Welche Faktoren tragen bei Windwürfen massgeblich zu den Schäden bei? In welchen Fällen wäre das Ausmass der Schäden kleiner? Landesweite repräsentative Datenerhebungen zu Lothar-Sturmschäden und zu den betroffenen Waldbeständen sollen Antworten auf diese Fragen liefern.

Available languages: German

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.

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Since two decades an increase of defoliation has been observed in forest trees. There are suggestions that the water budget is a critical factor affecting needle and leaf loss. A water budget model is used to investigate the relationships between water budget and defoliation.

Available languages: German English

The fine roots of forest trees are the actual interface between the soil solution and plants. What is the influence of environmental changes on the rooted area of forest trees and the condition of mycorrhizas?

Available languages: German English

Long-range transport of tropospheric ozone and its pollutant precursors has been identified in southern Switzerland. The aims of this project were to assess the extent of ozone-induced foliar injuries in the most highly exposed forests and to confirm the cause of injury by controlled exposures.

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

Since 1993 Prunus serotina showed symptoms typical of ozone injury at many sites in southern Ticino. The aims of this project were to confirm that this foliar injury is caused by ozone and to determine the ozone concentrations that induce the injury.

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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

The better understanding of the processes driving the dynamics of forest ecosystems requires the documentation of the constantly interacting compartments and fluxes of the biogeochemical cycle. Scientists study two fluxes (deposition of nutrients through precipitation and litterfall) and two compartments (foliage and ground vegetation).

Available languages: German 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