Urs Schaffner, PhD
CAS 3 - Topic 0: Introduction & Basic Knowledge
CAS 3 - Topic 1: Prevention of Pest Problems
CAS 3 - Topic 2: Managing Landscapes
Head Ecosystems Management, CABI-Switzerland
Scientific background and interests: Urs Schaffner is Head of the ‘Ecosystems Management’ section at the CABI Switzerland Centre and affiliate assistant professor at the University of Idaho, USA. His research focuses on soil-plant-herbivore interactions, with particular emphasis on biological invasions, biological control of weeds and grassland restoration. He has 25 years of experience in weed biological control and has worked on aspects such as the ecology and evolutionary ecology of host-specificity of weed biological control agents, pre-release impact assessment, demographic modelling of biological control agents and post-release impact evaluation. Currently he leads a multi-partner project on assessing the environmental and socio-economic effects of invasive trees in Eastern Africa and implementing integrated management strategies, including biological control, that mitigate their negative impacts. This work includes close collaboration with multi-stakeholder groups to co-design and implement spatial plans for invasive species management and to align them with other planning activities in the target regions.
