Institute of Geography

Soil Science Group

Prof. Dr. Adrien Mestrot

Unit Leader Soil Science

Soil Science

Phone
+41 31 684 59 10
E-Mail
adrien.mestrot@unibe.ch
Office
203b
Postal Address
University of Bern
Institute of Geography
Soil Science
Hallerstrasse 12
CH-3012 Bern

Research

Research interests

The Soil Science Group studies the biogeochemistry of soils under global change to improve environmental health and food production. We use advanced analytical approaches to understand soil pollution and soil organic matter dynamics in response to land management and climate change. We investigate matter fluxes between soils and atmosphere, biota, ground and surface water from nano to field scale.

Awards, Grants and External Funding

  • 2023: Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, OESG expert to prepare the effectiveness evaluation of the Minamata Convention: 46’368 CHF
  • 2021: Swiss National Science Foundation, R’equip Grant for a HPLC-ICP-QQQ-MS: 203’820 CHF
  • 2021: Media Lab of the GIUB (mLab), funding for an art-research residency: 6000 CHF
  • 2020: Federal Office for Agriculture, Black Goes Green, Einfluss von Pflanzenkohle auf den Bodenwasserhaushalt und die chemische Bodenqualität (Co-PI): 350'000 CHF
  • 2020: Swiss National Science Foundation, Project Funding, Release, biomethylation and biovolatilisation of antimony in soils: 711’354 CHF
  • 2020: SELFRAG AG, Antimony characterization in incinerator bottom ash - Part 2: 25’069 CHF
  • 2020: Leading House Latin American Region — Seed Money Grant (SERI), Assessing geogenic arsenic and other potentially toxic trace elements in groundwater resources of the Bolivian Amazon: 22’403 CHF
  • 2019: SELFRAG AG, Antimony characterization in incinerator bottom ash – Part 1: 29’844 CHF
  • 2019: Federal Office for the Environment, Funding for a new mercury analyzer: 40’417 CHF
  • 2019: Swiss National Science Foundation, SNSF Professorship (extension), Biomethylation and biovolatilisation of arsenic, antimony and mercury: 115’092 CHF
  • 2018: Federal Office for the Environment, Enrichment of mercury in food chains: 240’000 CHF
  • 2018: Federal Office for the Environment, Mobility of antimony in shooting ranges soils: 24’858 CHF
  • 2017: UNIBE Interfaculty Cooperation Grant (IFC), One Health: Cascading and microbiome-dependent effects on multitrophic health (Co-PI): 5’999’023 CHF. Sub project: “Arsenic speciation, microbiome interactions and health impact”: 411’357 CHF with Dr. Bigalke
  • 2017:Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs, Microbial transformation of arsenic from rice in the gut (Co-PI): 35’520 CHF
  • 2016: Environmental Protection Agency of the Canton Valais, Tracing nickel sources using heavy stable isotopes and measuring methylmercury in the Grossgrund Canal: 27’520 CHF
  • 2016: Swiss National Science Fundation, SNF Professorship: Biomethylation and biovolatilisation of arsenic, antimony and mercury. Local environmental issues, novel analytical approaches and global implications: 1’579’894 CHF
  • 2015: Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, Biomethylation of mercury in a contaminated floodplain: 20’000 CHF
  • 2014: Swiss Federal Office for the Environment/armasuisse, Biomethylation and biovolatilisation of antimony in shooting range soils: 15’000 CHF
  • 2014: UniBern Initiator Grant, Biomethylation of mercury and antimony in Swiss soils: 20’000 CHF
  • 2013: UniBern Forschungsstiftung, Project LICHAS, arsenic biovolatilisation by lichens: 4‘000 CHF
  • 2013-2015: EU Marie Curie IEF Fellowship, University of Bern CH, FP7-PEOPLE-2012-326736: “BIOMETA”: 220’000CHF
  • 2009 "Early Career Researcher Award" of the International Association of Geoanalysts (IAG), Goldschmidt Conference, Davos, 21-26 June 2009.

