Main menu

WSL Home About WSL Organisation Research UnitsForest Soils and Biogeochemistry

Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry

Main menu

The Research Unit (photo of the unit members) investigates how properties and functions of forest soils (e.g. nutrient availability) and biogeochemical processes (e.g. C mineralisation) depend on external factors such as contaminant input, climatic change and forest management. On the micro scale, the Research Unit develops experimental and analytical tools to study pathways and processes in the rhizosphere.

Our research focuses on:

Research groups

Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry

Topics

Soil and cycles

We monitor and measure how environmental influences alter the living conditions in the forest soil and study the processes that occur in root areas.

Soil water

We investigate the chemical and physical properties of water in soils to provide the forest sector with basics for decision-making concerning...

Soil protection

We are looking for indicators for the state of soils and investigate how forest soils can be protected.

Further informations

Projects

Spectral screening for the early detection of a highly invasive beetle in Switzerland

The emergence of visible tree-stress symptoms caused by the emerald ash borer occurs only several years after its arrival and are hard to tell apart from those caused by soil drought. Here, we investigate the potential of reflectance spectroscopy as an early-warning screening tool.

TradeES

To better inform forest practitioners, the TradeES project examines trade-offs among drought impact on forest growth, ecological functions and ecosystem services in thinned and unthinned Norway spruce-dominated stands in Switzerland.

INSIghtForest: IN SItu tracking of water fluxes in Forest ecosystems

INSIghtForest will accompany the Cost Action WATSON "WATer isotopeS in the critical zONeproposes" by establishing a unique data set of high frequency in-situ measured water isotopes located in a long-term irrigation experiment Pfynwald in the naturally dry valley of Valais, Switzerland.

Carbon cycling in forest floors

The project quantifies carbon fluxes in forest floors along gradients in climate and bedrock in Switzerland and Germany. The approach is to measure radiocarbon contents in C pools and fluxes, and tracing isotopically labelled (13C, 15N, 2H) litter in the FF and in the mineral soil beneath.

MAGIC

In this bilateral LabEx-SwissForestLab project, we are investigating whether the main mutualistic partners of beech forests are adapted to their local habitat and if trees and fungi form a co-adaptation complex that could confer benefits for nutrient and water supply in adverse environments.

Nanoplastic uptake and transport in trees

In this project we assess the uptake and transport of nanoplastics in trees by using polystyrene nanoparticles doped with Palladium and detection of these particles with ICP-MS.

SOLID - SOiL Information for species Distribution modelling

In this project, we are investigating the extent to which the spatial predictability of forest plant species and fungi can be improved by using high-resolution soil maps. In addition, we analyse how climate change affects the distribution of different species and what role soil plays in this.

TreeWater - Disentangling the isotopic signal transfer from source water to tree rings

TreeWater aims to improve our understanding of whether and how information on water uptake dynamics can be retrieved from the oxygen and hydrogen (i.e. water) isotopes in tree rings.

Forest soil inventory

The repetition of the forest soil inventory provides the basis for representative forest soil monitoring throughout Switzerland. Through the connection to the sampling network of the National Forest Inventory, a variety of possibilities for the use and evaluation of the collected soil data are possible.

ExtremeThaw

In this ambitious project, we study ecological effects of permafrost thaw in the Swiss Alps.

ProtoAIM - Enhanced Plot Design for Advanced Inventorying and Monitoring

We will enhance the design of the Swiss NFI plots to accomodate an augmented series of measurements, sampling and analysis needed to respond to pressing research question on status and change of the Swiss forest.

Species interactions in beaver engineered habitats

The overarching goal of this project is to assess how habitat heterogeneity caused by beaver engineering influences the diversity, strength and nature of interactions within and between aquatic and terrestrial communities, and how changes in species assemblages relate to ecosystem processes.

ICOS-2: Integrated Carbon Observation System in Switzerland, Phase 2017-2021

Die Forschungsstation Seehornwald Davos wurde in den 80er-Jahren von der WSL initiiert und ist damit eine der ältesten permanent betriebenen Wald-Vegetations-Forschungsstationen in der Schweiz.

