Forest expansion in the Swiss Alps - explaining the effects of environment and land-use history on forest expansion

In the last 150 years the forests of Switzerland have increased by approximately 30%. This project aims to identify and explain the spatial and temporal patterns of forest expansion in the Swiss Alps, focussing particularly on the influence of historical land-use and bio-physical factors.

Two approaches will be used in order to achieve this. The Total Area Approach (TAA) is a coarse-scale analysis using large data-sets of forest cover, land-use and environmental variables such as topography, climate and soil. The Repeated Aerial Photo Approach in Selected Areas (RAPAS) involves a finer-scale analysis over a longer time period, using aerial photo sequences in 3 or 4 selected communities.

A GIS will be used to integrate this data with subsequent statistical analysis and spatial modelling allowing the quantification of the patterns and cause-effect relationships of forest expansion. This study is a collaboration with a parallel project determining the socio-economic causes of forest expansion. The combined results will not only contribute to a better understanding of structural change and forest expansion in the Swiss Alps; it could provide useful information concerning forest and agricultural policy.