Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL

Top models and hard facts: calculating the world

Authors:

Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL

Series:
WSL Magazine Diagonal 2025/2
Publishing year:
2025
Amount:
36 Pages
Download
icon Download
Quote:

Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL (2025). Top models and hard facts: calculating the world. WSL Magazine Diagonal, 2025/2: 36 p.

Available languages:
German, English, French

Focus: Modelling and simulations

SCIENTIFIC CALCUATIONS - Depictions of reality

Models and computer simulations have become indispensable in science. They allow us to look into the future, into the past, and into the heart of things.

MODELS FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS - Too complex for competition with the private sector

The forestry sector, natural hazard offices, and authorities use models and simulations developed by WSL researchers – and can work more effectively and efficiently thanks to them.

INFOGRAPHIC - Letting species migrate

Where will various organisms live in the future? Dynamic distribution models simulate this. They identify in detail the path to future habitats – and any obstacles along the way.

AERIAL BIODIVERSITY - Bird flu detected by radar

WSL researchers aim to use radar to explore the unknown world of flying creatures, in order to understand them better. Computer models and simulations help them to interpret the data.

ECONOMICS - “In our field, the interrelationships are more variable.”

WSL economist Roland Olschewski discusses economic models for the value of a forest.

TEAMWORK - Fire and water

How will natural hazards evolve in times of climate change? The Hydrology and Climate Impacts in Mountain Regions Group at SLF is investigating this question – on the computer.

COMPUTING POWER - Less can be more

Building models that include as much detail as possible is tempting, but it requires a lot of power and time – and therefore a lot of money. The search for potential savings.

Key Topics

Forest

From the Mediterranean to the Alps: when silver fir trees rustle in Tuscany | A forest for tomorrow: balancing individual benefits and idealistic values | The history of the Tamangur forest

Biodiversity

Fungal spores in feathers: how birds spread tree diseases | Biotope protection: How are Switzerland’s natural treasures developing?

Landscape

A relic from warmer days: millennia-old soil lies beneath alpine scree | Energy supply: optimise and coordinate | Mapping Switzerland’s characteristic landscapes

Natural hazards

Water rising into the snow

Snow and Ice

Gold instead of ice: open-cast mining in the glacier landscape | Warm anniversary

Contact