Prof. Dr.
Institute of Geography
Room: 02-274
Phone: +49 6131 39-28043
E-mail: eziaco@uni-mainz.de
Research interests
Dendrochronology; Quantitative Wood Anatomy; Dendroclimatology; Xylogenesis; Tree physiology; Forest ecology; Forest conservation and management
Biographical data
2021 Postdoctoral Researcher, Carl Trygger’s Foundation, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution, Uppsala University.
2020-2021 Adjunct Faculty - Research Scientist, Global Water Center, Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno.
2020-2021 Guest scientist, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences - Helmholtz Center, Potsdam, Germany.
2018-2020 Research Scientist, DendroLab, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science (NRES), University of Nevada, Reno.
2013-2018 Postdoctoral scholar, DendroLab, Department of Geography, University of Nevada, Reno.
2013 Ph.D. in Sciences and Technologies for Forest and Environmental Management, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy.
Publications
2025:
(In press) Li, X., Silvestro, R., Liang, E., Mencuccini, M., Camarero, J. J., Rathgeber, C. B. K., Sylvain, J. D., Nabais, C., Giovannelli, A., Saracino, A., Saulino, L., Guerrieri, R., Gričar, J., Prislan, P., Peters, R. L., Čufar, K., Yang, B. Antonucci, S., Babushkina, E., Biondi, F., Campelo, F., Carrer, M., De Luis, M., Deslauriers, A., Drolet, G., Fajstavr, M., Fonti, M. V., Fonti, P., García-Valdés, R., Gruber, A., Gryc, V., Güney, A., Kašpar, J., Kirdyanov, A.V., Knorre, A.A., Lombardi, F., Mäkinen, H., Malik, R.A., Martinez del Castillo, E., Nöjd, P., Oberhuber, W., Ouimette A. P., Shishov, V., Sukumar, R., Tognetti, R., Treml, V., Vavrčík, H., Vieira, J., Zeng, Q., Ziaco, E., Rossi, S. Warming increases the phenological mismatch between carbon sources and sinks in conifer forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Nature Climate Change
Mdawar, M, Balanzategui, D, Touchan, R, Ziaco, E., Dorado-Liñan, I, Helle, G, Heinrich, I. Quantitative wood anatomy of Juniperus excelsa from Lebanon as a potential hydroclimate archive. Frontiers in Plant Science 16:1558570. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.155857042.
Truettner, C, Poulson, S, Ziaco, E., Csank, A. Intraspecific Dominance Determines Subseasonal Pinus ponderosa Growth Response to Warm-Season Precipitation Amid Drought in Southern Nevada, USA. Ecohydrology 18(6): e70105. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.70105.
Torbenson, M.C.A., Martinez del Castillo, E., Reinig, F., Stahle, D.W., King, K.E., Maxwell, J.T., Harley, G.L., Ziaco, E., Esper, J. Lack of cold temperatures is driving recent high-summer warming in the southern Rocky Mountains. International Journal of Biometeorology 69:1475-1486 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-025-02904-9
Römer, P., Wieland, A., Torbenson, M.C.A., Reinig, F., Ziaco, E., Frigo, D., Greule, M., Urban, O., Čáslavský, J., Pernicová, N., Trnka, M., Carrer, M., Büntgen, U., Keppler, F., Esper, J. Covariance and climate signals among tree-ring proxies. Quaternary Science Reviews, 355: 109270 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109270
Spelsberg, S., Büntgen, U., Homfeld, I.K., Kunz, M., Martinez del Castillo, E., Tejedor, E., Torbenson, M.C.A., Ziaco, E., Esper, J. Climate signal age effects in Pinus uncinata tree-ring density data from the Spanish Pyrenees. Trees 39, 23 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-024-02598-3
Torbenson, M.C.A., Stagge, J.H., Chen, F., Ziaco, E., Esper, J. Adjusting the significance of daily climate responses in tree-ring proxies. Journal of Forestry Research 36:3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-024-01799-3
2024:
