Nina Buchmann

Biosketch

Nina Buchmann is a terrestrial ecologist and plant ecophysiologist recognized for her contributions to plant functional diversity and biosphere-atmosphere exchange in response to human and biophysical drivers. Nina was born in Heidelberg. She received a Diploma in Geoecology from the University of Bayreuth in 1989, and her doctoral degree in Plant Ecology in 1993. After three years as an Alexander-von-Humboldt fellow at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA, she returned to Germany and finished her Habilitation in Botany at the University of Bayreuth in 1999. During her time at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany, she headed her own research group. Since 2003, Nina is Full Professor of Grassland Sciences in the Institute of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. In 2007, she was elected as member of the National Academy of Sciences in Germany.

Research Interests

Nina Buchmann’s interdisciplinary research focuses on process- and system-oriented understanding of (i) plant and ecosystem physiology, (ii) biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems, i.e., forest, grassland and cropland, particularly the response of soil and ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water dynamics to climatic conditions and management regimes, and (iii) interactions among biodiversity, ecosystem functions/services, and sustainable resource use. Among classical ecological methods, she uses stable isotopes and micrometeorological approaches to investigate terrestrial processes.