Head: Dr. Marco Conedera

The Research Unit focuses on functional interactions between communities of plants (producers), herbivores (primary consumers), predators (secondary consumers), and soil biota (decomposers) with regard to critical ecosystem services such as productivity, protection, nutrient cycling and storage. Environmental factors considered include direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts with global relevance such as land-use change (e.g. land abandonment, fragmentation, urban sprawl, eutrophication, trivialization of herbivore communities), natural disturbances (e.g. avalanches, landslides, fire) or climatic changes. Particular emphasis is given to sensitive natural, semi-natural and urban ecosystems, among many others wetlands, treeline ecotones and insubric ecosystems. Comparing history and modeling functional processes in and between these systems provides clues for predicting biodiversity changes, the evolution of ecosystems, and consequences for ecosystem services in the context of future global change.

The Unit has partners both within WSL and the wider scientific community. Stakeholders are mainly the forest and agricultural services, nature conservation, forest owners, regional and federal agencies.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

Hanfpalme: Auswirkungen der Invasion im Wald

Die chinesische Hanfpalme, auch als Tessiner Palme bekannt, ist eine invasive Art der Schwarzen Liste, die sich in den Wäldern südlich der Alpen stark ausbreitet. Sie bildet lokal geschlossene Formationen, in denen die Ökosystemleistungen des Waldes beeinträchtigt werden könnten. Ziel des Projekts ist es, ein Bild der Situationsentwicklung zu vermitteln.

Reconnaître les dendro-microhabitats: visite virtuelle immersive d'une forêt

Les dendro-microhabitats sont importants pour la biodiversité en forêt. Ce projet élabore un nouvel outil destiné aux gestionnaires forestiers, afin de les aider à identifier les dendro-microhabitats et connaître leurs rôles écologiques.

Schützen gut strukturierte und gepflegte Wälder besser?

Waldwirkungen gegen flachgründige Rutschungen praxistauglich zu erfassen ist nach wie vor ungelöst. Das Beispiel "Sachseln" deutet darauf hin, dass gut strukturierte Wälder Hänge besser stabilisieren. Darauf aufbauend werden Interaktive Karten zur Anfälligkeit von Wäldern auf Rutschungen erstellt.

Filling the land use gap

Mapping grassland management intensity in Switzerland with high spatial and temporal resolution satellite imagery

Improving knowledge of decomposition processes in mountain soils

SLF researchers are not drinking tea for scientific purposes, but burying it in the ground. Within the framework of an international project, scientists are investigating how tea decomposes in mountain soils. Their aim is to improve our understanding of the CO2 cycle.

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.

Fire, weather and land cover interactions

The GRADIENT project consists of the identification of relationships between forest fires, weather, land cover and socio-economic variables from long-term observations, the reconstruction of recent fire history and the exploration of post-fire vegetation dynamics and recovery using time series satellite images.

Statuti dell’area insubrica e sudalpina

Gli statuti delle comunità rurali possono essere considerati un valido strumento per studiare il rapporto tra comunità umane e risorse territoriali. Abbimo raccolto le edizioni di oltre 200 codici statutari nel contesto insubrico e sudalpino.

Drifting snow and turbulent flow

How does the snow saltation reacts to the unsteady wind forcing is still poorly understood. In our cold wind tunnel we investigate the dynamics of the drifting snow as well as its interaction with the turbulent boundary layer flow.

How ungulates move nutrients

Ungulates can move nutrients over long distances. In this project we study the importance of such nutrient movements for soil diversity and soil processes across the landscape in collaboration with Joseph Bump (University of Minnesota).

Wildfire, insect attack and windthrow in mountain forests are on the rise again

Eine internationale Gruppe von Forschern zeigt, dass zunehmende Fläche und Holzvorräte in Bergwäldern in den letzten 150 Jahren zu mehr natürlichen Störungen wie Waldbrand geführt haben.

GLORIA

Within the framework of a major international project, the SLF is investigating the changes that occur in the plant kingdom over a period of decades on eight mountain summits in the Swiss National Park.

The protective function of beech forests

This study shows how in the southwestern Alps fire-damaged beech forests provide protection against rockfalls.

Götterbäume in der Südschweiz

Götterbäume breiten sich derzeit rasant in den milden Lagen der Südschweiz aus und werfen vor allem im Schutzwald grosse Fragen auf: Als kurzlebige Pionierbaumart mit gebietsweise hohem Kernfäulebefall können sie zu einer Destabilisierung beitragen, die waldbaulich schwer zu korrigieren ist.