Kuhl, E., Ziaco, E., Esper, J., Konter, O., Martinez del Castillo, E. A machine learning approach to fill gaps in dendrometer data. Trees 38, 1557–1567 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-024-02573-y
Frigo, D., Römer, P., Unterholzner, L., Zimmer-Zachmann, H., Esper, J., Carrer, M., Ziaco, E. Review of embedding and non-embedding techniques for quantitative wood anatomy. Dendrochronologia 88: 126241
Martinez del Castillo, E., Torbenson, M.C.A., Reinig, F., Konter, O., Ziaco, E., Büntgen, U., Esper, J. Diverging growth trends and climate sensitivities of individual pine trees after the 1976 extreme drought in south-western Germany. Science of the Total Environment 946:174370
Silvestro, R., Mencuccini, M., García-Valdés, R., Antonucci, S., Arzac, A., Biondi, F., Buttò, V., Camarero, J. J., Campelo, F., Cochard, H., Čufar, K., Cuny, H. E., De Luis, M., Deslauriers, A., Drolet, G., Fonti, M. V., Fonti, P., Giovannelli, A., Gričar, J., Gruber, A., Gryc, V., Guerrieri, R., Güney, A., Guo, X., Huang, J. G., Jyske, T., Kašpar, J., Kirdyanov, A.V., Klein, T., Lemay, A., Li, X., Liang, E., Lintunen A. M., Liu, F., Lombardi, F., Ma, Q., Mäkinen, H., Malik, R.A., Martinez del Castillo, E., Martinez-Vilalta, J.,, Mayr, S., Morin, H., Nabais, C., Nöjd, P., Oberhuber, W., Olano, J. M., Ouimette A. P., Paljakka, T. V. S., Peltoniemi, M., Peters, R. L., Ping, R., Prislan, P., Rathgeber, C. B. K., Sala, A., Saracino, A., Saulino, L., Schiestl-Aalto, P., Shishov, V., Stokes, A., Sukumar, R., Sylvain, J. D., Tognetti, R., Treml, T., Urban, J., Vavrčík, H., Vieira, J., von Arx, G., Wang, Y, Yang, B., Qiao, Z., Zhang, S., Ziaco, E., Rossi, S. Partial asynchrony of forest carbon sources and sinks at the intra-annual time scale. Nature Communications 15, 6169. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49494-5
2023:
Ziemińska, K., Bibbo, S., Farrar, S., Thompson, J., Uriarte, M., Ziaco, E., Zimmerman, J., Muscarella, R. Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane. Functional Ecology 37, 3000–3014. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14451
Liu, X., Ziaco, E., Biondi, F. Stomatal regulation and xylem hydraulics of limber pine and Engelmann spruce in Great Basin sky-island ecosystems. Science of the Total Environment, 892: 164351
Ziaco, E., Liu, X., Biondi, F. Dendroanatomy of xylem hydraulics in two pine species: Efficiency prevails on safety for basal area growth in drought-prone conditions. Dendrochronologia, 126116
2021:
Liu, X., Ziaco, E., Biondi, F. Water-use efficiency of co-occurring sky-island pine species in the North American Great Basin. Frontier in Plant Sciences, 12: 2730, DOI:10.3389/fpls.2021.787297
Balanzategui, D., Nordhauß, H., Heinrich, I., Biondi, F., Miley, N., Hurley, A.G., Ziaco, E. Wood anatomy of Douglas-fir in eastern Arizona and its relationship with Pacific Basin climate. Frontier in Plant Sciences, 12: 1812, DOI:10.3389/fpls.2021.702442
Tromboni, F., Liu, J., Ziaco, E., Breshears, D.D., Thompson, K., Dodds, W.K., Dahlin, K.M., LaRue, E.A., Thorp, J.H., Viña, A., Laguë, M., Maasri, A., Yang, H., Chandra, S., Fei, S. Macrosystems as metacoupled human and natural systems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 19( 1): 20– 29, doi:10.1002/fee.2289
2020
Huang, J., Campelo, F., Ma, Q., Zhang, Y., Bergeron, Y., Deslauriers, A., Fonti, P., Liang, E., Mäkinen, H., Oberhuber, W., Rathgeber, C. B. K., Tognetti, R., Treml, V., Yang, B., Zhai, L., Zhang, J., Antonucci, S., Camarero, J.J, Čufar, K., Cuny, H.E., De Luis, M., Giovannelli, A., Gričar, J., Gruber, A., Gryc, V., Güney, A., Guo, X., Huang, W., Jyske, T., Kašpar, J., King, G., Krause, C., Lemay, A., Liu, F., Lombardi, F., Martinez del Castillo, E., Morin, H., Nabais, C., Nöjd, P., Peters, R.L., Prislan, P., Saracino, A., Swidrak, I., Vavrčík, H., Vieira, J., Yu, B., Zhang, S., Zeng, Q., Ziaco, E., Rossi, S. Reply to Elmendorf and Ettinger: Photoperiod plays a dominant and irreplaceable role in triggering secondary growth resumption. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2020, 202019931; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019931117