A range-wide transplant experiment using participatory science and genomic prediction

Abisko Long-Term Ecological Research ALTER

Setting up the ALTER experiment in Abisko, Sweden for non-destructive in situ monitoring of belowground vegetation and microbial dynamics.

Identifying seed sources for highly adaptable oak forests in a changing climate

The international BiodivERsA project ACORN aims to identify oak populations capable to cope with future drought-stress due to climate change.

Pre-study soil inventory

In the years 2021 - 2025, the forest soil survey of 1993 on the 8 x 8 km will be repeated. This grid does not cover all combinations of soil formation and environmental factors that potentially occur in Switzerland. This project evaluates the most efficient way to close these gaps.

RICH-SOIL: Radiocarbon Inventory of Swiss Soils

RICH-SOIL gains insight into soil C cycling by determining radiocarbon signatures in Swiss soil C pools and fluxes. The project analyses archived samples, national soil inventory, and the LWF (Long-term-Monitoring of Forests Ecosystem) program.

TreeNet - The biological drought and growth indicator network

TreeNet ist ein internationales Beobachtungs- und Forschungsnetzwerk, in dem Punktdendrometer automatisch die täglichen Stammradiusschwankungen von Bäumen erfassen. Der kontinuierliche Fluss von Daten liefert Echtzeitinformationen über die Wasserverhältnisse im Baum und das radial Stammwachstum

Nutrient Sustainability in Swiss Wood Extraction

The project aims to determine the nutrient balance of various Swiss sites by means of comprehensive soil analyses and to develop nutrient balances aiming to maintain and promote soil fertility and biodiversity.

Drought & beech: Effects of the 2018 summer drought on beech on the northern side of the Alps

In this project, we investigate causes for the impacts of the extreme summer drought 2018 on the vitality of beech trees in different regions of the Swiss Plateau and Jura.

NOVOMULTI

This project will test novel rapid assessment methods for capturing fine-scale variation in multitrophic interactions within a bird-insect-plant food web.

Swiss Biomass

The aim of the project is to determine the biomass of individual trees more precisely using non-destructive measurement methods. Such estimates are central for the greenhouse gas inventory, Kyoto reporting and for the estimation of wood resources and bioenergy potentials.

High-resolution soil maps for the Swiss forest

In this project we model high-resolution soil maps with different soil properties such as pH or texture for the entire Swiss forest.

Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) for assisted migration?

We assess the drought response of European and oriental across different life stages by taking advantage of existing Oriental beech plantations in France, Germany and Switzerland.

PFF2020

Our main objective is the installation of a long-term Plant Physiological Facility for online determination of gas exchange and isotope fractionations at WSL in the 2020s.

Past genetic diversity of Swiss mountain forests

Future climate change will have drastic effects on mountain forests. We will analyse ancient DNA preserved in natural archives to reconstruct the impact of past rapid climate change on the neutral and adaptive genetic diversity of trees.

Soil organic matter dynamics under drought

DRYSOM assesses soil organic matter (SOM) to drought in a long-term irrigation experiment (Pfynwald). Responses range from a suppressed processing through microbial and faunal communities, decreases in carbon inputs from trees into soils, to shifts in soil carbon storage.

Drought influence on lightning-induced fires

In a changing climate, lightning-caused wildfires might increase in Switzerland over the next decades. Our studies aim at understanding patters and conditions under which these fires develop.

Habitat Map of Switzerland

Spatially explicit distribution of habitats in Switzerland

Give and take: how much water does soil retain for trees?

Establishing an inventory of soil water availability to trees in Swiss forest soils. This is done by means of model-based analysis of the water balances at 16 long-term monitoring sites in Switzerland, representing various geographical locations, soil and vegetation types.

Waldlabor Zürich

Das Waldlabor Zürich ist ein erlebnisorientierter Bildungs- und Forschungsort, es ist das erste Waldlabor der Schweiz. Im Zentrum steht der vom Menschen beeinflusste Wald, der "Kulturwald" mit verschiedenen Formen der Waldpflege und -bewirtschaftung, der Leistungen der Waldeigentümer und der Bedeutu

FORClimateS

The project aims to aggregate and synthesize existing information on different spatial and temporal scales to provide decision-makers with relevant and robust information on short- and long-term risks for forests and forest functions and on adaptation strategies under different climate futures

SwissSPOT- Swiss forest Soil water POTential network

SwissSPOT is a network to monitor soil water down to 2m soil depth at Swiss Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF) sites.

