Stable isotopes and P cycling in the soil/plant system

In this seminar, hosted by Courtney Giles and Tim George from our Ecological Sciences group, ​Dr Federica Tamburini (ETH Zurich) will discuss a novel technique that uses oxygen stable isotopes to investigate the P cycle in the soil/plant system.

Abstract

In the soil/plant system, biological processes greatly influence P cycling, but the extent of their impact is still difficult to grasp. The analysis and use of oxygen stable isotopes in phosphate has allowed investigating more deeply the P cycle in the environment. Indeed, oxygen isotopes in phosphate are sensitive to the action of biological processes, i.e. biological uptake, intracellular P cycling, enzymatic processes. In the last years, we have applied this relatively novel technique to the soil/plant system. In this seminar, the theoretical grounds, the analytical and technical advances and problems, together with some case studies and possible future applications will be discussed.

Biography

​Dr Tamburini has always studied the phosphorus cycle, first in marine sediments then in terrestrial ecosystems. She has spent 7 years as a researcher in the Group of Plant Nutrition at ETH Zurich, with a primary focus on the development and application of oxygen stable isotopes in phosphate to study P cycling in soils and plants.

• MSc in Geology at the University of Urbino (Italy), 1995
• PhD in Geology at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), 1997-2001
• Post-doc at the WHOI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MA, USA), 2002-2003
• Senior scientist at the Geological Dept. of the ETH Zurich (Switzerland), 2003-2007
• Senior scientist at the Environmental System Science Dept. of the ETH Zurich (Switzerland), since 2007