MOUNTROOT

The project MOUNTROOT aims at comparing structure-function relationship in roots of two dominant herb species of pasture-woodlands in response to simulated climate change, and to integrate these below-ground insights with above-ground responses to a whole-plant framework.

Parc Adula

During the creation of the national park “Parc Adula” a written survey will be conducted. Goal of the study is to find out what locals think about of the creation of “Parc Adula” and which knowledge they have about it.

SOSTANAH

Heavy rainstorms with shallow landslides and soil erosion often cause substantial damage in Switzerland. This project within the framework of the National Research Programm NRP 68 "Soil as a Resource" aims to quantify the stabilysing effects of vegetation and micorrhizal fungi on slope stability.

REVENUES

Vegetation acts as a reinforcement for slopes due to the penetration of roots into the ground. The aim of this EU-project within the framework of a Marie Curie Action IAPP is to contribute to a sophisticated software for the prediction of three-dimensional numerical analysis of slope stabilized with vegetation.

EPIC

Snow avalanche interaction with forests is evaluated in three mountains ranges of the world: the Andes (Chile), the Himalayas (Nepal) and the Alps (Switzerland). We aim at better integrating forest effects in existing avalanche dynamics models for risk analyses, as well as deducing adapted strategies for forest management in different mountain ecosystems.

GTREE

We investigate seedling emergence and survival of Norway spruce and European larch at treeline in an experiment at Stillberg near Davos.

Bulgarische Bergwälder

In large uncultivated forests in Bulgaria, the SLF is investigating the potential reaction of mountain woodland to climate change.

Snow fungi

In the Dischma valley, 92,000 larch, Swiss pine and mountain pine were planted in a systematic pattern in 1975. A survey conducted after 30 years has shown that snow fungi are severely impairing the rejuvenation of the Swiss pine at the upper limit of the tree line.

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.

Monoplotting

At the WSL in Bellinzona we started developing a new monoplotting interface with the aim of offering an intuitive platform for georeferencing and orthorectifying ordinary individual photographs in order to produce georeferenced vector data by drawing them directly on the pictures and exchanging them with traditional GIS-Systems.

Summit Flora

The stronger global warming is, the greater the increase in the number of plant species on mountain tops. This was the main finding of a study published in the journal Nature.

Distribution of red wood ants

We investigate the requirements and distribution of red wood ants in Switzerland. On each plot of the Swiss National Forest Inventory presence/absence and size of the nest mounds are recorded.

Exclosure Experiment

Trophic interactions of herbivores of different body sizes are assessed using exclosures in different vegetation types in grassland ecosystems of the Swiss National Park. The focus is on changes in plant, root and microbial biomass and nutrient content (nitrogen and phosphorus) as well as on the composition of plant and microbial communities over the course of several growing seasons.

Herbivores in Serengeti

In this project we investigate the impact of termites and their interactions with large herbivores in the Serengeti ecosystem.

Mountland

The goal of ‹Mountland› is to investigate the sensitivity of the provision of mountain ecosystem services to both climatic and land-use changes and to suggest policies and governance structures for mitigating the impact of such changes and enhancing sustainable management practices.

Nutrient Network

The Nutrient Network (NutNet) is a grassroots research effort to address these questions within a coordinated research network comprised of more than 40 grassland sites worldwide. We are interested in how general our current understanding of productivity-diversity relationships is, to what extent plant production and diversity are co-limited by multiple nutrients in herbaceous-dominated communities and under what conditions grazers or fertilization control plant biomass, diversity, and composition.

Biodiversity and Soil Stability

Machine-graded ski pistes are often subject to erosion in steep terrain above treeline, and a species-rich vegetation may play a key role in preventing erosion. A research project of the WSL and the University of Basel investigates therefore the relationship between plant diversity and soil stability parameters (aggregate stability and surface erosion) at disturbed high alpine sites.

Winter tourism

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?

Waldausdehnung

Ziel des Projektes ist es, zu verbesserten Grundlagen für die politische Lenkung der Waldflächenzunahme im Schweizer Berggebiet beizutragen.

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.

Ingenieurbiologie

Mangelndes Pflanzenwachstum im Lebendverbau lässt sich kurzfristig mit Hilfe von Dünger und synthetischen Klebstoffen verhindern. Langfristig ist dieses Vorgehen allerdings ungeeignet. Die Zugabe von Mykorrhizapilzen wäre eine elegante Lösung des Problems. Doch welche Pflanzen-Pilz-Kombinationen fördern die Wirkung von Lebendverbau-Massnahmen am besten?

