Sonja Wipf Explained

Sonja Wipf (born 24 February 1973, Brugg)^[1] is a Swiss plant ecologist who studies the consequences of climate change. She worked at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF and is head of research and monitoring at the Swiss National Parks.

Life

After graduating from the Old Cantonal School Aarau, Wipf studied botany and environmental science at the University of Zurich from 1993 to 2000.^[2] She completed a doctoral dissertation about the effects of reduced snow cover on tundra ecosystems in 2006 at the University.

Work

Wipf's research deals with the effects of climate change, agriculture, and tourism on alpine and arctic plants and soils, and their interactions. Her work has been published in leading journals Nature and Climatic Change. With her colleagues, Wipf demonstrated the accelerated responses of alpine ecosystems to climate change.^[3]

Wipf appears in the media on a regular basis. In the context of the climate crisis, her work has been reported by national^{[4] [5]} and international^{[6] [7] [8]} media.

Since 1 January 2020 Wipf has headed the Research and Monitoring Department at the Swiss National Parks.^{[9] [10]}

Selected publications

• With Christian Rixen: A review of snow manipulation experiments in Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems. In: Polar Research. 29(1), 2010, S. 95–109.
• With Christian Rixen, Markus Fischer, Bernhard Schmid, Veronika Stoeckli: Effects of ski piste preparation on alpine vegetation. In: Journal of Applied Ecology. 42(2), 2005, S. 306–316.
• With Veronika Stoeckli, Peter Bebi: Winter climate change in alpine tundra: plant responses to changes in snow depth and snowmelt timing. In: Climatic Change. 94(1–2), 2009, S. 105–121.

External links

• • Sonja Wipf at Semantic Scholar
• Sonja Wipf at the WSL-Instituts für Schnee- und Lawinenforschung SLF

Notes and References

1. http://www.uwinst.uzh.ch/publications/ThesisWipf06.pdf#page=127 Curriculum Vitae.
2. https://www.slf.ch/de/mitarbeitende/wipf.html Mitarbeitende. Dr. Sonja Wipf.
3. Steinbauer. Manuel J.. Grytnes. John-Arvid. Wipf. Sonja. 4 April 2018. Accelerated increase in plant species richness on mountain summits is linked to warming. Nature. 556. 7700 . 231–234. 10.1038/s41586-018-0005-6 . 29618821 . 4723600 . 2164/11217. free.
4. News: Wenn Gletscher schmelzen, blühen die Klimagipfel. de. Basler Zeitung. 2021-04-06. 1420-3006.
5. Web site: 2018-04-05. Hochalpine Pflanzenvielfalt - Pflanzen erobern Europas Gipfel immer schneller. 2021-04-06. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). de.
6. News: Wieso Arnika auf Berggipfeln eine schlechte Nachricht ist. de. Tages-Anzeiger. 2021-04-06. 1422-9994.
7. Web site: SPIEGEL. DER. Klimawandel: Pflanzen erobern Europas Gipfel. 2021-04-06. www.spiegel.de. de.
8. Web site: Kornei. Katherine. 1 December 2018. Plants That Lived on Mount Everest Rediscovered in Forgotten Lab Collection. Scientific American.
9. Web site: Der Nationalpark hat jetzt ein neues Gesicht. 2021-04-06. www.suedostschweiz.ch. de.
10. Web site: Ruedi Haller als Nationalparkdirektor im Amt - Der Schweizerische Nationalpark im Engadin. 2021-04-06. www.nationalpark.ch. en.