Root endophytic fungi and their contribution to arctic and alpine climate change feedback

Arctic and Alpine vegetation dynamics under climate change can exert a lasting impact on belowground processes and ultimately on world's largest carbon stocks. This long-term field manipulation investigates the functional significance of plant interactions with species-specific endophytic fungi.

The role of mycorrhizae in soil carbon storage of mountain ecosystems

This research project focuses on the role of mycorrhizae in the turnover of soil organic carbon in mountain ecosystems. It estimates the potential release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere resulting from changes in above and belowground communities.

Junior Research: Der Waldboden lebt, Föhren sterben heimlich und Jahrringe erzählen aus der Vergangenheit

Was steckt hinter diesen Aussagen? SchülerInnen vertiefen sich in eines dieser Themen, eignen sich neues Wissen an, lernen genau hinzuschauen und haben Gelegenheit, sich zeigen zu lassen, wie in der Forschung gearbeitet wird.

Einfluss des Klimawandels auf das Permafrost-Mikrobiom (CRYOLINK)

Wir erforschen den Permafrost als Refugium für mikrobielle Lebensformen in den drei Polen (Alpen, Arktis, Antarktis). Diese Organismen leben Tausende von Jahren im Permafrost und Eis. Was passiert mit ihnen, wenn sie durch die Klimaerwärmung aus ihrem „Dornröschenschlaf“ geweckt werden?

Kritische Belastungsgrenzen von Quecksilber in Böden

Wir erforschen die kritischen Belastungsgrenzen von Quecksilber (Hg) in Böden mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Bodenmikrobioms und Beeinträchtigungen von Funktionen. Diese Studie wird im Rahmen der Minamata Konvention durchgeführt, mit der die Emissionen von Hg eingedämmt werden sollen.

Charakterisierung der Biodiversität in Waldböden mittels DNA-Metabarcoding

Wir untersuchen die Biodiversität in Waldböden entlang eines europäischen Transekts von Südeuropa bis in das subarktische Finnland (durch 5 Klimatypen). Wichtige funktionelle Gruppen des Nahrungsnetzes im Boden werden taxonomisch und mittels DNA-Metabarcoding erfasst.

Einfluss des Klimawandels auf das Mikrobiom von Böden und Seen (CLIMARCTIC)

Wir untersuchen den Einfluss des Klimawandels auf die Biodiversität und Funktion arktischer terrestrischer Mikrobiome, insbesondere deren Ökosystemprozesse. Mit diesen Daten lassen sich die Rolle der arktischen Ökosysteme unter sich verändernden Umweltbedingungen besser vorhersagen.

Restoration of species rich grasslands

Restoration of species rich grasslands from species poor agricultural sites was successful in several projects and studies. However, the existing vegetation including the roots and the nutrient enriched topsoil had to be removed in most of the successful examples. The impact of such radical disturbances on soil organisms and soil functions has not yet been assessed. Our study aims on shedding more light into these aspects.

Tea bag decomposition study

Decomposition of plant litter is a key process for the transfer of carbon and nutrients in ecosystems. Carbon contained in the decaying biomass is released to the atmosphere as respired CO2, and may contribute to global warming. Litterbag studies have been used to improve our knowledge of the drivers of litter decomposition, but they lack comparability because litter quality is plant species-specific. The use of commercial tea bags as a standard substrate was suggested in order to harmonize studies, where green tea and rooibos represent more labile and more recalcitrant C compounds as surrogates of local litter.

Mikroorganismen in einer sich erwärmenden Arktis (MICROARCTIC)

Wir untersuchen die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels - die globale Erwärmung - und das Aufschmelzen des Eises und Bodens in der Arktis und den Alpen, auf das Mikrobiom, die Freisetzung von Treibhausgase oder von Krankheitserregern, die Entdeckung von Naturprodukten und Antibiotika.

Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS)

Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a European research infrastructure to quantify and understand the greenhouse gas balance of the European continent and of adjacent regions.

