Prof. Dr. Andreas Lüscher

Research area

Key words: Agronomy and Ecophysiology of Grassland Systems, Functional Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning, Response to Climate Change, Applied Research and Development

Main research interests are agronomy and ecophysiology of grassland ecosystems with the main topics being: (i) effects of functional biodiversity on ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services, (ii) effects of grassland management on plant community composition and structure with emphasis on weed invasion and efficient resource utilisation, and (iii) effects of climate change on grassland functioning and strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Based at Agroscope, his research has important applied aspects. Within his research group, Andreas Lüscher is responsible for several legal tasks such as cultivar testing, seed mixture development and fertilizer guidelines for the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). The techniques used range from on-farm surveys to isotope and tracer techniques in controlled field experiments and include continental scale experimental networks and the use of remote sensing. The knowledge gained is transferred to the international scientific community and the local end users through a wide range of publication types. Exchange with farmers and other stakeholders is mainly performed in tight collaboration with the Swiss Grassland Society (AGFF) and the extension service.

Andreas Lüscher has contributed as work package and task leader to various international projects like COST 852 (Legumes for sustainable grassland systems), MultiSward (Multi-species and multi scale strategies for multifunctional grassland based ruminant production systems; FP7), AnimalChange (An integration of mitigation and adaptation options for sustainable livestock production under climate change; FP7), LegumePlus (Optimising plant polyphenols in legumes for ruminant nutrition plus health plus environmental sustainability; FP7), IWMPRAISE (Integrated weed management: practical implication and solution for Europe; H2020), and BioInvent (Generic bio-inventory of soil microbial biodiversity and functioning in permanent grassland ecosystems across European management and climate gradients; H2020).