Research in the news

Curriculum vitae

Role
01/2022 - present Associate Professor for Soil Science, GIUB, University of Bern, CH
01/2019 - 01/2022 Assistant Prof. Tenure-Track for Soil Science, GIUB, University of Bern, CH
06/2016 - 05/2020 SNSF Professor, TrES Group, GIUB, University of Bern, CH
06/2013 - 01/2016 EU Marie Curie IEF Fellow, Soil Science, GIUB, University of Bern, CH
CV Adrien Mestrot (PDF, 380KB)

Professional Activities and Services

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Memberships in panels, boards and individual scientific reviewing activities
10/2022 - present Commission member - Bernese Award for Environmental Research. Representative for the Faculty of Sciences.
06/2022 - present Member (nominated by the FOEN) of the Open-Ended Scientific Group (OESG) of the UN Minamata Convention. Leader of the “Small Group Other Matrices” (Soils, Sediments, Water).
06/2022 - present

Member of the International Panel on Chemical Pollution (IPCP). An international network of researchers aiming to provide leadership in identifying priority topics of concern and bridging the gap between science, policy and the public.
04/2022 - present Member of the UN FAO International Network on Soil Pollution (INSOP). Its mission is to support and facilitate joint efforts towards reducing the risks of soil pollution and effectively remediate already polluted areas.
09/2020 - present Member of the COST Action 19116 PLANTMETALS. Host lab for STSMs.
12/2019 - present RaToGeo Working group "Earth Surface"
07/2018 - present Associate Editor, Biogeochemical Dynamics, Frontiers in Environmental Sciences
10/2017 - present Work Package Leader (arsenic cluster) IRC One Health
01/2014 - 12/2019 Outreach & Training Committee Member, European Association of Geochemistry
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Outreach activities
2022 Elusive Exposures, Science-Art residency and exhibition at GIUB, Bern, Switzerland
09/2014 & 09/2017 Participation to the "Researchers Night" organised by the University of Bern
12/2014 - present Member of the Matura Project organised by SCNAT, 1-2 Maturaarbeit per year
11/2004 - 11/2007 Creation of a non-profit Association on Environmental Issues Awarenes, Pau, FR

Memberships in Scientific Societies

  • Swiss Soil Science Society
  • German Soil Science Society
  • American Chemical Society
  • Geochemical Society
  • International Association of Geochemistry
  • International Association of Environmental Analytical Chemistry
  • International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry

Reviewer for

  • Nature Geoscience
  • Environmental Science & Technology
  • Environmental Science & Technology Letters
  • Science of the Total Environment
  • Geoderma
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Environmental Research
  • Plant and Soil

See Publons for details

Publications

Jump to: Journal Article | Book Section
Number of items: 35.

Journal Article

Oberholzer, Simon; Herrmann, Christa; Bodenhausen, Natacha; Krause, Hans-Martin; Mestrot, Adrien; Ifejika Speranza, Chinwe; Jarosch, Klaus A. (2024). No effect on biological or chemical soil properties when amended with effective microorganisms for improved cover crop decomposition. Applied soil ecology, 197 Elsevier 10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105358

Caggìa, Veronica; Wälchli, Jan; Deslandes-Hérold, Gabriel; Mateo, Pierre; Robert, Christelle A M; Guan, Hang; Bigalke, Moritz; Spielvogel, Sandra; Mestrot, Adrien; Schlaeppi, Klaus; Erb, Matthias (2024). Root-exuded specialized metabolites reduce arsenic toxicity in maize. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - PNAS, 121(13) National Academy of Sciences 10.1073/pnas.2314261121

Gfeller, Valentin; Waelchli, Jan; Pfister, Stephanie; Deslandes-Hérold, Gabriel; Mascher, Fabio; Glauser, Gaetan; Aeby, Yvo; Mestrot, Adrien; Robert, Christelle A M; Schlaeppi, Klaus; Erb, Matthias (2023). Plant secondary metabolite-dependent plant-soil feedbacks can improve crop yield in the field. eLife, 12 eLife Sciences Publications 10.7554/eLife.84988

