Sustainability Actor List

I am interested in how trees acclimate to changes in environmental conditions, with a focus on light, water availability and temperature. For this, I look into a number of functional traits from physiological to morpho-anatomical traits, and from leaf to roots. I use a combination of experiments with seedlings in pots or mesocosms with field studies of saplings and adult trees. In my research I try to understand the contrasting ecological strategies of tree species for dealing with environmental changes and their underlying trade-offs. Currently, I am investigating how acclimation to local climate affects tree transpiration responses to soil water and vapour pressure deficit. Another project aims at understanding how an invasive palm species outcompetes native regeneration with physiological advantages in the utilisation of light, water and warm temperatures.

https://people.epfl.ch/christoph.bachofen?lang=fr

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/perl/

(I) elucidating the formation mechanisms of carcinogenic/mutagenic N-nitrosamines in aquatic systems under varying environmental conditions, (II) developing new analytical tools to detect and quantify N-nitroso compounds in water and biological fluids, and (III) elucidating the role of disinfection agents in the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in wastewater

https://people.epfl.ch/florian.breider

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/gr-cel/

The Central Environmental Laboratory (CEL) conducts research and provides services in the fields of environmental analytical chemistry and molecular biology.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/gr-cel/

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lcsb/hatzimanikatis/

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lcsb/

https://people.epfl.ch/andrea.rinaldo?lang=en

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/echo/

The focus of the laboratory ECHO (short for ECoHydrOlogy) is the understanding and modelling of the function of river networks as ecological corridors for the migration of species and diseases. ECHO’s research blends laboratory and field work with theoretical modelling to develop an integrated ecohydrological framework to understand for instance the spatial ecology of species, biodiversity in river basins, population dynamics, biological invasions along waterways, and the spread of waterborne and water related diseases.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/echo/

TRACET - Tracing the origins of water transpired by grapevines. Grapevines are a valuable, long-lived species that is known to root deeply and access deep storages of soil water, sustaining production in even hot and dry regions. We currently do not know whether grape’s roots are ready to take up shallow water from small summer precipitation events in case deep water storage becomes scarce. This has implications for how we quantify grapevine-relevant precipitation budgets. With climate zones changing, a more refined understanding of rainwater use by grapes may allow for proactive management and planning in wine growing regions. The central goal of this project is to understand the origins and age of water transpired by plants, with particular focus on the water used by grapevines. To reach this goal we have set up two experimental vineyards in the Chianti region of Tuscany, Italy, where we monitor key hydro-physiological variables and collect samples for isotope analysis.

Water Age Neutral Habitats - There is a strong relationship between the magnitude of water fluxes (surface runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration) and the fraction of permeable surfaces in a given landscape. Urban and territorial design can deeply modify this fraction and its associated fluxes. Taking hold from the most recent developments in the fields of environmental science and urbanism, we study the impact of urban planning on the water cycle, exploring the possibility of lowering – through design – net impacts on the water cycle of urbanized areas. This project’s case study lies within the Panke river catchment in Berlin (DE) https://wanh.epfl.ch/

https://www.unil.ch/hydrology/paolo-benettin/

https://people.epfl.ch/filippo.miele

https://people.epfl.ch/christof.holliger/?lang=en

https://people.epfl.ch/laetitia.cardona