Trees respond to its environment in various ways. Some of the responses to e.g. the microclimate can be detected with ecophysiological methods like dendrometers, sap flow sensors, ultrasonic acoustic emission detectors and some others. The project 'trees' led by the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) links the ecophysiological records to an audible output. We let the trees sing in the way that we turn physiological responses into music. The main focus is on ultrasonic acoustic emisions from tree stems, recognized as a sound with a physiological origin.

Available languages: English 

TreeNet is a biological drought and growth indicator network of forest ecosystems. It provides information about drought responses of trees all over Switzerland and their effects on the carbon balance of forests. TreeNet links the research of the eddy flux super sites Davos and Lägeren to the forest next to your home.

Available languages: English 

Microclimate, fluxes of CO2 and other gases by eddy covariance and tree physiological measurements under field conditions have been recorded at the Seehornwald Davos research site for two decades. Currently, we are analyzing the unique data sets in terms of tree physiological responses to climate change over the recent decades.

Available languages: German  English 

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 

In this project we investigate the radiation balance inside snow-covered subalpine forests. A novel instrument was developed to capture the spatio-temporal variability of radiation below the canopy.

Available languages: German  English 

Since 1985, the condition of forests in Switzerland has been monitored through the Sanasilva Inventory. It is important to have good information on the condition of the trees in the plots. Therefore scientists determine the relationships between crown condition and a number of environmental parameters.

Available languages: English 

The chemistry of soil solution and the soil water availability for plants have been monitored since 1997 in seven forest plots in Switzerland. This project, linked to the Swiss Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research project (LWF), aims to assess the soil response to atmospheric pollution (acidifying substances and nitrogen) and to climate change.

Available languages: 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.

Available languages: German  English  French 

Ground vegetation is a powerful bio-indicator of the environment. The project aims at discriminating the various factors which may influence the dynamics of ground vegetation. Emphasis is being given to the role of nitrogen.

Available languages: English  French