Distinguished Lectures ¶

Landscapes receive water from rain and snow, and then release it as "blue water" that flows downward to streams and "green water" that flows upward to vegetation

Despite increasing scientific knowledge and the implementation of hazard and risk management strategies, mountain societies continue to be affected by high loss events (e.g. events Grison, Valais, Ticino in the summer 2024).

For several decades now, the invasive ascomycete fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus has caused a serious, steady population decline of common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) across Europe. This decline in ash populations in Sweden caused the species to become Red-listed in 2010, and since 2015 its status has only worsened to become critically endangered.

There is a growing consensus that business-as-usual approaches to sustainability are inadequate to address urgent problems such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet how do we transform at the rate, scale, speed, and depth that is called for by researchers, decision makers, and activists?

Many cities worldwide have introduced densification strategies. Yet, the current implementation of densification brings many challenges for a just and socio-ecological urban development, particularly regarding the displacement of lower-income residents, high CO2-emissions stemming from building activities, and the rather low democratic acceptance of densification. In this talk, I will exemplify these challenges and outline potential strategies towards a fair and sustainable densification.

In recent years, the availability of Earth observation data from satellites has increased dramatically, allowing for systematic and global monitoring of Earth's surface processes at an unprecedented scale.

Europe’s forests are under increasing pressure from climate extremes, requiring better monitoring of changing forest dynamics.