N2O emissions from soils

This project is part of the large multidisciplinary CCES project RECORD-Catchment, which investigates various aspects of river corridor management in the River Thur catchment. This SNF funded sub-project investigates factors on the microscale that govern the greenhouse gas potential of floodplain and related gleyic forest soils. This includes soil aggregation, plant - soil - microbe interactions and litter accumulations.

QuercAdapt

We investigate the relationship between genetic variation and environmental factors, notably soil characteristics, in three native oak species. Thereby we can investigate the adaptedness of the different species and provenances in the context of silvicultural practice under climate change.

Fahrversuch in Rückegassen mit halber Ladung

In einem Befahrungsexperiment mit einem Forwarder im Forstbetrieb Wagenrain in Bremgarten AG wurde untersucht, wie sich das Befahren bestehender Rückegassen mit voller und mit halber Zuladung auf die Tiefenwirkung der Verdichtung und auf die Spurbildung auswirken.

Stillberg enzyme activities

Climate change will particularly influence species distribution and the structure and function of sensitive ecosystems at the treeline. In an interdisciplinary experiment carried out at Stillberg Davos we will investigate how soil warming and enhanced CO2 concentrations will affect the ectomycorrhizal community structure and extracellular enzyme activities in the soil and at mycorrhizal roots.

Forest and climate

An expansion of forested zones could bring about a warming of the atmosphere at higher altitudes.

Below-canopy climate

Microclimate is a key factor influencing regeneration in forests. Particularly available light, water supply and temperature determine the success or failure of certain tree species. How will future climate change influence below-canopy microclimate and tree regeneration?

Stable isotopes treerings and foliage

Using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes of beech and spruce tree-rings and foliage, we investigate the influence of N deposition and drought on forests.

Nitrate Leaching under changed climate conditions

Nitrate concentrations in groundwater have increased, mainly due to intensive agriculture, and constrain its usage as drinking water in parts of Switzerland. Nitrate leaching from forests are, in comparison, generally small but may increase due increased nitrogen deposition and warm and dry periods. This project aims on exploring the possibilities and limitations for a better estimation of the risk of future nitrate leaching from forests.

Soil as a site factor

This project delivers soil and site related information for Swiss forests which are based mainly on measured values: (i) response of tree species relating to direct and indirect environmental variables, (ii) quantitative characterisation of species' ecological niche and (iii) soil ecological indicator values for forest plant species.

Genetic Variation

Die Klimerwärmung dürfte den Wald auf vielen Standorten unter Stress setzen. Wir untersuchen, ob die genetische Variation der Waldbäume es ihnen erlaubt, sich an den Klimawandel anzupassen. Wir fokussieren dabei auf die drei häufigsten Baumarten in Schweizer Wäldern, die Fichte, die Tanne und die Buche.

BigLink-SoilSolution

This project is part of the multidisciplinary CCES project BigLink (“Biosphere-Geosphere interactions: Linking climate change, weathering, soil formation and ecosystem evolution”). It studies the plant-soil-microbe interactions at early succession stages in the Damma glacier forefield occurring in response to limited nutrient availability.

Soil compaction

Soil compaction caused by passage of logging machinery reduces the soil air capacity. Prolonged compaction of forest soils might enhance greenhouse gas-producing microbial activities and induce a change in the soil microbial community and favour organisms capable of tolerating anoxic conditions.

Control on soil organic matter in Swiss forests

The cycling of carbon and nitrogen are closely linked and thus, the increasing deposition of nitrogen very likely affects soil organic matter dynamics. We are adding 13C and 15N labeled litter from beech to soils and investigate how experimentally increased N inputs influence the fate of litter-derived C and N.

Evoltree

A large network of research institutions collaborates within an EC-funded Network of Excellence to study the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems from an evolutionary perspective.

Composition of the driftwood

During the floods in August 2005 in Switzerland, many villages encounter problems not only because of a high water flow, but also because of large amounts of driftwood. Therefore the question of the origin and the formation of the driftwood arised.

Physical soil protection

Soils fulfill various functions. As a consequence of land cultivation and of the emission of harmful substances from various sources, the soil functions are endangered. In the research topic “soil protection” the main threats and their effects on the soil functions and hence on soil fertility are investigated.

