Research Interests

Tree-ring research, stable isotopes, paleoecology, climate variability, tree physiology

Scientific Activities

President of the EGU Division on Climate: Past, Present and Future

Secretary of the Association for Tree-Ring Research ATR

Main Organizer European Dendroecological Fieldweek EDF

Member of the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research OCCR

EGU General Assembly 2024, 14 - 19 April 2024, Vienna, Austria

TRACE (Tree Rings in Archeology, Climatology and Ecology), 3-8 June 2024, Brasov, Romania

 

Projects

SNF: Disentangling source water and leaf water signals in highly resolved oxygen isotope data from tree rings – Troxy. PI

SNF & WSL: High-resolution stable isotope analysis for tracing environmental changes – HIRES. Co-PI

WSL intern: Unravelling the genetic component of isotope-derived water-use strategies to improve distribution models of sessile oak across Europe - Common-Iso. Co-PI

Assessment of water uptake by trees – a real time laser spectrometer approach (WSL intern, 2020-2021). Co-PI

Establishing hydrogen isotope analysis of organic material – a door opener for research in the 2020s at WSL – HDOOR 2020 (WSL intern, 2020). Co-PI

Compound specific dual isotope analysis for the investigation of plant response to environmental change (Swiss National Science Foundation, 2016-2018). Function: Co-PI.

Improving Late Glacial European tree-ring chronologies for accurate climate archive dating - Consolidation and extension of the Swiss-German pine chronology back to 14000 BP. (Swiss National Science Foundation, 2015-2017). Function: Co-PI.

LOTFOR (Swiss National Science Foundation, 2014-2017): Coupling stem water flow and structural carbon allocation in a warming climate: the Lötschental study case. Function: Co-PI.

The relationship between stable isotopes, water-use efficiency and tree mortality under drought (FPS COST Action FP1106 STReESS, 2013-2016). Function: Co-PI.

iTREE (Sinergia, Swiss National Science Foundation, 2012-2015): Long-term variability of tree growth in a changing environment - identifying physiological mechanisms using stable C and O isotopes in tree rings. Function: Co-PI.

TreePulse (Swiss National Science Foundation): Water use strategies of Australian tree species to survive drought - a pulse labelling experiment with isotope tracers. International short research visit, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Australia, January-April 2014. Function: PI.

ISOPATH (Swiss National Science Foundation, 2010-2014): Isotope pathways from the atmosphere to the tree ring along a humidity gradient in Switzerland. Function: PI.

Cost action SIBAE (short term scientific mission, Swiss National Science Foundation, July-August 2011): Hydraulic limitations on height growth of treeline trees based on carbon and oxygen isotopes in tree rings. Host for Dr. Giai Petit (University of Padua).

FQRNT (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada, 2010-2012): High-resolution tree response to climate change in boreal and subalpine forest ecosystems. Function: Host for Dr. Sonia Simard (Postdoc).

MedClivar (European Science Foundation, 2010): Latewood density of pine trees for a 1000-year temperature reconstruction in Albania. Function: Host for a 4-months "Young scientists exchange".

MILLENNIUM (European Comission, 2007-2010): European climate of the last Millennium. Function: Subgroup member.

SCOPES (Swiss National Science Foundation 2007-2009): Climatic changes, tree-ring growth and C- and O-isotope variations along longitudinal transects in Siberia and the Urals. Function: Co-PI.

SCOPES (Swiss National Science Foundation, 2006-2008): Climate in Eastern Siberia from tree-ring width, density and carbon isotopes. Function: Co-PI.

ALPIMP (European Comission, 2004-2007): Multi-centennial climate variability in the Alps based on instrumental data, model simulations and proxy data. Function: Postdoc.

ISONET (European Comission, 2004-2007): 400 years of annual reconstructions of European climate variability using a high-resolution isotopic network. Function: Postdoc.

NCCR-VITA (Swiss National Science Foundation, finished): Varves, ice cores and tree rings: archives with annual resolution. Function: Associated person.

Education:

2003    PhD in Natural Sciences (summa cum laude), University of Bonn, Germany

1998    Diploma degree, Institute of Geography, University of Bonn, Germany

1995    Pre-Diploma degree, Institute of Geography, University of Bamberg, Germany

1989    School examination, Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium Weissenburg, Germany

Projekte

Publikationen