Ecosystem services in Switzerland are diverse: forests protect against natural hazards, agricultural land produces food, and water bodies are of central importance for drinking water supply. Climate change is altering these services to varying degrees depending on the region and duration. Interactive appsfor the forestry, agriculture, and water sectors visualize these changes across space and time under different climate scenarios. A cross-sector dashboard highlights which regions of Switzerland are particularly affected by climate change.
How will climate change affect ecosystem services in Switzerland in the future? ¶
- Climate change affects ecosystem services both directly (e.g., through rising temperatures or changes in precipitation) and indirectly (e.g., through changes in land use).
- The direct consequences of climate change on the various ecosystem services vary greatly and also differ in severity.
- The rapidly changing climatic conditions may exceed the capacity of many ecosystems to adapt to the new conditions.
- In general, the negative effects on ecosystem services predominate, although there are also winners (e.g., increased agricultural yields for certain crops).
- Adaptation measures can only be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Apps ¶
Interactive apps visualize climate-related changes by sector under climate scenarios with and without global climate protection for the period 2045–2074. The dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of Switzerland as a whole.
Publications ¶
Project partners ¶
- Agroscope (Pierluigi Calanca, Marcio Dos Reis Martins, Kevin Kramer, Chloé Wüst)
- EBP Switzerland AG (Remo Röthlin, Nina Kaczmarek, Andreas Zysset)
- ETH Zurich, Department of Environmental Sciences, Chair of Forest Ecology, ETHZ (Harald Bugmann, Ulrike Hiltner)
- University of Geneva, Institute of Environmental Sciences (Anthony Lehmann, Cécilia Barouillet, Sibylle Stöckli)
- WSL, Forest Dynamics Research Unit (Arthur Gessler, Micah Wilhelm)