Sabin, Lucy; Komposch, Nora; Mestrot, Adrien (2023). Exhibiting toxicity: sprayed strawberries and geographies of hope. Cultural geographies, 31(1), pp. 113-120. Sage 10.1177/14744740231183202

Liu, Xiaowen; Huang, Yi; Guan, Hang; Wiggenhauser, Matthias; Caggìa, Veronica; Schlaeppi, Klaus; Mestrot, Adrien; Bigalke, Moritz (2023). Soil (microbial) disturbance affect the zinc isotope biogeochemistry but has little effect on plant zinc uptake. The Science of the total environment, 875(162490), p. 162490. Elsevier 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162490

Guan, Hang; Caggìa, Veronica; Gómez-Chamorro, Andrea; Fischer, Daniela; Coll-Crespí, Miquel; Liu, Xiaowen; Chávez-Capilla, Teresa; Schlaeppi, Klaus; Ramette, Alban; Mestrot, Adrien; Bigalke, Moritz (2023). The Effects of Soil Microbial Disturbance and Plants on Arsenic Concentrations and Speciation in Soil Water and Soils. Exposure and health, 16(3), pp. 805-820. Springer 10.1007/s12403-023-00593-6

Gfeller, Lorenz; Caplette, Jaime N; Frossard, Aline; Mestrot, Adrien (2022). Organo-mercury species in a polluted agricultural flood plain: Combining speciation methods and polymerase chain reaction to investigate pathways of contamination. Environmental pollution, 311, p. 119854. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119854

Caplette, Jaime N; Gfeller, L; Lei, D; Liao, J; Xia, J; Zhang, H; Feng, X; Mestrot, Adrien (2022). Antimony release and volatilization from rice paddy soils: Field and microcosm study. The Science of the total environment, 842, p. 156631. Elsevier 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156631

Müller, Viktoria; Chavez-Capilla, Teresa; Feldmann, Jörg; Mestrot, Adrien (2022). Increasing temperature and flooding enhance arsenic release and biotransformations in Swiss soils. The Science of the total environment, 838(Pt 1), p. 156049. Elsevier 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156049

Rast-Eicher, Antoinette; Schoch, Werner; Vanden Berghe, Ina; Mestrot, Adrien; Gfeller, Lorenz; Steiner, Tamara; Feldmann, Joerg; Villa, Igor H. (2022). Les textiles de la tombe La Tène ancienne d’Altrier (Luxembourg). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Luxembourgeoise(41), pp. 97-143. Archéologie Luxembourg

Caplette, Jaime N.; Grob, Matthias; Mestrot, Adrien (2021). Validation and deployment of a quantitative trapping method to measure volatile antimony emissions. Environmental pollution, 289, p. 117831. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117831

Hu, Lingfei; Wu, Zhenwei; Robert, Christelle A. M.; Ouyang, Xiao; Züst, Tobias; Mestrot, Adrien; Xu, Jianming; Erb, Matthias (2021). Soil chemistry determines whether defensive plant secondary metabolites promote or suppress herbivore growth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - PNAS, 118(43), e2109602118. National Academy of Sciences NAS 10.1073/pnas.2109602118

Langa, Xavier; Neuhaus, Patrick; Lains, David; Stewart, Theodora J.; Borel, Nadine; Certal, Ana C.; Monteiro, Joana F.; Aleström, Peter; Diaz, Eduardo; Piragyte, Indre; Bräutigam, Lars; Vázquez, Rodolfo; Hlushchuk, Ruslan; Gfeller, Lorenz; Mestrot, Adrien; Bigalke, Moritz; Varga, Zoltan M.; Mercader, Nadia (2021). A Systematic Analysis of Metal and Metalloid Concentrations in Eight Zebrafish Recirculating Water Systems. Zebrafish, 18(4), pp. 252-264. Mary Ann Liebert 10.1089/zeb.2020.1970

