My research focuses on how societal values and perception of risk influence river and floodplain management decisions at the river and catchment scale. I investigate land use impacts on hydrological processes including

(i) climate effects on the capacity of plants to use water and nutrients - from observation-based approaches to catchment-scale assessment of combined heat and drought effects on agricultural production;

(ii) hydrologic flowpath assessment combining experiments and modeling, from soil column to catchment scale and using a combination of tracing techniques.

My work across this range of physical hydrology motivated me towards the need of combining them with the societal dimensions. My current work combines and leverages these research experiences into a multi-disciplinary approach to better understand society-water interactions through feedbacks between conflicts of values, climate change and sustainability. I work on data-driven approaches combining nutrient flows, stream and groundwater quality data and social-science methodologies such as interviews and questionnaires to build an understanding of how community engagement can help to create an integrated river management framework.

This is my website:

https://www.annascaini.com/home

 

Other contributions to the research community

My research is

unified

by the common thread of interactions and the strong relation between research and knowledge transfer, including mentoring, outreach and teaching and learning interactions with actors inside and outside academia. In particular, I sustain public outreach, research communication, and societal engagement in numerous different contexts and forms, nationally and internationally.

Some examples of popular science publications:

• Authored Tagliamento, a free river to coexist with, IlFriuli, 07/2020, Italian,

  online

• Authored The threatened charm of free rivers, IlFriuli Green, 10/2020, Italian,

  online

• Interviewed for an article in the newspaper Vita Cattolica, Tagliamento and the bond with its inhabitants in a questionnaire - research by two Friulian scientists funded by the University of Stockholm, January 2021, Italian.

• Interviewed as part of a 4-page article in the Italian newspaper magazine "L'espresso", describing river management issues. October 2020, Italian.

• Interviewed for an article in the newspaper Patrie dal Friûl, "Feminis furlanis fuartis" section: Anna Scaini, from Friuli to Sweden to explore the magic of water. May 2021, Friulian,

  online

• Featured in a book chapter “Feminis Furlanis Fuartis”, by Erika Adami, 2023, Friulian.

• Interviewed for an article in the newspaper Il Piccolo, "The Soca/Isonzo in a questionnaire on water quality and risks", January 2023, Italian.

Examples of pedagogical development work:

• Teaching in 4 master courses (3 master programs)

• Scientific coordination of the project Rivervalues. Citizen science as a pedagogical tool to learn about water resources and biodiversity (undergraduate students), 2022.

• Mapping cultural ecosystem services and risk perception with novel methodologies: a

  communication and outreach worksho

  p, Students for Rivers Camp 2022, Ötz river, English, 15 participants. Project coordination:

  The River Collective

• Scientific advisor for the site-specific performance “

  Invisible cities

  ” on the Soca/Isonzo River, Italy, 2023, Italian/English. Slow walk and dancing performance relating to the sense of loss given by climate change and river memories. Project coordination: Giulia Bean.

• Forskarfredag

  presentation

  , Stockholm, 2023

• Outreach workshops “Past, present and future scenarios for the Tagliamento River” with the patronage and/or collaboration of municipalities, grassroots associations, and local businesses. General public, Italian, August-September 2021, 500 participants.

• Organized three editions of the

  Tagliamento home river Bioblitz

  , available on

  iNaturalist

  , a citizen science event for biodiversity census and awareness of its importance in river environments, 2020-2022. Italian/Slovenian.

• Lay Science bilingual blog to translate research outcomes into more layman discourse, 2021-2023, annascaini.com, Italian/English.