Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Function
Scientific staff member
Group
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Site
WSL Birmensdorf Bi MG D 33
About me
I am a microbial ecologist interested in how organism diversity and activity shape ecosystem functioning. I mainly work in soil and freshwater systems, studying microbial communities and their roles in major biogeochemical cycles such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. My research started with bacteria and fungi but now takes a broader view of the whole soil community, including micro-eukaryotes and soil fauna. By linking community diversity to ecosystem processes, I aim to better understand how biodiversity supports ecosystem functioning in a changing world.
My work combines molecular tools such as eDNA, amplicon sequencing, metagenomics, qPCR, and stable isotope probing with measurements of ecosystem processes including greenhouse gas fluxes, enzyme activities, and microbial carbon use efficiency. I design research projects that integrate field and laboratory experiments across many ecosystems, from deserts and Mediterranean shrublands to forests, alpine and Arctic environments, wetlands, and urban soils.
Professional Experiences
2018 – Present: Senior Researcher, WSL
2019 – Present: Lecturer, ETH Zurich
2015 – 2018: Post-doctoral fellow, Forest Soil and Biochemistry, WSL
2013 - 2015: Post-doctoral fellow, Microbial Ecology and Genomics, University of Pretoria, South Africa
2011 – 2012: Post-doctoral Fellow, Experimental Limnology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Germany.
Education
2007 – 2011: PhD in environmental Sciences, Eawag / ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Thesis: Microbial dynamics during stream ecosystem succession: community structure and enzyme activities.
Supervisor: Prof. Mark Gessner
2004 – 2006: Master of Sciences in Biogeosciences (Magna Cum Laude), University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Thesis: Microbial communities along a glacier forefield in the Swiss Alps.
Supervisors: Prof. Michel Aragno and Dr. Jakob Zopfi
2001 – 2004: Bachelor of Sciences in Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Current Research topics
Microbial biodiversity ad carbon use efficiency as nature-based solutions for soil C stabilization (International collaborative project BIOCUE).
Integrating soil biodiversity (from microbial to macrofauna) to ecosystem services (European project SOB4ES).
Using natural environmental gradients to decipher the adaptation of soil microbial communities to climate change (International collaborative project GradCatch).
Soil biodiversity in Swiss Forest soils and link to above-ground vegetation.
Biogeochemical, microbial and vegetation feedbacks driving soil development and Arctic greening under a warming climate.
Long-term impacts of mercury contamination on the soil microbiome.
Community diversity and functions in beaver engineered habitats, linking terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem processes.
Method development: Carbon Use Efficiency combined with Stable Isotope Probing to decipher fate of carbon in soil and involved microbial diversity and processes.
