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Nicole Herrmann
Report of GLOMAR PhD student Nicole Herrmann about her participation in the Plant Wax 2015 conference in Ascona, Switzerland from 16 - 20 June 2015
The conference “Plant Waxes – From Biosynthesis to Burial” took place in Ascona/Switzerland. The highly specialized conference took place for the first time. About 70 participants presented their work in 38 oral and 32 poster presentations. The participants covered various scientific fields from biology over chemistry to paleoclimatology. Thanks to the low number of participants and its location on top of a hill (Monte Verità) it was a familiar atmosphere, which allowed me to talk to many experts. The conference program filled almost the whole day. The many interesting talks and keynote lectures matched very well my research topic. I learned a lot about paleoenvironmental application as well as biosynthesis of plant waxes and which parameters influence the composition of plant waxes.
Within my PhD project I investigate the environmental influences on plant wax derived compound specific isotopes of n-alkanes in soils. With the help of these results I want to reconstruct paleoenvironmental changes in South Africa using a marine sediment archive from western South Africa, which covers the last 10.000 years. I presented my results in a poster presentation, entitled “Compound-specific isotopes (δD, δ13C) of leaf waxes in southern African soils and their environmental drivers” during a timely extensive poster session. The discussions of my results with experts in this field were very fruitful. They helped me to consider new aspects that support interpreting my data. During the poster sessions, I benefited talking to other scientists and exchange ideas. At the end of the conference several breakout groups were set up to discuss issues, knowns and unknowns about several topics in the plant wax community and how exchange knowledge between the different scientific disciplines. I attended an excursion to the botanical garden on Brissago Island located in the Lago Maggiore. The botanical garden comprises about 1,700 species of Mediterranean and subtropical plants from South America, southern Africa, Australia and subtropical Asia.
Besides the remarkable gain in knowledge, the conference was a great opportunity to network with other scientists, e.g. from Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and USA, who are using the same methods in their studies. Altogether, I greatly benefit from attending the Plant Waxes conference. I want to thank GLOMAR for the financial support to participate at the Plant Waxes conference.
Within my PhD project I investigate the environmental influences on plant wax derived compound specific isotopes of n-alkanes in soils. With the help of these results I want to reconstruct paleoenvironmental changes in South Africa using a marine sediment archive from western South Africa, which covers the last 10.000 years. I presented my results in a poster presentation, entitled “Compound-specific isotopes (δD, δ13C) of leaf waxes in southern African soils and their environmental drivers” during a timely extensive poster session. The discussions of my results with experts in this field were very fruitful. They helped me to consider new aspects that support interpreting my data. During the poster sessions, I benefited talking to other scientists and exchange ideas. At the end of the conference several breakout groups were set up to discuss issues, knowns and unknowns about several topics in the plant wax community and how exchange knowledge between the different scientific disciplines. I attended an excursion to the botanical garden on Brissago Island located in the Lago Maggiore. The botanical garden comprises about 1,700 species of Mediterranean and subtropical plants from South America, southern Africa, Australia and subtropical Asia.
Besides the remarkable gain in knowledge, the conference was a great opportunity to network with other scientists, e.g. from Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and USA, who are using the same methods in their studies. Altogether, I greatly benefit from attending the Plant Waxes conference. I want to thank GLOMAR for the financial support to participate at the Plant Waxes conference.
Asteraceae (a common plant in my study area in South Africa) in the botanical garden on Brissago Island.
The sculpture “Roue Oriflamme” located at the conference venue on the Monte Verità.