PD Dr. Matthias Bürgi - Personal Homepage

teamleader Organisational unit: Landscape Dynamics Landscape Ecology Phone: +41 44 7392 354 Fax: +41 44 7392 215 Room: Bi HL E 24 E-Mail: Address: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL Zürcherstrasse 111 8903 Birmensdorf Keywords: historical ecology, landscape history, woodland history

Research Interests

My primary research interest is combining approaches from landscape ecology, historical ecology, and environmental history to study the interrelationship of natural and historic driving forces of landscape changes. Current work focuses on landscape history and on forest dynamics in Switzerland.

Research Activities

In collaboration with colleagues of various disciplinary backgrounds. I study the history of human impact on forest ecosystems in Switzerland, landscape consequences of agrarian modernization in the Canton of Berne, the history of forest fires in the Canton of Valais, and other topics in historical ecology. 

Teaching Activities

I am teaching a Master-level-class on "Land use history and historical ecology" at the Department of Environmental Sciences (D-UWIS) of the ETH Zurich. 

• topics for Master theses

Education and work experience:

1988-1993   study of environmental sciences (ETH Zurich; dipl. natw ETH)
1994-1997   Ph.D. student at the the chair of Nature- and Landscape Protection (ETH Zurich, Dr. sc. nat. ETH)
1997-1998   teaching assistant in forest- and woodland history (ETH Zurich)
1998-1999   postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Forest, Harvard University
1999-2000   postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
2000-2006   deputy head of the section nature protection, WSL
2000-2006   senior researcher at the professorship landscape and nature protection (Prof. Ewald), ETH Zurich 

2006            venia legendi ETH Zurich

2006-          head of the group Land Use History, WSL 

Awards:   Ph.D. thesis awarded with the medal of the ETH Zurich

Other Activities

Since 2004, I work as a part-time winemaker at the Weingut Rütihof.