and society
PD Dr. Marcus Hall, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
My research centers on the history of how humans perceive, alter or manage the natural world, and how the natural world...
Physiological Plant Ecology
Responses of Plants and Ecosystems to Global Environmental Change
Prof. Dr. Ansgar Kahmen, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Plants are fundamental components of the earth system. Their ability to assimilate atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> and to...
Spatial Ecology and Remote Sensing
Spatial ecology and remote sensing
Dr. Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
Solar radiation and its partitioning in vegetation canopies is an important factor influencing ecosystem processes such...
Spatial Ecology
Spatial modelling of plants species distribution
Prof. Dr. Antoine Guisan, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution
Plant and Ecosystems Ecology
Species coexistence and ecosystem functioning in relation to C:N:P stoichiometry
Dr. Harry Olde Venterink, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
In several postdoc and PhD projects we are studying interactions between nutrient cycling, plant growth and the species...
Tropical Rain Forest Ecology
Tree Ecology
Prof. Dr. David Newbery, BeNeFri, University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences
The focus of our group is on fundamental research into tropical rain forests, their structure, dynamics and functioning,...
Tropical Pant Biodiversity and Biogeography
Tropical plant biodiversity and biogeography
Dr. Michael Kessler, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Systematic Botany
Plant species and assemblages show distinct geographical distribution patterns. In my research I attempt to discern the...
Population and Community Ecology
Understanding plant population, community, and invasion dynamics
Prof. Dr. Jonathan Levine, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Research in my group examines leading questions at the interface of plant population and community ecology. Though I am...
Biodiversity and Evolution
Understanding plant speciation and diversification patterns
Dr. Yamama Naciri, Arc Lémanique PS, University of Geneva, Department of Botany and Plant Biology
I am interested in understanding speciation and diversification patterns of plants, questioning the role of adaptation...
Plant Ecological Genetics
Understanding the genetic basis of ecological and evolutionary processes
Prof. Dr. Alex Widmer, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Our work aims at understanding the genetic basis of ecological and evolutionary processes. To achieve this goal, we...
Plant-microbe Interactions, Microbiology
Volatile-mediated impact of bacteria on plants
Dr. Laure Weisskopf, Zurich-Basel PSC, University of Zurich, Institute of Plant Biology