Christoph Bachofen

Christoph Bachofen is a Scientist at the Plant Ecology Research Laboratory (PERL) within the Institute of Environmental Engineering (IIE) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)'s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC). He also serves as a Lecturer in the SSIE - Teaching program. His work bridges empirical plant ecophysiology with modeling to understand urban tree function.

He earned a Doctor of Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) focusing on pine regeneration under future climates, and holds a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Applied Statistics and an MSc in Biology from ETH Zurich.

His research centers on urban plant ecophysiology, particularly how urban trees interact with and modulate the urban microclimate. He investigates tree-level responses to extreme heat, water use (transpiration), and cooling mechanisms. His approach combines physiological measurements (gas exchange, heat tolerance) with process-based modeling to scale up from individual trees to urban canyons, comparing species across climatic gradients to assess acclimation potential and ecosystem services.

His recent publications in journals like New Phytologist, Journal of Applied Ecology, and Agricultural and Forest Meteorology reveal a strong focus on tree water relations, species differences in carbon and water cycling, the impacts of climate change (warming, drought), and the role of forest structure. A key trend is understanding the physiological basis for urban trees’ ability to mitigate urban heat.

He actively supervises PhD students, including Deluigi Janisse, Heintzelman Cross Jacob, and Juillard Thibaut Michel Georges, indicating an active research group. While specific grants are not listed, his research is clearly funded through institutional and likely project-based support at EPFL.

Bachofen is affiliated with the Plant Ecology Research Laboratory (PERL), where his experimental and modeling work on urban trees takes place. He teaches courses such as 'The city-tree' within the Environmental Sciences and Engineering program, contributing to academic training in urban environmental systems.