EcoHyd Lab
The Ecohydrology Laboratory is a platform in which we conduct laboratory research on soil-plant-water ecohydrological processes and field measurements at the Forest WaldLab Site at ETH Hönggerberg Campus.
Laboratory Soil-Microbe-Plant Research
The laboratory research is led by Dr Alon Nissan (ETH Fellow) and focuses on undisturbed monitoring of the distribution of water and chemicals, soil respiration, pH and photosynthesis in a controlled coupled soil-microbe-plants environment under variable water forcing. This will be done in a novel experimental setup (mesocosm aquifer) that simulates the soil profile from land surface to groundwater and allows to test variable rainfall (infiltration) effects and water stress conditions. The system contains a CCD camera system (VisiSensTM TD) and sensor foils (PreSens) to monitor CO2, O2 and pH spatial distributions in the liquid phase resulting from biological respiration and geochemical reactions, and a thermographic camera above the soil surface to monitor the soil and plant temperatures.
Field Experimental Research
- The WaldLab Forest Experimental Site at the ETH Hönggerberg Campus is where we are measuring ecohydrological fluxes in the soil, plant and atmosphere within a managed forest site with beech and spruce trees.
- The Maggia River Experimental Site in Tessin is where we have been conducting long-term monitoring of the effects of floods on riparian vegetation and river-aquifer fluxes by measuring a range of surface water, groundwater and vegetation dynamics.