Each year, the Carl XVI Gustaf Foundation for Science, Technology and the Environment, chaired by the King of Sweden, awards this visiting professorship in environmental sciences to a renowned international researcher. James Kirchner was honored with this distinction for the year 2025/26.
James Kirchner was director of the WSL from 2007 to 2012. Since his departure, he has remained involved in the WSL scientific community as a Senior Scientist within the Mountain Hydrology and Mass Movements research unit. Until August 2024, he was also professor of physics of environmental systems at ETH Zurich.
James Kirchner is particularly interested in the hydrology of mountain and forest landscapes. It analyzes the impact of variations in precipitation and snowmelt on groundwater recharge, as well as the impact of climate change and rainfall patterns on water availability for streams, lakes and forests.
James Kirchner's methodological expertise in hydrological data analysis should help elucidate the mechanisms behind the observed decline in boreal forest growth. The context of forests and silviculture in a changing climate constitutes a research area of great societal and ecological importance, especially in a densely forested country like Sweden.
Professor Kirchner will be host from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå. By dividing his time between the WSL and Umeå, he hopes to strengthen scientific cooperation between the WSL and his Scandinavian colleagues.
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