Rhizosphere Processes ¶

The group studies the complex interactions between soil, microbes and roots in natural systems and investigates the impacts of environmental change on these interactions. The group applies biochemical, molecular and stable isotope methods in their studies. The two areas of research concern 1) determining the diversity and functions of bacterial and fungal communities in soil and understanding them as drivers for biogeochemical processes and 2) soil microbial communities and roots as indicators of environmental stress.

FOEN VBBio Secretariat

The cantonal soil protection agencies and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) formed the Soil Biology Enforcement Working Group (VBBio) in 1995. This group is mainly dedicated to questions of enforcement-orientated soil biology.
Members from administration and research work closely together in topic-specific project groups. The secretariat of the VBB is run by Dr Beat Frey of the Rhizosphere Processes group at WSL. VBB Bulletins are issued regularly and published on the Internet. They can be downloaded here (German or French only).