Droughts and heat waves are expected to become more frequent in Switzerland due to climate change. Droughts have major impacts on water resources, public health, ecosystems and consequently the economy. However, relevant information about relevant economic and societal impacts and knowledge about adequate coping strategies are still lacking.

Available languages: German  English 

Im Projekt wird eine Methode zur Analyse und Bewertung klimabedingter Risiken (und Chancen) entwickelt, auf ihre Eignung überprüft und in einer regionalen Fallstudie im Kanton Aargau angewendet. Die Methodenentwicklung und die Analyse klimabedingter Risiken und Chancen bilden Kernelemente zur Erarbeitung einer nationalen Klimaanpassungsstrategie in der Schweiz.

Available languages: German 

ESPON CLIMATE deals with the impacts of climate change on the European regions and their economies as well as the consequences for spatial planning. Therefore the projects seeks to analyse the regional sensitivities towards climate stimuli and the likely economic effects of climate change on European regions also considering mitigation and adaptation measures.

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In this study we analyse the effect of drought stress on tree growth of scots pine and pubescent oak to rate the potential of the two species to survive in an expected hotter and therefore drier environment.

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A recent study on Scots pine and pubescent oak in Valais indicated that both species might not have the potential for long-term establishment and performance under an expected drier climate. We want to find out if non-endemic species can contribute to the tree-species portfolio for a drier future climate.

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Welchen Einfluss haben primäre Standortsfaktoren auf die Wachstumsmuster und die Konkurrenzkraft von Baumarten? Ist eine Verschiebung der Konkurrenzverhältnisse infolge von Umweltveränderungen möglich? Im Projekt werden das Wachstumsverhalten und die Konkurrenzkraft von ausgewählten Baumarten in Abhängigkeit primärer Standortsfaktoren - insbesondere der Bodenwasser- und Nährstoffverfügbarkeit - untersucht.

Available languages: German 

Improving our knowledge about the growth response of beech to climatic changes at the dry distribution limit is crucial for today's and future forest management. This project aims to contribute to this topic using dendroecological methods.

Available languages: English 

In this interdisciplinary project research teams from WSL (Mountain Hydrology and Torrents), Univ. Bern (Hydrology), ETH Zürich (Atmosphere and Climate, VAW Glaciology, Centre of Energy Policy and Economics) and Univ. Zürich (Physical Geography) have investigated the effect of a changing climate on the Swiss Hydropower production.

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How many hectares of ski pistes are covered with artificial snow in the Alps? How much water do modern snow-making facilities need? How important is snow reliability for ski resorts? How does the ski piste preparation affect the biodiversity and soil stability?

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Swissfire is the new forest fire database of Switzerland, which has been developed in a joint effort by WSL and FOEN (Federal Office for the Environment). Now all information on forest fires is being collected in one central data base, which is an optimal tool for forest fire management.

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Die Folgen des Klimawandels sind heute bereits spürbar; weitere Veränderungen sind zu erwarten. Vor allem im klimasensiblen Alpenraum werden extreme Naturereignisse wie Hochwasser oder Hitze künftig häufiger auftreten und intensiver ausfallen. Daraus folgt die Frage, wie wir uns an die Folgen des Klimawandels anpassen können.

Available languages: German