Fieldcourse at Lago di Cadagno

Last week some members of our group (Environmental Microbiology) accompanied the "Biogeochemistry of Alpine Habitats" field course lead by Prof. Martin Schroth. The 1-week course takes place every year in the Lago di Cadagno area located in the beautiful Piora valley in Ticino, Switzerland. Students of different levels participated, and our group offered our own section of the course for the first time, which focused on investigating methane-cycling microorganisms in two wetland areas close to the lake. Together with the students we took soil samples and collected geochemical data from different sites within the wetlands. Afterwards, the students extracted DNA from the soil samples and ran PCRs to look for specific microbes. The week was rounded up with an alpine excursion to the Lago di Tom and a climb to a nearby mountain ridge, and a botanical excursion during which we learned about the alpine flora.