A network of four research institutions collaborates within an EC-funded Network of Excellence to determine and understand the influence of genetic diversity of trees and site water regime on neutral and functional diversities of the associated mycorrhizal community.

Available languages: English

Decaying phases, where old trees break down and create canopy gaps are mostly lacking in managed forests. In Uholka forest, the largest virgin forest of European Beech, we are studying the influence of canopy gaps on saproxylic beetles in terms of diversity, abundance and composition of species assemblages.

Available languages: English

Special focus of the Integrated Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Ecosystems is to improve the understanding about the effects of sulphur and nitrogen inputs into ecosystems. The research methods are intensive and are carried out within ecosystems in small hydrologically delineated catchments.

Available languages: English

Halocarbon exposure can result in degradation of photosynthetic pigments in trees and affect xenobiotic metabolism in plants. The aim of this project was to determine the levels of trichloroacetate in needles of conifer species in Swiss forests and to compare these with levels in other European forests.

Available languages: English

Can hourly and daily changes of the circumference of tree stems be used as indicators of tree condition? Can they be used to find the effects of weather and soil water availability on tree growth and vitality? Can the information be used to explain past tree increment? What are the interactions between neighbour trees?

Available languages: German English

The mission of LWF is to improve our understanding of how natural and anthropogenic stresses affect forests in the long term, and which risks for humans are involved. Consequently, we need to gain a more profound knowledge of the cause-effect relationships in the forest ecosystem and the underlying processes.

Within the frame work of the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the WSL investigates the physiological and growth effects on trees by means of ozone flux modeling in order to assess the risk of ozone on forest ecosytems.

Available languages: English

Meteorological factors and regional climate changes play an important part in the long-term forest ecosystem research (LWF). In order to document these climate changes and to understand the dynamics in the ecosystems, site-specific meteorological data is required.

Available languages: German English French

The assessment of the crown transparency of trees is a key component of long-term monitoring programmes of forest health. The aim of this project was to examine long-term needle retention of Pinus sylvestris. The data was related to growth information from the trees, and the data used in a modelling study of needle retention - growth - climate relationships.

Available languages: English

What are the connections between morphological and structural changes, cell injury, cytochemical mechanisms, photosynthetic activity and chlorophyll fluorescence, and biomass production in young trees under near-ambient ozone?

Available languages: German English French