Plant-Soil Ecology - PSE
SymAction

Silvana Munzi

External Collaborator

Lichens Mediterranean ecosystems Biomonitoring Nitrogen pollution Stress/tolerance mechanisms Symbiosis

I received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the Università di Siena (Italy) in 2010 and I am currently assistant researcher at the cE3c where I also teach in the Ecology course.

My research focuses on physiological response to environmental stress, in particular to reactive nitrogen excess, and molecular mechanisms responsible for tolerance in symbiotic systems, namely in lichens.

For many years I have been involved in biomonitoring research using lichens as ecological indicators.

Besides collaborating with several groups belonging to the cE3c and the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (proteomics), my international network includes the Università di Siena, Italy (biomonitoring; molecular mechanisms of nitrogen tolerance), the Università di Bari, Italy (urban green infrastructure), the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, UK (nitrogen biomonitoring), the Three Gorges University, China and the Museum of Natural History of London, UK (wildlife conservation), and the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology, Iran (cultural heritage conservation).

My current research is driven by three overarching objectives: i) exploit the possible practical applications of lichens as ecological indicators; ii) investigate common patterns of stress response, in particular nitrogen, in symbiotic systems (lichens and mycorrhizas); iii) provide science-based indications on nitrogen use to industry, policy-makers and citizenry for a more sustainable development.