Dr. Zala Schmautz
Dr. Zala Schmautz
ZHAW
School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
Institute of Natural Resource Sciences
Grüentalstrasse 14
8820 Wädenswil
Work at ZHAW
Position
Lecturer and Co-lead Research Group Aquaculture Systems
Focus
- Nutrient recycling in closed water systems
- Water analysis and water chemistry
- Soilless plant cultivation (hydroponics, aquaponics, bioponics)
- Vertical farming and indoor plant cultivation
Education and Continuing education
Education
- Doctor of Science / Environmental Systems Science
ETH Zurich
09 / 2016 - 02 / 2021 - Master's degree / Sanitary Engineering (Public Health and Environmental Health Professional)
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
10 / 2013 - 04 / 2015 - Bachelor's degree / Sanitary Engineering (Public and Environmental Health Professional)
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
10 / 2009 - 09 / 2013
Network
Membership of networks
ORCID digital identifier
Awards
Hans Vontobel-preis 2022
ETH Zurich
05 / 2022
Social media
Projects
- Food-Energy-wAter-healTh innovations for sustainable development in AFRICA / Project leader / ongoing
- AQUAPEALTH: Harnessing soilless microbial communities to enhance plant health across different cultivation systems / Deputy project leader / ongoing
- From urine to fertiliser: on-site nutrient recovery in circular sanitation systems / Team member / ongoing
- AquaChain – Connecting the trophic levels of a freshwater aquaculture food chain / Deputy project leader / ongoing
- Underground Farming: Sustainability, land efficiency and food security in Swiss agriculture / Co-project leader / ongoing
- Swiss Aquaculture Coordination Centre (KSA) / Team member / ongoing
- INtegrated and Circular Technologies for Sustainable city region FOOD systems in Africa / Project leader / ongoing
- AQUASMART: Leading the way in smart-tech for solar-powered, energyand resource efficient aquaculture / Team member / completed
- Innovating Nepalese aquaculture: Technology advancement, integration in the WEFH nexus and social inclusion / Project leader / completed
- Industrial symbiosis options for nutrient provision in indoor vertical farming / Project leader / completed
- Development of a prototype of low-tech, space efficient soilless cultivation (aquaponics) for refugee camps in Jordan / Project leader / completed
- SAMAKI AFYA: Facilitating economic viability of fish farms through better fish health / Deputy project leader / completed
- Underground mission: Soilless crop cultivation / Project leader / completed
- Local food for the future / Project leader / completed
- AWACS – Animal Welfare Assessment and Control System for Fish Farms / Team member / completed
- Implementation of aquaponic technology in Kunming, China: Construction of prototype for cultivation of fish and vegetables / Deputy project leader / completed
- Characterization of nitrogen dynamics in an aquaponic system / Team member / completed
- Implementation of aquaponic technology in Romania to benefit health and sustainable livelihood in deprived areas (AQUA-ROM) / Team member / completed
- CTI Gotthard water / Team member / completed
Publications
Articles in scientific journal, peer-reviewed
- Carron, G. et al. (2026) 'Trade-offs between yield, physiological performance, and quality in basil (Ocimum basilicum) cultivated in hydroponic versus conventional soil-based greenhouse system', Frontiers in Agronomy, 8(1866628). doi: 10.3389/fagro.2026.1866628.
- Junge, R., Schmautz, Z. and Milliken, S. (2024) 'Toward nutrient cycling from organic waste streams for soilless cultivation', Current Opinion in Food Science, 61(101257). doi: 10.1016/j.cofs.2024.101257.
- Gartmann, F. et al. (2023) 'Bioponics – an organic closed-loop soilless cultivation system : yields and characteristics compared to hydroponics and soil cultivation', Agronomy, 13(6), p. 1436. doi: 10.3390/agronomy13061436.
- Folorunso, E. A. et al. (2023) 'The economic viability of commercial-scale hydroponics : Nigeria as a case study', Heliyon, 9(8), p. e18979. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18979.
- Bruni, L. et al. (2023) 'The effect of nutrient source and beneficial bacteria on growth of Pythium-exposed lettuce at high salt stress', Water, 15(11), p. 2109. doi: 10.3390/w15112109.
