Chloé Mayoraz
Master in Biology
chloe.mayoraz@unine.ch
Interests
I am a master student in biodiversity conservation, passionate about nature, especially birds, bats and plants, and active in several nature protection associations such as OCC (bats) and Pro Natura. During my bachelor’s degree, I studied environmental and earth sciences at the University of Lausanne, where I acquired a broad knowledge of the functioning of the Earth and natural dynamics. For my bachelor’s thesis, I studied the impact of root types on soil structure with a team from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), where I was an exchange student. I am now studying biodiversity conservation at the University of Neuchâtel, where I try to combine my knowledge of geosciences with biology and humanities. I am particularly interested in mountain ecosystems at the interface of these three disciplines.
Master project
My current research focuses on the effects of climate change on shrubs and trees at the treeline in the Alps, more precisely in the Val d’Arpette. This project was born following discussions with practitioners (foresters, farmers, beekeepers, people involved in tourism) from the Entremont Valley (VS), in order to create an experimental design that would answer some of the questions they have about the future of their valley. The aim of creating a project through discussions was to encourage reflection between the different actors, to allow them to meet and exchange ideas, and to generate interest and willingness to find answers. In a second step, after our analysis, we will come back to them to explain our results.
To study climate change and trees/shrubs, we use an experimental heating system called ITEX chambers. These chambers were installed 30 years ago and cause a warming of 1 to 2°C. My project involves combining phenology, dendrochronology and organic matter decomposition data to analyse the effect of additional warming on shrubs and soils at the treeline. My main supervisor is Christophe Randin, director of the Centre Alpin de Phytogréaographie (CAP) and the botanical garden of Champex-Lac. I also collaborate with the WSL dendrochronology laboratory and Prof. Cherubini for the analysis of tree rings and wood anatomy.
Main themes
- Alpine research
- Climate change
- Dendrochronology
- Plant phenology
- Soil science
- Practice-based research question
