Affiliation: WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

Dr. Holger Gärtner is a senior researcher at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL. He is a physical geographer specializing in wood anatomy, dendroecology, and dendrogeomorphology. He developed and refined a new technique of applying wood anatomical changes in exposed roots for more detailed reconstructions of geomorphic processes such as debris flows, avalanches, and soil erosion. Dr. Gärtner coordinated various projects focusing on integrating wood anatomical research in environmental sciences with a particular focus on geomorphological applications. The anatomical analyses of tree roots remained an area of interest in his research over the years, as reflected in several related projects on riverbank erosion, dating block displacements, or increasing the accuracy of dating roots. In recent years, Dr. Gärtner focused on wood anatomical applications in soil sciences, geomorphology, climatology, and ecology. Within these research fields, he also supervised studies focusing on shrubs in alpine and arctic environments.

In parallel, he concentrated on developing new techniques to strengthen wood anatomical analyses in environmental sciences, not at least by the development of new sectioning devices. Further studies focused on functional relationships of anatomical traits in Norway spruce, the ecological meaning of wood rays in Scots pine, and anatomical analyses related to tree pests. Most recent studies gained new insights on the dendroecological potential of desert plants.