Impact of leaf litter collecting in forests

Only 150 years ago, Swiss forests were markedly affected by agro-forestal uses. In many places leaf litter was collected for different reasons. By experimental removing of the leaf litter, we examine the ecological consequences of this forest use and we evaluate it's potential as a new tool for nature conservation in forests.

Nadelchemie der Fichte

Mit dem Projekt "Monitoring Flankierende Massnahmen Umwelt" (MFM-U) untersucht die Schweiz die Umwelt-Auswirkungen des Landverkehrsabkommens mit der EU sowie die Umwelt-Auswirkungen der flankierenden Massnahmen. Im diesem Teilprojekt stehen die Auswirkungen auf den Wald im Vordergrund.

Alpine treelines in a CO2-rich and warm world

Concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and temperatures will strongly increase during the next century. We are investigating how these climatic changes will affect plant growth, biodiversity, and the cycling of carbon and nutrients in temperature sensitive ecosystems at the alpine treeline.

Treeline in Ural

Historical photographs document that the upper treeline of the Ural mountains has moved up 60 to 80 m during the last century. We assess how the expansion of forests into tundra affects soil organic matter dynamics in the pristine Southern, Northern and Polar Ural.

CO2 and N availability (SCC Hofstetten)

The goal of the project is to measure the effect of an elevated CO2 concentration onto the availability of nutrients in the soil, especially nitrogen. Are nutirents becoming more and more a limiting factor as CO2 availability to trees increases?

Soil solution in LWF plots

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.

Nitrogen and ground vegetation

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.

Biogeochemical cycling and ground vegetation

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).

Soil matrix LTER

Since 1996, the long-term forest ecosystem monitoring program LTER observes the development of 16 selected forest ecosystems in Switzerland. Considering their pivotal role the investigations of soils is of central importance for the program.

N dynamics Alptal

This framework project contains research done on the site Erlenhöhe at Alptal (canton Schwyz, central Switzerland). It consists mainly of a nitrogen (N) addition experiment in which the effetcs of N deposition on a subalpine forest ecosystem are studied.

TreeNet

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.

Show all

Publications

Frey, B.; Moser, B.; Tytgat, B.; Zimmermann, S.; Alberti, J.; Biederman, L.A.; Borer, E.T.; Broadbent, A.A.D.; Caldeira, M.C.; Davies, K.F.; Eisenhauer, N.; Eskelinen, A.; Fay, P.A.; Hagedorn, F.; Hautier, Y.; MacDougall, A.S.; McCulley, R.L.; Moore, J.L.; Nepel, M.; ... Risch, A.C., 2023: Long-term N-addition alters the community structure of functionally important N-cycling soil microorganisms across global grasslands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 176: 108887 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108887

Mayer, M.; Rusch, S.; Didion, M.; Baltensweiler, A.; Walthert, L.; Ranft, F.; Rigling, A.; Zimmermann, S.; Hagedorn, F., 2023: Elevation dependent response of soil organic carbon stocks to forest windthrow. Science of the Total Environment, 857: 159694 (9 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159694

Khodadadi, M.; Alewell, C.; Mirzaei, M.; Ehssan-Malahat, E.; Asadzadeh, F.; Strauss, P.; Meusburger, K., 2023: Understanding deforestation impacts on soil erosion rates using ¹³⁷Cs, ^239+240Pu, and ²¹⁰Pb_ex and soil physicochemical properties in western Iran. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 257: 107078 (15 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.107078

Desie, E.; Zuo, J.; Verheyen, K.; Djukic, I.; Van Meerbeek, K.; Auge, H.; Barsoum, N.; Baum, C.; Bruelheide, H.; Eisenhauer, N.; Feldhaar, H.; Ferlian, O.; Gravel, D.; Jactel, H.; Kappel Schmidt, I.; Kepfer-Rojas, S.; Meredieu, C.; Mereu, S.; Messier, C.; ... Muys, B., 2023: Disentangling drivers of litter decomposition in a multi-continent network of tree diversity experiments. Science of the Total Environment, 857: 159717 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159717

Lüscher, P.; Frutig, F.; Walser, M., 2023: Waldböden schonend befahren. Schweizer Landtechnik, 2023, 1: 38-41.

