
Ecosystem Ecology
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Head: Dr. Arthur Gessler
Research focus
The Research Group addresses the impact of natural and anthropogenic environmental changes on the nutrient and carbon fluxes in forests, the hydrological cycle within forests and on forest ecosystem health. To this end the RG studies the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients and their long-term trends using long-term studies, large-scale surveys, as well as field and laboratory experiments. It also addresses the quantitative effects of forest growth on regional carbon, nutrient and water fluxes and develops methods to quantify resource pools and fluxes in forest ecosystems on different scales.
Main research questions
What is the impact of ...
- climate change on forest ecosystems?
- pollution on soil and plants?
- management on nutrient availability?
Methods
The outcomes of this research allow the development of scenarios to assess and model the risk linked to regional and global anthropogenic changes, including nutrient and pollution deposition, climate change, carbon dioxide increase and changes in forest management, on forest (ecosystem) health, in both, the short and long run.
National and international position
The group has partners both within the WSL and the wider national and international scientific community. The stakeholders are federal and international agencies, the forest services and the forest owners.
The group forms the core of the Swiss contribution to ICP Forests, to which Switzerland has been committed by signing the Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. It also provides information on several criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management laid down by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Staff
Forest Growth and Climate
Ecosystem Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
teamleader | |
PhD student | |
projectmanager | |
visiting scientist | |
PhD student | |
scientific staff member | |
Mitarbeiterin Feldaufnahmen | |
temporary employee | |
visiting scientist | |
scientific staff member | |
Data Scientist / System Engineer | |
temporary employee | |
technical staff member | |
Scientific data quality specialist | |
temporary employee | |
Laborantin | |
scientific staff member | |
visiting scientist | |
visiting scientist | |
visiting scientist | |
PhD student | |
PhD student guest | |
temporary employee | |
temporary employee | |
senior scientist | |
temporary employee | |
temporary employee | |
scientific staff member, senior scientist | |
technical staff member | |
PhD student guest | |
PhD student | |
temporary employee | |
temporary employee | |
temporary employee | |
visiting scientist | |
technical staff member | |
GIS specialist | |
software engineer | |
Postdoc | |
scientific staff member | |
master student | |
PhD student | |
scientific assistant |