Main menu
Main menu
The biological drought and growth indicator network
Visit Treenet.info for more information
TreeNet is an international monitoring and research network in which automated tree stem radius fluctuations measured with point dendrometers are analyzed in terms of forest ecosystem responses to climate change. A continuous stream of microclimate and tree physiology data provides real-time information on tree water relations and tree growth.
Imbalances in tree water relations - quantified as tree water deficits - are interpreted as biological drought indicator for entire forest ecosystems.
Current stem growth rates are related to the ones of past years and interpreted as indicator for forest growth. Combinations of indicators are used as early predictors for the expected annual carbon sink of forest ecosystems.
TreeNet produces a set of data and elaborates methods which allows for resolving variables of tree water relations and stem growth in an hourly resolution. Such a high temporal resolution in combination with the large geographical area covered, particularly for tree growth, may be unique worldwide.
TreeNet closely collaborates with research groups at the eddy flux supersites Seehornwald Davos (LWF/ETHZ/SwissFluxNet/ICOS) and Lägeren (LWF/ETHZ/SwissFluxNet), the Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research Programme (LWF/WSL), the ETHZ, and the Institute for Applied Plant Biology (IAP).
TreeNet Switzerland Sites
FURTHER INFORMATION
Publications
Bader, M.K.-F.; Scherrer, D.; Zweifel, R.; Körner, C., 2022: Less pronounced drought responses in ring-porous than in diffuse-porous temperate tree species. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 327: 109184 (14 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109184
Bose, A.K.; Rigling, A.; Gessler, A.; Hagedorn, F.; Brunner, I.; Feichtinger, L.; Bigler, C.; Egli, S.; Etzold, S.; Gossner, M.M.; Guidi, C.; Lévesque, M.; Meusburger, K.; Peter, M.; Saurer, M.; Scherrer, D.; Schleppi, P.; Schönbeck, L.; Vogel, M.E.; ... Schaub, M., 2022: Lessons learned from a long‐term irrigation experiment in a dry Scots pine forest: impacts on traits and functioning. Ecological Monographs, 92, 2: e1507 (18 pp.). doi: 10.1002/ecm.1507
Brang, P.; Streit, K.; Zweifel, R.; Coulin, D., 2022: Der Klimawandel fegt durch den Wald. Wir Holzbauer: das Verbandsmagazin von Holzbau Schweiz, 18-21.
Etzold, S.; Sterck, F.; Bose, A.K.; Braun, S.; Buchmann, N.; Eugster, W.; Gessler, A.; Kahmen, A.; Peters, R.L.; Vitasse, Y.; Walthert, L.; Ziemińska, K.; Zweifel, R., 2022: Number of growth days and not length of the growth period determines radial stem growth of temperate trees. Ecology Letters, 25, 2: 427-439. doi: 10.1111/ele.13933
Gessler, A.; Bächli, L.; Freund, E.R.; Treydte, K.; Schaub, M.; Haeni, M.; Weiler, M.; Seeger, S.; Marshall, J.; Hug, C.; Zweifel, R.; Hagedorn, F.; Rigling, A.; Saurer, M.; Meusburger, K., 2022: Drought reduces water uptake in beech from the drying topsoil, but no compensatory uptake occurs from deeper soil layers. New Phytologist, 233, 1: 194-206. doi: 10.1111/nph.17767
Krejza, J.; Haeni, M.; Darenova, E.; Foltýnová, L.; Fajstavr, M.; Světlík, J.; Nezval, O.; Bednář, P.; Šigut, L.; Horáček, P.; Zweifel, R., 2022: Disentangling carbon uptake and allocation in the stems of a spruce forest. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 196: 104787 (12 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2022.104787
Luković, M.; Zweifel, R.; Thiry, G.; Zhang, C.; Schubert, M., 2022: Reconstructing radial stem size changes of trees with machine learning. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 19, 194: 20220349 (13 pp.). doi: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0349
Salomón, R.L.; Peters, R.L.; Zweifel, R.; Sass-Klaassen, U.G.W.; Stegehuis, A.I.; Smiljanic, M.; Poyatos, R.; Babst, F.; Cienciala, E.; Fonti, P.; Von Arx, G.; Conedera, M.; Knüsel, S.; Rathgeber, C.B.K.; Walthert, L.; Steppe, K., 2022: The 2018 European heatwave led to stem dehydration but not to consistent growth reductions in forests. Nature Communications, 13, 1: 28 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27579-9
Steidinger, B.S.; Büntgen, U.; Stobbe, U.; Tegel, W.; Sproll, L.; Haeni, M.; Moser, B.; Bagi, I.; Bonet, J.; Buée, M.; Dauphin, B.; Martínez‐Peña, F.; Molinier, V.; Zweifel, R.; Egli, S.; Peter, M., 2022: The fall of the summer truffle: recurring hot, dry summers result in declining fruitbody production of Tuber aestivum in Central Europe. Global Change Biology, 28, 24: 7376-7390. doi: 10.1111/gcb.16424
Zweifel, R.; Etzold, S.; Hoch, G., 2022: Messen, wie Waldbäume gedeihen. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen, 173, 3: 154-164.
