Tree Response to Climate Change - Valais

(TRCC)

Abb. 1. Solar-powered meteo station at the research site Jeizinen, Valais, Switzerland, 1250 m asl.

Plants in general and trees in particular respond to climatic changes in a very sensitive way. Factors of tree water relations and carbon balance are continuously measured in the natural environment of this dry valley. These data sets allow us to draw conclusions on the physiological regulation mechanisms (e.g. stomatal regulation) and tree growth.
Systemic models help to interpret the ecophysiological measurments and allow us to gain a more detailed understanding on the underlying mechanisms and adaptation processes of different tree species to the current climate. We search for the limiting factors and thresholds of climatic conditions which might bring the trees to the edge of their physiological capabilities. In the Valais, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens) reached their physiological limits under the extreme conditions as they occurred during the 2003 summer season. Furthermore, first results demonstrate why pubescent oak has an advantage over Scots pine when growing under warmer and drier climate conditions.

WSL Contact

Roman Zweifel

International Collaborations

Dr. Kathy Steppe, Ghent University, Department of Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Belgium.

Dr. Frank Sterck, Wageningen University, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, The Netherlands.

Linked projects

Tree response to climate change - Davos

Tree growth and drought

Wald im Klimawandel: Einzelne Veränderungen heute bereits nachweisbar (German)

Research at Seehornwald Davos

TreeNet

TreeNet.info

Online Data

Pfynwald

Downloads

Rigling A., Bigler C., Eilmann B., Feldmeyer-Christe E., Gimmi U., Ginzler C., Graf U., Mayer P., Vacchiano G., Weber P., Wohlgemuth T., Zweifel R., and Dobbertin M. 2013. Driving factors of a vegetation shift from Scots pine to pubescent oak in dry Alpine forests. Global Change Biology. 19, 229–240, doi: 10.1111/gcb.12038. (PDF 390KB)

Zweifel R., Bangerter S., Rigling A., Sterck F.J. 2012. Pine and mistletoes: how to live with a leak in the water flow and storage system? Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/err432. (link to JXB)

Eilmann B., Zweifel R., Buchmann N., Graf Pannatier E., and Rigling A. 2011. Drought alters timing, quantity, and quality of wood formation in Scots pine. Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erq443. (PDF 740KB)

Martinez-Vilalta J, Cochard H, Mencuccini M, Sterck FJ, Herrero A, Korhonen JFJ, Llorens P, Nikinmaa E, Poyatos R, Ripullone F, Sass-Klaassen U, Zweifel R. 2009. Hydraulic adjustment of Scots pine across Europe. New Phytologist 184: 353–364. (PDF 1MB)

Steppe K, Zeugin F, and Zweifel R. 2009. Low-dB ultrasonic acoustic emissions are temperature-induced and probably have no biotic origin. New Phytologist 183: 928-931. (PDF 1600KB)

Eilmann B., Zweifel R., Buchmann N., Fonti P., and Rigling, A. 2009. Drought-induced adaptation of the xylem in Scots pine and pubescent oak. Tree Physiology, 29(8), 1011-1020. (PDF 650KB)

Zweifel R., Rigling, A. & Dobbertin, M. 2009. Species-specific stomatal response of trees to drought - a link to vegetation dynamics?. Journal of Vegetation Science, 20, 442-454. (PDF 776KB)

Zweifel R. and Zeugin F. 2008. Ultrasonic acoustic emissions in drought-stressed trees – more than signals from cavitation?. New Phytologist, 179, 1070-1079. (PDF 1600KB)

Sterck FJ, Zweifel R., Sass-Klaassen U, and Chowdhury Q. 2008. Persisting soil drought reduces leaf specific conductivity in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and pubescent oak (Quercus pubescent). Tree Physiology, 28, 529-536. (PDF 145KB)

Zweifel R, Steppe K and Sterck FJ. 2007. Stomatal regulation by microclimate and tree water relations: interpreting ecophysiological field data with a hydraulic plant model. Journal of Experimental Botany, 58, 2113-2131. (PDF 1437KB)

Zweifel R, Zimmermann L, Zeugin F and Newbery DM. 2006. Intra-annual radial growth and water relations of trees: implications towards a growth mechanism. Journal of Experimental Botany. doi:10.1093/jxb/erj125, 1-15. Link zur Online Ausgabe

Zweifel R, Zimmermann L, Tinner W, Haldimann P, Zeugin F, Bangerter S, Hofstetter S, Conedera M, Wohlgemuth T, Gallé A, Feller U and Newbery DM. 2006. Salgesch, Jeizinen, ihre Wälder und der globale Klimawandel. Nationaler Forschungsschwerpunkt Klima (NFS Klima), Universität Bern, Report, p. 23. (PDF 2193KB, German)

Tinner W, Hofstetter S, Zeugin F, Conedera M, Wohlgemuth T, Zimmermann L and Zweifel R. 2006. Longdistance transport of macroscopic charcoal by an intensive crown fire in the Swiss Alps – implications for fire history reconstruction. Holocene. 16 (2): 287-292. (PDF 444KB)

Zweifel R, Zimmermann L and Newbery DM. 2005. Modeling tree water deficit from microclimate: an approach to quantifying drought stress. Tree Physiology. 25, 147-156. (PDF 791KB)