Showing only the newest 5 publications

Show all publications (page display may take very long)

Staff

Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry

Dr. Jörg Luster

interim Head of Research Unit

Biogeochemistry

Dr. Frank Hagedorn	Groupleader, Senior Scientist
Fabian Bernhard	PhD student
Philipp de Jong	PhD student
Dr. Katrin Di Bella Meusburger	Scientific staff member
Ika Djukic	Visiting scientist
Jasmin Fetzer	Visiting scientist
Dr. Konstantin Gavazov	Visiting scientist
Michael Guggenbühl	Master student
Claudia Guidi	Postdoc Marie Curie
Noureddine Hajjar	Technical staff member
Tatiana Hirsiger	Technical staff member
Dr. Mathias Mayer	Postdoc
Luisa Isabell Minich	PhD student
Margaux Moreno Duborgel	PhD student
Anita Nussbaumer	Technical staff member
Patrizia Palermo	Technical staff member
Mark Steve Riedi	Temporary employee
Melina Sophie Schaller	Master student
Dr. Patrick Schleppi	Scientific staff member
Maria Schmitt Oehler	Scientific staff member
Tanja Stutz	Technical staff member
Dr. Anne Thimonier Rickenmann	Scientific staff member
Annegret Udke	PhD student
Dr. Peter Waldner	Scientific staff member
Joachim Zhu	Technical staff member
Jan Ziegler	Technical staff member
Alois Zürcher	Technical staff member

Soil Functions and Soil Protection

Jana Berrocoso	Master student
Andrea Büschlen	Visiting scientist
Daniel Christen	Technical staff member
Simon Farsky	Trainee
Roger Köchli	Technical staff member
Dr. Peter Lüscher	Visiting scientist
Sonia Meller	Guest
Behzad Rahimi	Technical staff member
Dr. Muhammad Riaz	visiting scientist
Luc von Niederhäusern	Civil service employee
Marco Walser	Technical staff member
Lorenz Walthert	Scientific staff member
Dr. Pascale Weber	Visiting scientist
Dr. Stephan Zimmermann	Scientific staff member

Rhizosphere Processes

Dr. Beat Frey	Groupleader, Senior Scientist
Julia Bilat	Visiting scientist
Dr. Ivano Brunner	Visiting scientist
Alexander Dharmarajah	temporary employee
Desirée Dürr	Guest
Maomao Feng	PhD student guest
Dr. Aline Frossard	Scientific staff member
Samuel Gunz	temporary employee
Dr. Xingguo Han	Postdoc
Dr. Maria Leunda	Visiting scientist
Fiona Pfäffli	Bachelor student
Joel Rüthi	Visiting scientist
Saskia Scharl	Apprentice
Christoph Schwörer	Visiting scientist
Dr. Christoph Sperisen	Scientific staff member
Beat Stierli	Technical staff member
Robin Treyer	Civil service employee
Gilda Varliero	Visiting scientist
Hui Wu	PhD student guest

LWF II

Dr. Claude Herzog	temporary employee
Colin Schmid	Temporary employee
Jürg Schmid	temporary employee

Bachelor and Master Theses

Digit Soil - A rapid measurement of soil health (M.Sc. thesis project)

According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), a quarter of the global surface of agricultural land is already highly degraded, therefore maintaining long-term soil health gains importance. Nevertheless, there are currently no easy, fast, and reliable ways to assess the effects of soil management on soil health and in particular on soil biology. The planned thesis-project seeks to support development of an easy-to-use, portable sensor (Digit Soil), measuring the activity of soil enzymes as a soil health indicator.

Starting date: any time 2021 or beginning of 2022

For more information contact joerg.luster(at)wslto make life hard for spam bots.ch or sonia.meller(at)wslto make life hard for spam bots.ch

WSL websites

waldwissen.net

Knowhow for forestry experts and all others interested in the forest

lfi.ch

Swiss National Forest Inventory NFI - a forest information service

envidat.ch

Access to environmental monitoring and research data

natural-hazards.ch

Warnings on natural hazards by Swiss federal authorities

slf.ch

WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos

Navigation mit Access Keys

Main menu

Main menu

Our research focuses on:

LWF II