Prof. Dr. Nina Buchmann

Nina Buchmann was born in 1965 in Heidelberg (Germany) and studied Geoecology at the University of Bayreuth, Germany (1984-1989). She received her Ph.D. degree in Plant Ecology (Prof. Dr. E.-D. Schulze) in 1993. During three years as an Alexander-von-Humboldt fellow at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA, she worked on stable isotopes with Prof. Jim Ehleringer. In 1996, she returned to Germany, and finished her Habilitation in botany at the University of Bayreuth in 1999. During her time at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany (1999-2003), she headed an own research group, and was assigned C3 professor in 2001. Since April 2003, Nina Buchmann is Full Professor of Grassland Sciences in the Institute of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich. During 2012, she spent her sabbatical at the Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. Between August 2012 and July 2017, she served as Deputy Head, and between August 2017 and July 2021 as Head of the Department of Environmental Systems Science.

The main research topics of Nina Buchmann include (1) plant and ecosystem physiology, (2) biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems, i.e., forest, grassland and cropland, particularly the response of soil and ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and water dynamics to climatic conditions and management regimes, and (3) interactions among biodiversity, ecosystem functions/services, and sustainable resource use. Among classical ecological methods, she uses stable isotopes to investigate terrestrial processes. She has contributed as PI and workpackage leader to various international projects on carbon and nitrogen fluxes in ecosystems, including Forcast and CarboEuroflux (FP5), CarboEurope IP and NitroEurope IP (FP6), COST Action E38 (Woody root dynamics), Greenhouse Gas-Europe (FP7), EYE-CLIMA (Horizon Europe) as well as on drought effects addressed in Carbo-Extreme (FP7) and on permanent grasslands in SUPER-G (Horizon 2020). She is the national contact point for the ESFRI project ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System), and now leads the Swiss contribution ICOS-Switzerland to ICOS Research Infrastructure. In addition, she chaired the ESF program SIBAE (Stable Isotope in Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange; 2002-2007) and initiated and also chaired the COST Action ES0806 (Stable Isotopes in Biosphere-Atmosphere-Earth System Research; 2009-2013).

Nina Buchmann published more than 400 refereed original journal papers and 40 books and book chapters. She is founding member of the "Junge Akademie" (Young Academy of Sciences; 2000-2005) und member of several Scientific Steering Committees and Advisory Boards. Since 2001, she is handling editor of the international journal Oecologia; between 2003 and 2008 she served as Subject and Associate Editor for Global Change Biology and Global Biogeochemical Cycles. Between 2004 and 2008, she was member of the German Advisory Council for the Government on Global Change (WBGU). In 2007, she was elected into the German Academy of Natural Sciences Leopoldina (Deutsche Akademie für Naturforscher Leopoldina; now National Academy of Sciences in Germany). Furthermore, she received the ETH Zurich award "Das Goldene Dreirad" (The Golden Tricycle) for the most family and staff friendly leader at ETH Zurich. Between 2008 and 2015, she was a member of the National Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), and since 2011 also a member of the Specialised Committee "Careers" of the SNF. Between 2004 and 2012, she served in the Scientific Steering Committee of the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center. Between 2008 and 2019, Nina Buchmann was member of the Agricultural Research Council of Switzerland; between 2009 and 2019 member of the Board of Trustees (Kuratorium) of the Öko-Institut e.V. She chaired the the World Food System Center (WFSC) at ETH Zurich between its foundation in 2011 until August 2017. Between 2015 and 2018, Nina Buchmann was member of Senate Competition Committee for Environmental Sciences of the German Leibniz Association, Germany, as well as member of the Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) of the International Council for Science (ICSU). 2018 she was elected as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and 2018 as well as 2019 identified as "Highly Cited Researcher". 2022 Nina Buchmann received the Distinguished Alumna award of the University of Utah, School of Biological Sciences, and the Honorary Medal 2022 of the Ecologcal Society of Germany, Austria and Switerland (GfÖ).