Ecological and Hydrological Dynamics in the Restored Corridor of a River
Project
Type : PhD project, part of a major multi-disciplinary project (2007-2011)
Fund : Competence Center Environment and Sustainability (CCES)
Description :
To understand what controls biodiversity in river systems and what this diversity means in terms of ecosystem function we need to understand the patterns and temporal dynamics of above- and below-ground terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem function and how they are linked and how they are determined by the dynamics of the hydrology.
The goal of this task is to estimate biodiversity and evaluate patterns of above- and beowground diversity and key species persistence in heterogeneous and dynamic environment in a restored and a channeled section of River Thur.
The processes of the long-term persistence of this biodiversity in relation to river dynamics will then be estimated with the help of a spatially-explicit habitat and metapopulation model developed by Dr. Séverine Vuilleumier (Unil). With this model, it will be possible to assess under which conditions (environmental and management) selected key species – and thus the associated function – can thrive.
Keywords :
River restoration ; ecosystem dynamics ; community ecology ; soil organisms ; vegetation ; C and N transformations ; succession ; disturbance.
Participants :
- Edward Mitchell (leader)
- Emanuela Samaritani (PhD student)
- Bertrand Fournier (M.Sc. student)
Partnership : 
- Séverine Vuilleumier (UniL)
- Claire LeBayon (UniNe)
- Marco Moretti (WSL-Bellinzona)
- Jörg Lüster & Beat Frey (WSL-Birmensdorf)
- Edith Durisch-Kaiser (ETHZ)
- Claire Guenat (EPFL)
- François Gillet (Univ. Franche-Comté, France)
Study site :
River Thur at Niederneunforn (canton ZH and TG)
Contact
Email : [email protected]
Engineer
Office : GR B2 402
Phone : [+41] 21 693 47 38