Gfeller, Lorenz; Weber, Andrea; Worms, Isabelle; Slaveykova, Vera I.; Mestrot, Adrien (2021). Mercury mobility, colloid formation and methylation in a polluted Fluvisol as affected by manure application and flooding–draining cycle. Biogeosciences, 18(11), pp. 3445-3465. Copernicus Publications 10.5194/bg-18-3445-2021

Hossain, Mahmud; Mestrot, Adrien; Norton, Gareth J.; Deacon, Claire; Islam, M. Rafiqul; Meharg, Andrew A. (2021). Arsenic dynamics in paddy soil under traditional manuring practices in Bangladesh. Environmental pollution, 268(Part A), p. 115821. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115821

Schneider, Tobias; Musa Bandowe, Benjamin A.; Bigalke, Moritz; Mestrot, Adrien; Hampel, Henrietta; Mosquera, Pablo V.; Fränkl, Lea; Wienhues, Giulia; Vogel, Hendrik; Tylmann, Wojciech; Grosjean, Martin (2021). 250-year records of mercury and trace element deposition in two lakes from Cajas National Park, SW Ecuadorian Andes. Environmental science and pollution research, 28(13), pp. 16227-16243. Springer 10.1007/s11356-020-11437-0

Viacava, Karen; Meibom, Karin Lederballe; Ortega, David; Dyer, Shannon; Gelb, Arnaud; Falquet, Leia; Minton, Nigel P.; Mestrot, Adrien; Bernier-Latmani, Rizlan (2020). Variability in Arsenic Methylation Efficiency across Aerobic and Anaerobic Microorganisms. Environmental science & technology, 54(22), pp. 14343-14351. ACS Publications 10.1021/acs.est.0c03908

Brantschen, Jeanine; Gygax, Sebastian; Mestrot, Adrien; Frossard, Aline (2020). Soil Hg Contamination Impact on Earthworms’ Gut Microbiome. Applied Sciences, 10(7), p. 2565. MDPI 10.3390/app10072565

Shetaya, Waleed H.; Huang, Jen-How; Osterwalder, Stefan; Mestrot, Adrien; Bigalke, Moritz; Alewell, Christine (2019). Sorption kinetics of isotopically labelled divalent mercury (196Hg2+) in soil. Chemosphere, 221, pp. 193-202. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.01.034

Lombardo, Umberto; Ruiz-Pérez, Javier; Gondim Rodrigues, Leonor Maria; Mestrot, Adrien; Mayle, Francis; Madella, Marco; Szidat, Sönke; Veit, Heinz (2019). Holocene land cover change in south-western Amazonia inferred from paleoflood archives. Global and planetary change, 174, pp. 105-114. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.01.008

Gygax, Sebastian; Gfeller, Lorenz; Wilcke, Wolfgang; Mestrot, Adrien (2019). Emerging investigator series: mercury mobility and methylmercury formation in a contaminated agricultural flood plain: influence of flooding and manure addition. Environmental science: processes & impacts, 21(12), pp. 2008-2019. Royal Society of Chemistry 10.1039/C9EM00257J

Henne, Paul Daniel; Bigalke, Moritz; Büntgen, Ulf; Colombaroni, Daniele; Conedera, Marco; Feller, Urs; David, Frank; Fuhrer, Jürg; Grosjean, Martin; Heiri, Oliver; Luterbacher, Jürg; Mestrot, Adrien; Rigling, Andreas; Rössler, Ole Kristen; Rohr, Christian; Rutishauser, This; Schwikowski, Margit; Stampfli, Andreas; Szidat, Sönke; Theurillat, Jean-Paul; ... (2018). An Empirical Perspective for Understanding Climate Change Impacts in Switzerland. Regional environmental change, 18(1), pp. 205-221. Springer 10.1007/s10113-017-1182-9