Huang, J., Ma, Q., Rossi, S., Biondi, F., Deslauriers, A., Fonti, P., Liang, E., Mäkinen, H., Oberhuber, W., Rathgeber, C., Tognetti, R., Treml, V., Yang, B., Antonucci, S., Bergeron, Y., Berninger, F., Cufar, K., Cuny, H., Gričar, J., Gruber, A., Guo, X., Huang, W., Jyske, T., Kašpar, J., King, G., Krause, C., Lombardi, F., Morin, H., Nöjd, P., Peters, R., Prislan, P., Saracino, A., Swidrak, I., Yu, B., Zhai, L., Zhang, S., Zeng, Q., Ziaco, E. Photoperiod and temperature as dominant environmental drivers triggering secondary growth resumption in Northern Hemisphere conifers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2020, 202007058; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2007058117
Ziaco, E., Miley, N., Biondi, F. Reconstruction of seasonal and water-year precipitation anomalies from tree-ring records of the Southwestern United States. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 547, 109689, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109689
Ziaco, E. A phenology-based approach to the analysis of conifers intra-annual xylem anatomy in water-limited environments. Dendrochronologia, 59, 125662, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2019.125662
2019
Truettner, C., Dettinger, M., Ziaco, E., Csank, A., Biondi, F. Seasonal Analysis of the 2011 – 2017 North American Monsoon near its Northwest Boundary. Atmosphere, 10(7):420, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10070420
Ren, P., Ziaco, E., Rossi, S., Biondi, F., Prislan, P., Liang, E. Growth rate rather than growing season length determines wood biomass in dry environments. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 217, 46-53
Ziaco, E., Liang, E. New perspectives on sub-seasonal xylem anatomical responses to climatic variability. Trees https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1786-9
2018
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F. Stem circadian phenology of four pine species in naturally contrasting climates from sky-island forests of the western USA. Forests, 9(7), 396. DOI: 10.3390/f9070396
Truettner, C., W.R.L. Anderegg, F. Biondi, G.W. Koch, K. Ogle, C. Schwalm, M.E. Litvak, J.D. Shaw, Ziaco, E. Conifer radial growth response to recent seasonal warming and drought from the southwestern USA. Forest Ecology and Management, 418, 55-62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.01.044
Ziaco, E., Truettner, C., Biondi, F., Bullock, S. Moisture-driven xylogenesis in Pinus ponderosa from a Mojave Desert mountain reveals high phenological plasticity. Plant, Cell & Environment, 41(4), 823-836. DOI: 10.1111/pce.13152
2017
Di Filippo, A., Biondi, F., Piovesan, G., Ziaco, E. Tree-ring based metrics for assessing old-growth forest naturalness. Journal of Applied Ecology, 54, 737-749. DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.12793
2016
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F., Heinrich, I. Wood Cellular Dendroclimatology: Testing New Proxies in Great Basin Bristlecone Pine. Frontiers in Plant Science, 1(7). DOI:10.3389/fpls.2016.01602
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F. Tree growth, cambial phenology, and wood anatomy of limber pine at a Great Basin (USA) mountain observatory. Trees, 30(5), 1507-1521. DOI:10.1007/s00468-016-1384-7
