Research Portfolios
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
Crop Improvement
Cassava biotechnology research
Dr. Hervé Vanderschuren, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Cassava (<i>Manihot esculenta</i> Crantz) is an important starchy food crop in the tropics and subtropics. Our cassava...
Plant Biotechnology
Cereal biotechnology research for crop improvement
Dr. Navreet K. Bhullar, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Cereals, such as rice and wheat, are important source of food worldwide but they contain very low levels of bioavailable...
Sustainable Agroecosystems
Elucidating and promoting sustainable agriculture across the world
Prof. Dr. Johan Six, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Department of Environmental System Sciences
In order to understand sustainable agriculture and implement it, we need to elucidate the feedbacks between ecosystem...
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...
Plant Pathology
Evolutionary biology of plant pathogens
Dr. Patrick Brunner, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Research in the Plant Pathology group centers around population genetics and phylogeography of the fungal pathogens...
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...
Forage Crop Genetics
Forage Crop Genetics
Prof. Dr. Bruno Studer, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
The implemented Forage Crop Genetics group mainly aims at developing genetic and genomic tools that can assist plant...
Plant Evolutionary Genetics
Genome-wide patterns of nucleotide diversity and divergence in wild tomatoes (Solanum section Lycopersicon)
Dr. Thomas Städler, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Under a genealogical (coalescent) perspective, DNA sequence data obtained from many unlinked genes contain footprints of...
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
Plant Nutrition
Improve nutrient-use efficiency in agro-ecosystems
Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Frossard, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
...
Plant Nutrition
Microbial functions in soil nutrient dynamics
Dr. Else Bünemann-König, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
A good understanding of biological cycling of P in terrestrial ecosystems is important in view of both decreasing...
Plant Biotechnology
Model organism proteomics and protein regulation
Dr. Katja Bärenfaller, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Protein level and protein activity are not solely determined by their respective mRNA levels, but regulation occurs also...
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...
Plant Nutrition
Oxygen isotope in phosphate, a new approach to study the soil/plant system
Dr. Federica Tamburini, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Phosphorus (P) is a major nutrient and an important constituent in cell membranes, DNA and RNA, and energy transporters....
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...
Functional Genomics
Plant genetic networks – from databases to computational modeling
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Gruissem, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Using a systems biology approach, we are modeling biochemical pathways and regulatory processes that affect plant...
Crop Science
Plant growth and phenotyping
Prof. Dr. Achim Walter, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
More versatile and efficient crop production systems require an in-depth understanding of dynamic plant growth...
Plant Pathology
Plant pathology
Prof. Dr. Cesare Gessler, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Cesare Gessler has been active in plant pathology at ETH for 35 years. During 2003-2008 he also led a research centre in...
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 Biochemistry
Plant primary metabolism - From basic research to crop productivity
Prof. Dr. Samuel Zeeman, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
The domestication of crops was a landmark in the development of human civilisation. Today, most of our food and many of...
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...
Applied Entomolgy
Plant-insect relationships from the ecosystem to the molecular level
Prof. Dr. Silvia Dorn, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Plants in the field are surrounded by myriads of insects. These insects use their flight capacity in search of food,...
Plant Pathology
Population genetics and evolutionary biology of plant pathogenic fungi
Prof. Dr. Bruce McDonald, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
Plant pathogens evolve rapidly to overcome the disease control strategies that are deployed against them. Resistance...
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...
RNA Biology
RNA Biology
Prof. Dr. Olivier Voinnet, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences
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...
Systematic Mycology
Systematic mycology
PD Dr. Reinhard Berndt, Zurich-Basel PSC, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology
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...
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