Peter Ryser

Biography

I studied Biology at ETH Zurich. My Ph.D. thesis was on interactions between plants in species-rich grasslands under the supervision of Andreas Gigon. I spent lots of time in the field watching the seedlings grow and die, which triggered the wish, not only to be able to observe the survival or death, but also to ask the plants "How are you?". I learned how to ask this question, and how to hear the plants' answer during my postdoctoral stay in Utrecht, the Netherlands, where work with Hans Lambers brought me to my current research track on whole plant ecophysiology, including the roots. I continued this work in Zurich and for the last 12 years I have been working at Laurentian University studying factors which underlie the ecological diversity of wetland species. The diversity of sedges, rushes, bulrushes, beaked rushes, twig-rushes, spike rushes, burr-reeds, cattails etc. in these habitats, all with a similar growth form but different ecological requirements, make them perfect for comparative functional ecology trying to understand how they are adapted to their environment. When living in Sudbury, one is confronted by the legacy of industrial damage in the past, and I also investigate the effects of heavy metal contamination on plants.

Research Interest

I investigate plant functional traits which underlie variation in species ecological behaviour, focusing on biomass turnover, i.e. on the one hand growth rate and resource acquisition, and on the other hand, organ life span and resource conservation. My current research projects deal with plants of Northern Ontario wetlands emphasizing below ground traits such as root turnover. I also investigate plant responses to soil heavy metal contamination.