- Schmautz, Z. et al. (2022) 'Microbial diversity across compartments in an aquaponic system and its connection to the nitrogen cycle', Science of the Total Environment, 852(158426). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158426.
- Schmautz, Z. et al. (2021) 'Nitrogen transformations across compartments of an aquaponic system', Aquacultural Engineering, 92(102145). doi: 10.1016/j.aquaeng.2021.102145.
- Schmautz, Z. et al. (2021) 'Environmental parameters and microbial community profiles as indication towards microbial activities and diversity in aquaponic system compartments', BMC Microbiology, 21(12). doi: 10.1186/s12866-020-02075-0.
- Eck, M. et al. (2019) 'Exploring bacterial communities in aquaponic systems', Water, 11(2), p. 260. doi: 10.3390/w11020260.
- Egloff, S. et al. (2018) 'High-density cultivation of microalgae continuously fed with unfiltered water from a recirculating aquaculture system', Algal Research, 34, pp. 68–74. doi: 10.1016/j.algal.2018.07.004.
- Nicoletto, C. et al. (2018) 'Babyleaf NFT production and water management in aquaponic system', Acta Horticulturae, pp. 159–164. doi: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1215.30.
- Nicoletto, C. et al. (2018) 'Extension of aquaponic water use for NFT baby-leaf production : mizuna and rocket salad', Agronomy, 8(5), p. 75. doi: 10.3390/agronomy8050075.
- Maucieri, C. et al. (2018) 'Hydroponic systems and water management in aquaponics : a review', Italian Journal of Agronomy, 13(1/1012). doi: 10.4081/ija.2018.1012.
- Nozzi, V. et al. (2018) 'Nutrient management in aquaponics : comparison of three approaches for cultivating lettuce, mint and mushroom herb', Agronomy, 8(3), p. 27. doi: 10.3390/agronomy8030027.
- Maucieri, C. et al. (2017) 'Vegetable intercropping in a small-scale aquaponic system', Agronomy, 7(4), p. 63. doi: 10.3390/agronomy7040063.
- Schmautz, Z. et al. (2017) 'Microbial diversity in different compartments of an aquaponics system', Archives of Microbiology, 199(4), pp. 613–620. doi: 10.1007/s00203-016-1334-1.
- Schmautz, Z. et al. (2016) 'Tomato productivity and quality in aquaponics : comparison of three hydroponic methods', Water, 8(11). doi: 10.3390/w8110533.
- Goddek, S. et al. (2016) 'Navigating towards decoupled aquaponic systems : a system dynamics design approach', Water, 8(7). doi: 10.3390/w8070303.
- Goddek, S. et al. (2016) 'The effect of anaerobic and aerobic fish sludge supernatant on hydroponic lettuce', Agronomy, 6(2). doi: 10.3390/agronomy6020037.
Book chapters, peer-reviewed
Némethy, S. et al. (2016) 'Protecting plants from pests and diseases in aquaponic systems', in Łabaj, M., Sobczuk, S., and Fabin, A. (eds) Ecological Footprint in Central Europe. Sucha Beskidzka: The University College of Tourism and Ecology Press, pp. 166–179.
Other publications
- Schmautz, Z. and Junge, R. (2026) 'Von Wädenswil nach Kenia : wie Aquakultur und Kreislaufsysteme neue Perspektiven schaffen', Natürlich - Lernen. Forschen. Morgen gestalten. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/natuerlich/2026/04/20/von-waedenswil-nach-kenia-wie-aquakultur-und-kreislaufsysteme-neue-perspektiven-schaffen/.
- Becke, C. et al. (2025) Advancing sustainability and circularity in aquaculture to build a resilient global food system. Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina. doi: 10.26164/leopoldina_04_01259.
- Gartmann, F., Schmautz, Z. and Junge, R. (2019) 'Influence of pH change on the phosphorus cycle in aquaponics', in 9th International Phosphorus Workshop (IPW9), Zurich, 8-12 July 2019. ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-18461.
- Schmautz, Z. and Junge, R. (2015) 'Acvaponia în lume : aquaponic systems around the world', Revistă Română de Acvaponie, 1(1), pp. 12–15.
- Podgrajsek, B. et al. (2014) 'Preliminarni monitoring akvaponicnega sistema v biotehniskem centru Naklo', Moje podeželje, 5(9), pp. 10–11. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-4982.