Ji, Ying; Mestrot, Adrien; Schulin, Rainer; Tandy, Susan (2018). Uptake and Transformation of Methylated and Inorganic Antimony in Plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9(140) Frontiers 10.3389/fpls.2018.00140

Frossard, Aline; Donhauser, Johanna; Mestrot, Adrien; Gygax, Sebastien; Bååth, Erland; Frey, Beat (2018). Long- and short-term effects of mercury pollution on the soil microbiome. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 120, pp. 191-199. Elsevier 10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.01.028

Grob, Matthias; Wilcke, Wolfgang; Mestrot, Adrien (2018). Release and Biomethylation of Antimony in Shooting Range Soils upon Flooding. Soil systems, 2(2), p. 34. MDPI 10.3390/soilsystems2020034

Bont, Zoe; Arce, Carla C. M.; Huber, Meret; Huang, Wei; Mestrot, Adrien; Sturrock, Craig J.; Erb, Matthias (2017). A Herbivore Tag-and-Trace System Reveals Contact- and Density-Dependent Repellence of a Root Toxin. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 43(3), pp. 295-306. Springer 10.1007/s10886-017-0830-3

Shetaya, Waleed H.; Osterwalder, Stefan; Bigalke, Moritz; Mestrot, Adrien; Huang, Jen-How; Alewell, Christine (2017). An Isotopic Dilution Approach for Quantifying Mercury Lability in Soils. Environmental science & technology letters, 4(12), pp. 556-561. ACS Publications 10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00510

Mestrot, Adrien; Ji, Ying; Tandy, Susan; Wilcke, Wolfgang (2016). A novel method to determine trimethylantimony concentrations in plant tissue. Environmental chemistry, 13(6), pp. 919-926. CSIRO Publishing 10.1071/EN16018

Bigalke, Moritz; Schwab, Lorenz; Gygax, Sebastian; Mestrot, Adrien (2016). Soil Contamination with Trace Metals: Quantification, Speciation, and Source Identification. CHIMIA, 70(12), p. 899. Schweizerische Chemische Gesellschaft 10.2533/chimia.2016.899

Norton, Gareth J.; Deacon, Claire M.; Mestrot, Adrien; Feldmann, Joerg; Jenkins, Paul; Baskaran, Christina; Meharg, Andrew A. (2015). Cadmium and lead in vegetable and fruit produce selected from specific regional areas of the UK. Science of the total environment, 533, pp. 520-527. Elsevier 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.06.130

Lemos Batista, Bruno; Nigar, Meher; Mestrot, Adrien; Alves Rocha, Bruno; Barbosa Junior, Fernando; Price, Adam H.; Raab, Andrea; Feldmann, Jörg (2014). Identification and quantification of phytochelatins in roots of rice to long-term exposure: evidence of individual role on arsenic accumulation and translocation. Journal of Experimental Botany, 65(6), pp. 1467-1479. Oxford University Press 10.1093/jxb/eru018

Mestrot, Adrien; Planer-Friedrich, Britta; Feldmann, Jörg (2013). Biovolatilisation: a poorly studied pathway of the arsenic biogeochemical cycle. Environmental science: processes & impacts, 15(9), pp. 1639-1651. Royal Society of Chemistry 10.1039/C3EM00105A

Mestrot, Adrien; Xie, Wan-Ying; Xue, Ximei; Zhu, Yong-Guan (2013). Arsenic volatilization in model anaerobic biogas digesters. Applied geochemistry, 33, pp. 294-297. Pergamon 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.02.023

Moreno-Jiménez, Eduardo; Clemente, Rafael; Mestrot, Adrien; Meharg, Andrew A. (2013). Arsenic and selenium mobilisation from organic matter treated mine spoil with and without inorganic fertilisation. Environmental pollution, 173, pp. 238-244. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.envpol.2012.10.017

Book Section

Caplette, Jaime N.; Mestrot, Adrien (2021). Chapter 11 Biomethylation and biovolatilization of antimony. In: Filella, Montserrat (ed.) Antimony (pp. 251-274). De Gruyter 10.1515/9783110668711-011

This list was generated on Sun Dec 29 16:17:48 2024 CET.

