Scientific work
As a plant ecophysiologist, I study abiotic and biotic stresses and responses of trees growing in harsh environments, with a focus on mountain trees and mangroves. Main interests are plant hydraulics, drought and frost effects, and the underlying structure-function relationships.
In 2014, I obtained a Master's degree in Biology from the University of Trieste, Italy. In the same year, I started a PhD in plant ecophysiology in the lab of Prof. Stefan Mayr (University of Innsbruck, Austria), which I obtained in 2018. Since then, I conducted numerous studies on the hydraulics of alpine tree species, focusing on winter embolism and recovery, xylem sap composition, xylem anatomy, and hydraulic safety. I also spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof Brendan Choat (Western Sydney University, Australia), studying the effects of natural drought on the hydraulics of Australian trees and the physiological adaptations of mangroves.
I am currently back in Innsbruck, where I am investigating the vulnerability of tree seedlings to drought and frost.
Selected publications:
Losso A, Dämon B, Hacke U, Mayr S (2023) High potential for foliar water uptake in early stages of leaf development of three woody angiosperms. Physiologia Plantarum 175: e13961. doi: 10.1111/ppl.13961
Losso A, Challis A, Gauthey A, Nolan RH, Hislop S, Roff A, Boer MM, Jiang M, Medlyn BE, Choat B (2022) Canopy dieback and recovery in Australian native forests following extreme drought. Scientific Reports 12: 21608 doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24833-y
Nolan RH, Gauthey A, Losso A, Medlyn BE, Smith R, Chhajed SS, Fuller K, Song M, Li X, Beaumont LJ, Boer MM, Wright IJ, Choat B (2021) Hydraulic failure and tree size linked with canopy die-back in eucalypt forest during extreme drought. New Phytologist 230: 1354-1365 doi: 10.1111/nph.17298
Losso A, Bär A, Dämon B, Dullin C, Ganthaler A, Petruzzellis F, Savi T, Tromba G, Nardini A, Mayr S, Beikircher B (2018) Insights from in vivo micro-CT analysis: testing the hydraulic vulnerability segmentation in Acer pseudoplatanus and Fagus sylvatica seedlings. New Phytologist, 221:1831-1842 doi: 10.1111/nph.15549
Losso A, Beikircher B, Dämon B, Kikuta S, Schmid P, Mayr S (2017) Xylem sap surface tension may be crucial for hydraulic safety. Plant Physiology, 175: 1135-1143 doi: 10.1104/pp.17.01053
Every publication is open source. If interested, google the title and you fill find the respective pdf.