Ecosystem

Not only are the numbers of species declining, but the composition of species communities is also changing. This is shown by a new study published in the journal “Nature”.

Two EPFL-led articles published in 'Nature' and 'Nature Microbiology' shed light on the uniqueness, complexity and climate-related vulnerability of the world’s glacier-fed-stream microbiome.

Two artists from Zurich team up with a WSL mycologist to look into the newly discovered green glow of a mushroom.

WSL researchers took a close look at two older studies on the future of beech. The gloomy forecast of one of them will probably come true.

In times of climate crisis and food shortages, the cultivation of microalgae is a promising solution that could fundamentally change the way we produce animal feed, bioplastics or biofuel. However, the enormous potential is still largely untapped, which is partly due to undeveloped cultivation methods. One of the challenges is to protect the cultures against pests. A new publication by Eawag now shows that co-cultures of different microalgae are more resistant to pests than monocultures.

Researchers at Eawag have complied and analysed a globally unique data set on the occurrence of various amphipods in groundwater. They were able to show that land use within a radius of up to one kilometre from the groundwater extraction site has an impact on these sensitive creatures. This could indicate that the current groundwater protection zones are not large enough.