Kunstschnee

In den nächsten Jahrzehnten wird laut Klimaprognosen die Untergrenze für schneesichere Skigebiete von 1200 auf 1500 m ü. M. ansteigen. In der Folge dürfte die Zahl der Beschneiungsanlagen und der Einsatz chemischer Zusätze bei der Beschneiung weiter zunehmen. Was hat das für Auswirkungen auf die alpine Vegetation?

Quality wood production

The WSL initiated together with other institutions a research program aiming at high quality chestnut timber by minimizing the costs and improving the functional features and the stability of the coppice stands.

Tundra Experiment

Temperature in Arctic and alpine regions have increased more rapidly than in other regions. How do tundra ecosystems respond to that climate warming? The SLF is contributing to an international research network that studies at over 40 locations worldwide how cold adapted plants respond to warmer temperatures.

Swissfire

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.

ALPFFIRS

The project aims to improve forest fire prevention under a changing climate in the Alpine Space, by creating a shared warning system based on weather conditions.

FireLess II

FireLess II is an innovative wireless sensor network developed by EnvEve SA and WSL in collaboration with the University of Turin allowing the acquisition of real time data for monitoring fuel parameters such as litter and humus moisture in specific forest stands.

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.

Back to wilderness – long-term vegetation monitoring in the Swiss National Park

Since the foundation of the Swiss National Park in 1914, one focus of botanical research has always been long-term monitoring of vegetation development. As relevées have been repeated on the permanent plots, the researchers are now able to make precise statements about long-term development of tall-herb communities, nutrient-rich meadows, rich and poor pastures as well as woodland communities.

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Staff

Community Ecology

Dr. Marco Conedera	head of research unit
Dr. Martin Schütz	senior scientist

Insubric Ecosystems

Dr. Marco Conedera	head of research unit
Elena Belgeri	temporary employee
Bruno Bellosi	temporary employee / scientific staff member
Mark Bertogliati	visiting scientist
Anaïs Bonetti	bachelor student
Claudio Bozzini	visiting scientist
Martino Crivelli	temporary employee
Emanuele Dazio	visiting scientist
Mara Muriel Deza Araujo	PhD student
Franco Fibbioli	technical staff member
Daniela Furrer	administrative staff member
Eric Gehring	temporary employee
Sandra Kolarek	temporary employee
Patrik Krebs	scientific staff member
Vasco Lepori	trainee
Janet Maringer	Aushilfe / Wiss. Mitarbeiterin
Dr. César Morales del Molino	Postdoc
Adrian Oncelli	master student
Gianni Boris Pezzatti	scientific staff member
Giovanna Pezzi	visiting scientist
Ambra Quacchia	temporary employee
Attilio Rizzoli	temporary employee
Dr. Jose Antonio Vazquez Moris	Postdoc
Diego Walder	master student
Dr. Jan Wunder	visiting scientist

Pasture Woodlands and Wetlands

Prof. Dr. Alexandre Buttler	senior scientist, teamleader
Wenjuan Feng	PhD student guest
Claire Guenat	visiting scientist
Dr. Thomas Guillaume	scientific staff member
Sandra Levin Zürcher	administrative staff member
Dr. Pierre Mariotte	Postdoc
Juan Carlos Quezada Rivera	PhD student guest
Martino Sala	civil service employee
Paula Sanginés de Cárcer	visiting scientist
Rodolphe Schlaepfer	visiting scientist
Yi-Ho Tseng	visiting scientist
Dr. Pascal Turberg	visiting scientist
Amarante Vitra	PhD student

Plant-Animal Interactions

PD Dr. Anita Christina Risch	senior scientist, teamleader
Pia Anderwald	visiting scientist
Dr. Benjamin Fitzpatrick	Postdoc
Monika Carol Resch	PhD student
Christian Rossi	PhD student guest
Dr. Josef Senn	scientific staff member
Dr. Werner Suter	visiting scientist
Dr. Xiaowei Wang	visiting scientist

Mountain Ecosystems

Dr. Peter Bebi	teamleader
Natalie Brozová	PhD student
Nathalie Chardon	PhD student guest
Dr. Esther Frei	scientific staff member
Dr. Frank Graf	scientific staff member
Matous Horejsi	trainee
Dr. Aino Kulonen	PhD student guest
Beat Pfund	civil service employee
Thomas Planzer	Zivildienst-Mitarbeiter
Dr. Christian Rixen	senior scientist
Gregor Rafael Schmucki	civil service employee
Ana Stritih	PhD student guest
Jonathan von Oppen	trainee
Dr. Sonja Wipf	scientific staff member

WSL websites

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Swiss National Forest Inventory NFI - a forest information service

natural-hazards.ch

Warnings on natural hazards by Swiss federal authorities

envidat.ch

Access to environmental monitoring and research data

slf.ch

WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos

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