D'Odorico, P.; Schönbeck, L.; Vitali, V.; Meusburger, K.; Schaub, M.; Ginzler, C.; Zweifel, R.; Velasco, V.M.E.; Gisler, J.; Gessler, A.; Ensminger, I., 2021: Drone‐based physiological index reveals long‐term acclimation and drought stress responses in trees. Plant, Cell and Environment, 44, 11: 3552-3570. doi: 10.1111/pce.14177
Etzold, S.; Eugster, W.; Braun, S.; Thimonier, A.; Waldner, P.; Zweifel, R., 2021: Stickstoffdeposition - ab wann ist es zu viel für das Baumwachstum?. Wald und Holz, 102, 11: 15-18.
Knüsel, S.; Peters, R.L.; Haeni, M.; Wilhelm, M.; Zweifel, R., 2021: Processing and extraction of seasonal tree physiological parameters from stem radius time series. Forests, 12, 6: 765 (14 pp.). doi: 10.3390/f12060765
Walthert, L.; Ganthaler, A.; Mayr, S.; Saurer, M.; Waldner, P.; Walser, M.; Zweifel, R.; Von Arx, G., 2021: From the comfort zone to crown dieback: sequence of physiological stress thresholds in mature European beech trees across progressive drought. Science of the Total Environment, 753: 141792 (14 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141792
Zweifel, R.; Etzold, S.; Basler, D.; Bischoff, R.; Braun, S.; Buchmann, N.; Conedera, M.; Fonti, P.; Gessler, A.; Haeni, M.; Hoch, G.; Kamen, A.; Koechli, R.; Maeder, M.; Nievergelt, D.; Peter, M.; Peters, R.L.; Schaub, M.; Trotsiuk, V.; ... Eugster, W., 2021: TreeNet - the biological drought and growth indicator network. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 4: 776905 (14 pp.). doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2021.776905
Zweifel, R.; Sterck, F.; Braun, S.; Buchmann, N.; Eugster, W.; Gessler, A.; Häni, M.; Peters, R.L.; Walthert, L.; Wilhelm, M.; Ziemińska, K.; Etzold, S., 2021: Why trees grow at night. New Phytologist, 231, 6: 2174-2185. doi: 10.1111/nph.17552
Gharun, M.; Hörtnagl, L.; Paul-Limoges, E.; Ghiasi, S.; Feigenwinter, I.; Burri, S.; Marquardt, K.; Etzold, S.; Zweifel, R.; Eugster, W.; Buchmann, N., 2020: Physiological response of Swiss ecosystems to 2018 drought across plant types and elevation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 375, 1810: 20190521 (10 pp.). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0521
Zweifel, R.; Ginzler, C.; Psomas, A.; Braun, S.; Walthert, L.; Etzold, S., 2020: Baumwasserdefizite erreichten im Sommer 2018 Höchstwerte - war das aus dem All erkennbar?. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen, 172, 5: 302-305.
Zweifel, R.; Etzold, S.; Sterck, F.; Gessler, A.; Anfodillo, T.; Mencuccini, M.; Von Arx, G.; Lazzarin, M.; Haeni, M.; Feichtinger, L.; Meusburger, K.; Knuesel, S.; Walthert, L.; Salmon, Y.; Bose, A.K.; Schoenbeck, L.; Hug, C.; De Girardi, N.; Giuggiola, A.; ... Rigling, A., 2020: Determinants of legacy effects in pine trees - implications from an irrigation-stop experiment. New Phytologist, 227, 4: 1081-1096. doi: 10.1111/nph.16582
Zweifel, R.; Etzold, S.; Braun, S.; Köchli, R.; Hoch, G.; Eugster, W.; Walthert, L., 2020: TreeNet - am Puls der Bäume. Wald und Holz, 101, 3: 31-33.
Zweifel, R.; Etzold, S.; Walthert, L.; Köchli, R.; Eugster, W., 2020: TreeNet – wann wachsen unsere Bäume?. Wald und Holz, 101, 5: 20-23.
Burri, S.; Haeler, E.; Eugster, W.; Haeni, M.; Etzold, S.; Walthert, L.; Braun, S.; Zweifel, R., 2019: How did Swiss forest trees respond to the hot summer 2015?. Erde, 150, 4: 214-229. doi: 10.12854/erde-2019-420
Rigling, A.; Etzold, S.; Bebi, P.; Brang, P.; Ferretti, M.; Forrester, D.; Gärtner, H.; Gessler, A.; Ginzler, C.; Moser, B.; Schaub, M.; Stroheker, S.; Trotsiuk, V.; Walthert, L.; Zweifel, R.; Wohlgemuth, T., 2019: Wie viel Trockenheit ertragen unsere Wälder? Lehren aus extremen Trockenjahren. In: Bründl, M.; Schweizer, J. (eds), 2019: Lernen aus Extremereignissen. Forum für Wissen 2019, Davos, Switzerland. 39-51. doi: 10.55419/wsl:19983
Dietrich, L.; Zweifel, R.; Kahmen, A., 2018: Daily stem diameter variations can predict the canopy water status of mature temperate trees. Tree Physiology, 38, 7: 941-952. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpy023
TreeNet ist ein Netzwerk zur Erfassung von Baumwachstums- und Baumwasserdefizit-Indikatoren und generiert laufend aktuelle Informationen über den Zusammenhang zwischen Umweltfaktoren und den physiologischen Prozessen von Einzelbäumen.
