Dr. Roman Grüter

Work at ZHAW

Position

• Senior Researcher at Geography of Food Research Group
• Head of Master Research Unit (MRU) Agroecology and Food Systems

Focus

crop suitability modelling, alternative crops, agrobiodiversity, climate change and agriculture, GIS

Teaching

• Head Master Research Unit (MRU) Agroecology and Food Systems (MSc ENR)
• Head of Module Agrobiodiversity Summer School
• Head of Module World Food Systems (BSc UI)
• Head of Module Agriculture in Transition (from 2026 on, BSc UI)

Education and Continuing education

Education

• PhD / Soil Protection
  Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich
  11 / 2013 - 09 / 2017
• MSc / Environmental Sciences
  Department of Environmental Systems Sciences, ETH Zurich
  09 / 2010 - 08 / 2013
• Bachelor / Environmental Sciences
  Department of Environmental Systems Sciences, ETH Zurich
  09 / 2007 - 05 / 2012

Continuing Education

• CAS Didactics of Higher Education
  PH Zurich
  09 / 2020
• CAS Geographic Information Systems
  Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich
  05 / 2018

Network

Membership of networks

• Bodenkundliche Gesellschaft der Schweiz
• SVIAL
• SFIAR

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4441-9909

Social media

• Blog Eat Grow Change
• LinkedIn

Projects

• Sustainable Protein and Oil Crops: The potential of protein and oil crops for a transformation towards a more sustainable Swiss food system / Project leader / ongoing
• Agrobiodiversity Summer School / Project leader / ongoing
• Soil-friendly food production – Local bonus system for climate-friendly and soil-friendly agriculture / Deputy project leader / completed
• Mountain Valorization through Interconnectedness and Green Growth / Team member / completed
• EXTRA - Extreme weather events in agriculture / Project leader / completed
• Regionalised Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment / Team member / completed
• CONSUS – A GIS tool for agricultural planning / Project leader / completed
• Geography of Food Summer School & E-learning Course / Team member / completed

Publications

Articles in scientific journal, peer-reviewed

• Jaisli, I. and Grüter, R. (2024) 'Potentials of grassland-based livestock farming in Switzerland : a scenario comparison', Sustainability, 16(23), p. 10362. doi: 10.3390/su162310362.
• Grüter, R. et al. (2022) 'Expected global suitability of coffee, cashew and avocado due to climate change', PLOS ONE, 17(1), p. e0261976. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261976.
• Costerousse, B. et al. (2021) 'Green manure effect on the ability of native and inoculated soil bacteria to mobilize zinc for wheat uptake (Triticum aestivum L.)', Plant and Soil, 467, pp. 287–309. doi: 10.1007/s11104-021-05078-6.

Book chapters, peer-reviewed

• Jaisli, I. et al. (2026) 'Exploring mountain crops as an alternative to livestock production in the transformation of Swiss mountain agriculture', in Barjolle, D., Chmieliński, P., and Miller, D. (eds) Innovation and the Future of Rural Development in Europe. Cham: Springer, pp. 335–362. doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-22570-2_13.
• Jaisli, I. et al. (2021) 'Geography of food summer school : international exchange for sustainable food value chains', in Leal Filho, W. et al. (eds) Universities, Sustainability and Society : Supporting the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, pp. 107–122. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-63399-8_8.

Other publications

• Baumer, B. et al. (2024) Guide: 30 Lebensmittel für die Zukunft. Zürich: WWF Schweiz. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-31661.
• Trachsel, S. et al. (2024) Tierische Produkte und ihre pflanzlichen Alternativprodukte im Vergleich : Preis-und Kostenstrukturen. Edited by E. Wyss. Wädenswil: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-31683.
• Grüter, R. et al. (2024) Impact of climate change on black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) cultivation : a global suitability analysis. Wädenswil: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-32658.
• Felder, B., Grüter, R. and Schumacher, P. (2023) 'Luzern : moderner Weinbaukanton mit Potenzial', Obst- und Weinbau, 2023(6), pp. 6–9. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-27784.
• Grüter, R. et al. (2023) Standortanalyse von pilzwiderstandsfähigen Rebsorten für den Kanton Luzern (Offensive Spezialkulturen). Wädenswil: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-31678.
• Grüter, R. et al. (2022) Standortanalyse von Spezialkulturen und Spezialitäten im Ackerbau für den Kanton Luzern (Offensive Spezialkulturen). Wädenswil: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-31812.
• Grüter, R. and Veith, C. (2021) 'Klimawandel in der Schweizer Landwirtschaft : bereits jetzt anpassen?', e-agil, 2021(1), p. 9. Available at: https://www.1kcloud.com/ep160811ac63ef05/#1.

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

• Long-term organic matter application reduces cadmium but not zinc concentrations in wheat
• Green manure effects on zinc and cadmium accumulation in wheat grains (Triticum aestivum L.) on high and low zinc soils
• Green manure and long-term fertilization effects on soil zinc and cadmium availability and uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at different growth stages
• Organic Wheat Farming Improves Grain Zinc Concentration

go back