{"id":204,"date":"2021-09-11T17:36:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T15:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/?page_id=204"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:24:13","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are interested in cryptic biogeochemical processes<\/strong>, in other words, those that are easily overlooked by traditional analyses involving the quantification of reaction intermediates or end products over time. Steady-state concentrations of certain redox species may arise from the balance between continuous oxidation and reduction reactions, and although concentration changes cannot be measured, their rapid turnover can play a key role in the environment and sustain highly active and diverse microbial communities<\/strong>. Our group specializes in the application of interdisciplinary approaches<\/strong> \u2013 borrowing methods from the fields of biology, geology, and chemistry \u2013 to solve complex environmental questions related to biogeochemical cycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here you will find our ongoing projects!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"photo
Xanthoria parietina, Pleurosticta acetabulum, et Evernia prunastri<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Open Master’s projects<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-evolution de la qualit\u00e9 de l\u2019air et les lichens corticoles en r\u00e9gion Genevoise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les lichens \u00e9piphytes ont \u00e9t\u00e9 utilis\u00e9s comme bioindicateurs pour r\u00e9aliser une \u00e9tude de la pollution atmosph\u00e9rique dans le canton de Gen\u00e8ve en 1986 et en 1996. On a pu constater des changements dans la r\u00e9partition des esp\u00e8ces lich\u00e9niques, qui correspondent \u00e0 des modifications de la qualit\u00e9 de l’air. Bien que des techniques avanc\u00e9s de monitoring de la qualit\u00e9 de l\u2019air indiquent une nette am\u00e9lioration de la qualit\u00e9 de l\u2019air depuis les ann\u00e9es \u201890, le r\u00e9tablissement des communaut\u00e9s de lichens dans la r\u00e9gion genvoise reste inconnu. Des relev\u00e9s de biodiversit\u00e9 lich\u00e9nique seront effectu\u00e9s aux memes coordonn\u00e9es que l\u2019\u00e9tude de Fiore-Donno (1997) pour \u00e9valuer l\u2019\u00e9volution des communaut\u00e9s de lichens dans r\u00e9gion genvoise. Ces donn\u00e9s seront mis en contexte avec les donn\u00e9s de qualit\u00e9 de l\u2019air disponible pour sept stations de mesures dans le canton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connaissances n\u00e9cessaire et m\u00e9thode(s) de travail: Ce travail requiert une maitrise des techniques d\u2019identification des lichens ou une volont\u00e9 d\u2019apprendre. Le module lichens I \u00e0 l\u2019HEPIA est recommand\u00e9. Bonne connaissance de la langue fran\u00e7aise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open Bachelor’s projects<\/strong>: please inquire directly for any customized projects applying sediment geochemistry, water quality, or microbiology…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Comparative assessment of N2 fixation and greenhouse gas production by legume crops, invasive green alder, and natural N2 alder stands.\n
      \n
    • Aulnus viridis<\/em> is perceived negatively as it is rapidly recolonizing abandoned alpine pastures and contributes to N2O production, but this has not been contextualized in relation to other N2-fixing plants. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Literature review of published data on N2O production by different plants with symbiotic N-fixing bacteria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Understanding controls on water chemistry in la gouille de Conche (Val d’Illiez)\n
        \n
      • High levels of Fe and Mn alongside other metals have been reported by the Service de l’Environnement du Valais. The objective of this project is to determine the source of these metals by analysing sediments, lake and river water, and soils in the catchment area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Principal methods used: microwave digestion, ICP-OES<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Monitoring microbiological water quality below alpine tourist infrastructures lacking water treatment systems\n
          \n
        • It is not known how far wastewater from mountain huts contaminates surface water runoff before being diluted out. Wastewater from the Cabane Valsorey empties directly into the Torrent de Valsorey and is progressively diluted by other rivers before merging with the Dranse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • The project will involve collecting water samples at different points along the river and performing bacterial analyses in the laboratory <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          We are interested in cryptic biogeochemical processes, in other words, those that are easily overlooked by traditional analyses involving the quantification of reaction intermediates or end products over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002283,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width.php","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-204","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/microbiogeochimie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}