ECOSPAT in a nutshell

The Spatial Ecology group at the University of Lausanne is specialized in predictive habitat distribution modeling, mainly at the level of species, but also at the level of communities and habitat types.

This approach is currently being developed and tested as tools for the management of rare and endangered species, for anticipating the invasive potential of neophytes plant species, for evaluating landscape diversity and fragmentation, as well as for investigating scenarios of climate change impact on plant species distribution, diversity and communities.

More dynamic models are also being developed for simulating the spread of species in the landscape, for instance after a climatic change or to simulate invasion processes. Finally, the set-up of permanent observation plots for monitoring the flora and fauna is another development of our group. It aims at testing, in a near or later future, the validity of our models and scenarios.

Our preferred study areas are alpine landscapes of the Swiss Prealps of Vaud and the national scale. Modeled species include Eryngium alpinum (rare and threatened) and Ambrosia artemisiifolia (invasive). We also use simulation, such as virtual species in a real landscape, to solve methodological problems and questions.

Below you can find a video on the effect of climate change on biodiversity in the alps that illustrate our work:

For a more detailed view of our research, please visit our dedicated page here

How to find us

The Spatial Ecology group ECOSPAT is shared between the Department of Ecology and Evolution (DEE) and the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST) at University of Lausanne (UNIL).

We are located both in the Biophore Building, 4th Floor, mainly in rooms 4301, 4302, 4303 (GIS lab), and in the Geopolis Building, 3rd floor, mainly in rooms 3113 and 3114.

Life @ecospat

We live our academic life with passion and commitment, but however fulfilling and enriching it is, sometimes you need to change the scenery and let the steam off. At Ecospat we encourage our lab members to engage in outreach activities, to attend local and international conferences and to participate in summer camps. We also take social activities very seriously. Besides regular drinks and dinners in town, and BBQ by the lake, we organize every year a lab retreat in a scenic location and indulge some fun activities and good food, which we believe is crucial in boosting our creativity