Stephan Hättenschwiler

The Man of the Woods

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© V. Dufour

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Forests, undergrowth, trees... since his adolescence, they've held an almost supernatural attraction for young Stephan, although his family was not especially fond of nature. It seemed a logical step then, when, several years later, he began studying biology at the University of Basel (Switzerland), with “the intention of becoming a teacher.” However, when he drew up his proposal for his master course and his PhD thesis under the direction of Christian Körner, he considered research as a very attractive alternative. Hättenschwiler put together a scientific program that fit perfectly with his love for forests: studying the effects of climate change–more specifically the increase in atmospheric CO2–on the ecophysiology of plants, and, in particular, its consequences for herbivores and litter-feeding animals. From 1993 to 1998, he worked at the University of Basel's Botanical Institute, wrote his thesis, and taught, while doing fieldwork in temperate forests and using model ecosystems under controlled climatic conditions in the laboratory. “I then accepted a postdoctoral position in Switzerland, he says, “to teach and continue my research.” But “the Swiss system offers very few permanent research positions, and few University teaching appointments.” Peter Vitousek of Stanford University in California offered him the chance to do a two-year postdoctoral program in the forests of Hawaii. The position provided him with great freedom to test his hypotheses and ideas on the interactions between plants and soil, with a focus on how polyphenols inhibit nutrient fluxes, and thus change the way ecosystems function. In 2001, he returned to Switzerland where he accepted a temporary position as Assistant Professor. In addition to teaching at university, he found time to launch a project in the Alps on the influence of CO2 and of the increase in temperature on the functioning of the ecosystems around the treeline limit. 

At a colloquium in 2002, Jacques Roy, then Director of Research at CEFE, found Hättenschwiler's research intriguing and encouraged him to apply at CNRS. Doubtful but curious, he decided to try his luck, with no real expectations. The application was accepted, and he was now a part of an organization in which he had never set foot before! A success story that still surprises him. “I didn't know France at all, nor its research system. I didn't speak the language well, and I thought that it was a rather closed country.” Today, he heads a young research team within CEFE and is getting acquainted with the French research system.

Fabrice Impériali