Ryffel, Andrea

Research Projects

Current research projects

• NRP 61 - HydroServ - Vulnerability of hydrological ecosystem services: Integrative analysis under changes of climate and socio-economy with an emphasis on adaptation

PhD Project

Water is an essential resource for human well-being. Climate change as well as growing socio-economic pressure are expected to have strong impacts on the hydrological cycle. Political decisions entail changes in land use and land cover, which directly affect the provision of hydrologic ecosystem services (HES). In order to insure the sustainable provision of HES and avoid negative trends in HES provision, regional actors need to develop adaption and mitigation strategies that secure the HES required for sustainable development and are economically and ecologically efficient as well as socially and politically feasible.

This PhD thesis is part of the NRP61 project HydroServ. The aim of the project is to foster the understanding of the full value chain of HES. The project takes into account the entire water resource supply chain, from the supply in the catchment area all the way to the use in the valley. An integrative framework combines the hydrological, ecological and economic aspects of water resource development and portrays these in various scenarios and different time steps to close the feedback loop between land use, hydrology and ecosystem services.

The tasks of my PhD thesis are (i) to determine the monetary value of key HES in the downstream area of the river and (ii) to develop an integrative simulation framework that allows for feedback between system drivers (climate change, socio-economic boundaries, human needs and decisions) and system responses (hydrological cycle).

Past research projects

• Der Wert der Biodiversität, gemessen an Ökosystemleistungen von Trockenwiesen und –weiden nationaler Bedeutung

Curriculum vitae

Professional Education

2008: Dipl. geogr. (Msc) Universität Zürich

Professional Experience

June 2010 - ongoing: PhD student, ETH Zurich, Institute for Spatial and Landscape Planning (IRL), Landscape Planning and Urban Systems (PLUS)
September 2009 - June 2010: Research assistant, ETH Zurich, Institute for Spatial and Landscape Planning (IRL), Landscape Planning and Urban Systems (PLUS)
April 2009 - September 2010: Internship in GIS, Grün Stadt Zürich

Publications

• Ryffel, A. (2011). Der Knochenbrecher kehrt zurück: Charakterisierung und Modellierung von Bartgeier-Lebensräumen in den Schweizer Alpen. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller.
• Ryffel, A., Altwegg, J., and Grêt-Regamey, A. (2010). Machbarkeitsstudie – Der Wert der Biodiversität gemessen an den Ökosystemleistungen von Trockenwiesen- und weiden nationaler Bedeutung. Interner Berecht, BAFU, Bern.