Publications prior to 2013

Publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals

Norton G.J., Deacon C.M., Mestrot A., Feldmann J., Jenkins P., Baskaran C. & Meharg A.A. Arsenic speciation and localization in horticultural produce grown in a historically impacted mining region. (2013). Environmental Science & Technology, 47(12), pp. 6164–6172

Petursdottir A., Gunnlaugsdottir H., Jorundsdottir H., Mestrot A., Krupp E. & Feldmann J. HPLC-HG-ICP-MS a sensitive and selective method for inorganic arsenic in seafood (2012). Analytical & Bionalytical Chemistry, 404(8) pp.2185-2191

Hossain M.S., Williams P.N., Mestrot A., Norton G.J., Deacon C.M. & Meharg A.A. Spatial heterogeneity and kinetic regulation of arsenic dynamics in mangrove sediments: the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. (2012). Environmental Science & Technology, 46, pp. 8645-8652.

Mestrot A., Merle J.K., Broglia A., Feldmann J. & Krupp E.M. Atmospheric stability of Arsine and Methylarsines. (2011). Environmental Science & Technology, 45(9), pp. 4010-4015.

Mestrot A., Feldmann J., Krupp E.M., Hossain M., Roman-Ross G. & Meharg A.A. Field Fluxes and Speciation of Arsines Emanating from Soils. (2011). Environmental Science & Technology, 45(5), pp. 1798-1804.

Tabouret H., Bareille G., Mestrot A., Caill-Milly N., Budzinski H., Peluhet L., Prouzet P. & Donard O.F.X. Heavy metals and organochlorinated compounds in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from the Adour estuary and associated wetlands (France). (2011). Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 13(5), pp. 1446-1456.

Mestrot A., Plantevin T., Uroic M.K., Islam R., Krupp E.M., Feldmann J. & Meharg A.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Trapping of Arsines Deployed to Assess Loss of Volatile Arsenic from Paddy Soil. (2009). Environmental Science and Technology, 43(21) pp. 8270-8275.

Krupp E.M., Mestrot A., Wielgus J., Meharg A.A. & Feldmann J. The molecular form of mercury in biota: Identification of novel mercury peptide complexes in plants. (2009). Chemical Communications, 28, pp. 4257-4259.

Krupp E.M., Milne B.F., Mestrot A., Meharg A.A. & Feldmann J. Investigation into mercury bound to biothiols: Structural identification using ESI-ion-trap MS and introduction of a method for their HPLC separation with simultaneous detection by ICP-MS and ESI-MS. (2008). Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 390(7), pp. 1753-1764.

Other publications

Mestrot A., Uroic M.K., Krupp E.M., Meharg A.A. & Feldmann J. Speciation of gaseous arsines using chemotrapping followed by HPLC-ICP-MS. (2012). Handbook of Hyphenated ICP-MS Applications, Agilent Technologies Inc., 2nd Edition, pp. 11-12.

Krupp E.M., Mestrot A. & Feldmann J. Mercury speciation in rice – More than methylmercury using HPLC-ICP-MS/ Electrospray Ionization (ESI) MS. (2012). Handbook of Hyphenated ICP-MS Applications, Agilent Technologies Inc., 2nd Edition, pp. 93-94.

Norton G., Mestrot A. & Meharg A.A. Arsenic speciation in fruit and vegetables grown in the UK. (2012). UK FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY FINAL REPORT, FS241003.

Norton G., Mestrot A. & Meharg A.A. Total cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in fruit and vegetables grown in the UK. (2012). UK FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY FINAL REPORT, FS241003.

XIE W., Mestrot A., LI G., SUN G. & ZHU Y.G. Arsenic sample contamination through the use of glass autosampler vials. (2012). Environmental Chemistry (Chinese journal), 31(6), pp. 902-908.