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F., Rossi, S., Deslauriers, A. Environmental drivers of cambial phenology in Great Basin bristlecone pine. Tree Physiology 36 (7), 818-831. DOI:10.1093/treephys/tpw006
2015
Anderegg, W.R.L., Schwalm, C., Biondi, F., Camarero, J.J, Koch, G., Litvak, M., Ogle, K., Shaw, J.D., Shevliakova, E., Williams, A.P, Wolf, A., Ziaco, E., Pacala, S. Pervasive drought legacies in forest ecosystems and their implications for carbon cycle models. Science 349(6247), 528-532. DOI:10.1126/science.aab1833
2014
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F., Rossi, S., and Deslauriers, A. Climatic influences on wood anatomy and tree-ring features of Great Basin conifers at a new mountain observatory. Applications in plant sciences, 10(2):1400054
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F., Rossi, S., and Deslauriers, A. Intra-annual wood anatomical features of high-elevation conifers in the Great Basin, USA. Dendrochronologia, 32(4), 303-312 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2014.07.006
2012
Ziaco, E., Biondi, F., Di Filippo, A., Piovesan, G. Biogeoclimatic influences on tree growth releases identified by the boundary line method in beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) populations of southern Europe. Forest Ecology and Management, 286, 28-37 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.09.005
Ziaco, E., Di Filippo, A., Alessandrini, A., Baliva, M., D'Andrea, E., Piovesan, G. Old-growth attributes in a network of Apennines (Italy) beech forests: disentangling the role past human interferences and biogeoclimate. Plant Biosystems, 46, 153-166 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2011.650729
Ziaco, E., Alessandrini, A., Blasi, S., Di Filippo A., Dennis, S., Piovesan, G. Communicating old-growth forest through an educational trail. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21, 131-144, DOI: 10.1007/s10531-011-0170-5
2011
Alessandrini, A., Biondi, F., Di Filippo, A., Ziaco, E., Piovesan, G. Tree size distribution at increasing spatial scales converges to the rotated sigmoid curve in two old-growth beech stands of the Italian Apennines. Forest Ecology and Management, 262, 1950-1962 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.08.025
2010
Piovesan, G., Alessandrini, A., Baliva, M., Chiti, T., D’Andrea, E., De Cinti, B., Di Filippo, A., Hermanin, L., Lauteri, M., Scarascia Mugnozza, G., Schirone, B., Ziaco, E., Matteucci, G. Structural patterns, growth processes, carbon stocks in an Italian network of old-growth beech forests. Italia Forestale e Montana 65, 557-590, DOI: 10.4129/ifm.2010.5.07
Teaching
2020 Course contributor, Regional and Global Issues in Environmental Sciences (NRES467) University of Nevada – Reno, USA
2019 Course leader, Natural Resource Ecology (NRES217) University of Nevada – Reno, USA
2019 Course leader, Intro to Environmental Science (ENV101) University of Nevada – Reno, USA
2018 Course leader, Silviculture (NRES 485 – Special topic) University of Nevada – Reno, USA
2017 Course leader, Forest and Range Measurements (NRES 407/607) University of Nevada – Reno, USA
2014 Course contributor, Climate Change and Its Environmental Impacts (GEOG/ATMS 121) University of Nevada – Reno, USA
2012 Course leader, Environmental science and policy, USAC (University Studies Abroad Consortium) exchange program – winter school at the University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
2010 Course contributor, Dendrology and forest botany, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
2010 Course contributor, Silviculture, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
2009 Course leader, Forest botany and silviculture, Italian National Forest Police Corps (CFS), 52th Course, Cittaducale (RI), Italy