Giuggiola, A.; Zweifel, R.; Feichtinger, L.M.; Vollenweider, P.; Bugmann, H.; Haeni, M.; Rigling, A., 2018: Competition for water in a xeric forest ecosystem – Effects of understory removal on soil micro-climate, growth and physiology of dominant Scots pine trees. Forest Ecology and Management, 409: 241-249. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2017.11.002
Grossiord, C.; Sevanto, S.; Limousin, J.; Meir, P.; Mencuccini, M.; Pangle, R.E.; Pockman, W.T.; Salmon, Y.; Zweifel, R.; McDowell, N.G., 2018: Manipulative experiments demonstrate how long-term soil moisture changes alter controls of plant water use. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 152: 19-27. doi: 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2017.12.010
Knüsel, S.; Conedera, M.; Zweifel, R.; Bugmann, H.; Etzold, S.; Wunder, J., 2018: High growth potential of Ailanthus altissima in warm and dry weather conditions in novel forests of southern Switzerland. Trees: Structure and Function, 33, 2: 395-409. doi: 10.1007/s00468-018-1785-x
Lazzarin, M.; Zweifel, R.; Anten, N.; Sterck, F.J., 2018: Does phloem osmolality affect diurnal diameter changes of twigs but not of stems in Scots pine?. Tree Physiology, 39, 2: 275-283. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpy121
Zweifel, R.; Sterck, F., 2018: A conceptual tree model explaining legacy effects on stem growth. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 1: 9 (9 pp.). doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2018.00009
Brinkmann, N.; Eugster, W.; Zweifel, R.; Buchmann, N.; Kahmen, A., 2016: Temperate tree species show identical response in tree water deficit but different sensitivities in sap flow to summer soil drying. Tree Physiology, 36, 12: 1508-1519. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpw062
Zweifel, R.; Haeni, M.; Buchmann, N.; Eugster, W., 2016: Are trees able to grow in periods of stem shrinkage?. New Phytologist, 211, 3: 839-849. doi: 10.1111/nph.13995
Zweifel, R., 2016: Radial stem variations – a source of tree physiological information not fully exploited yet. Plant, Cell and Environment, 39, 2: 231-232. doi: 10.1111/pce.12613
Häni, M.; Buchmann, N.; Zweifel, R., 2015: Tree growth and its relation to forest ecosystem net carbon uptake. PlantScienceNews: Newsletter of the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, 27: 9.
Dawes, M.A.; Zweifel, R.; Dawes, N.; Rixen, C.; Hagedorn, F., 2014: CO2 enrichment alters diurnal stem radius fluctuations of 36-yr-old Larix decidua growing at the alpine tree line. New Phytologist, 202, 4: 1237-1248. doi: 10.1111/nph.12742
Etzold, S.; Zweifel, R.; Ruehr, N.K.; Eugster, W.; Buchmann, N., 2013: Long-term stem CO2 concentration measurements in Norway spruce in relation to biotic and abiotic factors. New Phytologist, 197, 4: 1173-1184. doi: 10.1111/nph.12115
Zweifel, R.; Bangerter, S.; Rigling, A.; Sterck, F.J., 2012: Pine and mistletoes: how to live with a leak in the water flow and storage system?. Journal of Experimental Botany, 63, 7: 2565-2578. doi: 10.1093/jxb/err432
Etzold, S.; Ruehr, N.K.; Zweifel, R.; Dobbertin, M.; Zingg, A.; Pluess, P.; Häsler, R.; Eugster, W.; Buchmann, N., 2011: The carbon balance of two contrasting mountain forest ecosystems in Switzerland: similar annual trends, but seasonal differences. Ecosystems, 14, 8: 1289-1309. doi: 10.1007/s10021-011-9481-3
Zweifel, R.; Eugster, W.; Etzold, S.; Dobbertin, M.; Buchmann, N.; Häsler, R., 2010: Link between continuous stem radius changes and net ecosystem productivity of a subalpine Norway spruce forest in the Swiss Alps. New Phytologist, 187, 3: 819-830. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03301.x
Zweifel, R.; Rigling, A.; Dobbertin, M., 2009: Species-specific stomatal response of trees to drought - a link to vegetaion dynamics?. Journal of Vegetation Science, 20, 3: 442-454. doi: 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.05701.x