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Community Ecology

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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.

Research groups

Community Ecology

Topics

Nutrient cycles

We study nutrient cycles in order to understand the effects of nutrient inputs on natural ecosystems.

Forest fires

We examine factors that increase the risk of forest fires and develop tools for predicting them.

Invasive species

Large numbers of plants, animals and fungi migrate to Switzerland, with damaging consequences. We study these species and help to prevent them from...

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

Bewirtschaftungsschwierigkeiten Südschweizer Weinberge

In den letzten Jahren hat sich die Rebfläche in den Südalpen der Schweiz stark verändert, vor allem durch den Rückgang der traditionellen, bewirtschaftungsintensiven Hanglagen. In dieser Studie entsteht eine Definition der Weinberge als objektive Grundlage für den Landschaftsschutz.

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.

FLAVID II

Monitor of potential alternative host plant and vectors of the Flavescence dorée phytoplasma

Regeneration assessment in open forest areas

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV equipped with a LiDAR sensor will be used to test its potential for regeneration structure assessments in mountain forests. The project aims to combine terrestrial regeneration mapping with LiDAR-based information to assess size, density and location of regeneration.

CYbER - CanopY Exploration Robots

In the CYbER (CanopY Exploration Robots) project we study the science and technology of new multi-modal robots for comprehensive canopy exploration.

Gebirgswaldverjüngung

In diesem Langfristprojekt starten wir in 10 Versuchsflächen in Fichten- und Fichten-Tannenwäldern waldbauliche Langzeit-Experimente. Wir erfassen die Naturverjüngung wiederholt, um die Demografie der Bäume zu verstehen und abzuleiten, wie die Verjüngung gefördert werden kann.

SedSlope

This project aims at assessing the contribution of sediment erosion from steep slopes adjacent to channel beds to the sediment transport in small catchments.

Arctic Biodiversity

New EU Project on Arctic Biodiversity

Invasive Neophyten im Tessin

Erarbeitung einer waldbaulichen Entscheidungshilfe zum Umgang mit dem steigenden Druck von invasiven neophytischen Gehölzen im Kastaniengürtel vom Kanton Tessin.

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.

SlimForest

We aim at providing the link between the belowground water regime, related to the triggering of shallow landslides, and aboveground structural properties of forests as well as between ground truth and remote sensing data in view of up-scaling from the local to the regional and supra-regional scale.

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.

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.

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.

Flavescence dorée in Vinyards in Ticino (Flavid)

The WSL research group0 at Campus Cadenazzo is conducting a study on the epidemiology of Flavescene dorée (FDp) in Ticino's vineyards. The project is carried out in cooperation with Agroscope and the Cantonal Plant Protection Service and is supported by the Federal Office for Agriculture.

Fortschritte bei der Erfassung von Schutzwirkungen dank neuen Technologien

Neue Fernerkundungsdaten sowie Entwicklungen von Fernerkundungs- und GIS-basierten Technologien und Naturgefahrensimulationsmodellen eröffnen heute neue Möglichkeiten zur verbesserten Risikoabschätzung nach Störungsereignissen.

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.

Understanding how species interactions modulate long-term heat and drought impacts

The project aims to assess the physiological processes by which trees adapt and interact with each other under a changing climate, determine how these processes affect tree physiological responses to climatic stresses, and better understand long-term shifts in tree internal carbon and water cycles.

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.

Post wildfire protective function of beech forests

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

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.

Evolution of the Castanea sativa - Dryocosmus kuriphilus - Torymus sinensis System in Southern Switzerland

The chestnut gall wasp ist the most significant insect pest for the genus Castanea. Since being first observed in 2009 it has spread to chestnut forests all over Switzerland. In the meantime its population is controlled by a natural enemy. We monitor the long term evolution of the system chestnut tree - gall wasp - natural antagonist.

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.

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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