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Dynamique forestière

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Responsable a.i.:Dr. Thomas Wohlgemuth

Cette unité de recherche étudie la signification fonctionnelle de la diversité forestière pour tous les aspects de l’écologie et de l’exploitation dans ce domaine. Elle évalue l’évolution future des forêts en Suisse, sous d’autres latitudes tempérées et dans les régions montagneuses, en se focalisant sur trois secteurs de recherche:

la diversité des forêts, son influence sur la dynamique forestière ou sur les processus de croissance, de dépérissement et de rajeunissement, ainsi que sur les produits et services fournis par les écosystèmes forestiers.
les répercussions des tempêtes, avalanches, incendies et insectes sur la dynamique forestière, et le rôle de la diversité en termes de résistance face à de tels phénomènes.
l’influence des interventions sylvicoles sur la structure et le développement des forêts afin de rendre l’exploitation forestière plus durable.

Cette unité de recherche formule des recommandations visant à optimiser les méthodes de gestion de la forêt, mais aussi à assurer ou améliorer la longévité des produits et services dans ce domaine. Ces recommandations portent notamment sur la production de bois, les sous-produits forestiers (par exemple les champignons), la gestion de l’équilibre hydrique et de la qualité des eaux, la protection contre les risques naturels et les nuisibles, ainsi que la préservation de la nature en elle-même et en tant qu’espace de détente.

Parmi les infrastructures dont elle dispose, un réseau de surfaces expérimentales et des laboratoires destinés à l’analyse d’insectes et de champignons. L’unité de recherche travaille en collaboration avec des partenaires au sein du WSL, des organismes de recherche nationaux et internationaux, des services et propriétaires forestiers ainsi qu’avec les autorités.

Groupes de recherche

Dynamique forestière

Thèmes

Inventaire forestier national IFN

L’IFN collecte en continu depuis 1983 des informations concernant l’état et les évolutions de la forêt suisse. Les relevés sont effectués tous les...

Inventaire Sanasilva

Depuis 1985, l’Inventaire Sanasilva assure le suivi de la santé des forêts suisses, notamment à partir de l’observation de la défoliation des...

TreeNet

TreeNet est un réseau de capteurs servant à mesurer les variations du diamètre des troncs d’arbre. Ceci permet d’en tirer des conclusions quant à la...

Recherches à long terme sur les écosystèmes forestiers LWF

Nous étudions les conséquences à long terme des stress environnementaux sur la forêt, et les risques qu'ils impliquent pour l’homme.

SwissForestLab

SwissForestLab est une plate-forme de recherche et un réseau d'infrastructure pour la recherche forestière.

POUR EN SAVOIR PLUS

Projets

Spectral screening for the early detection of a highly invasive beetle in Switzerland

The emergence of visible tree-stress symptoms caused by the emerald ash borer occurs only several years after its arrival and are hard to tell apart from those caused by soil drought. Here, we investigate the potential of reflectance spectroscopy as an early-warning screening tool.

TradeES

To better inform forest practitioners, the TradeES project examines trade-offs among drought impact on forest growth, ecological functions and ecosystem services in thinned and unthinned Norway spruce-dominated stands in Switzerland.

Nanoparticle Trafficking in Trees

Our project, which proposes a novel approach (i.e., the use of virus-like particles), is key for the fundamental biological understanding of the transport and fate of nanoparticles in forest trees. Possible immediate applications include the development of new solutions for the nano-enabled foliar-a

SwissPhenocam: country-scale automated phenology tracking from imagery

The objective of the SwissPhenocam project is to develop and implement an automated phenology monitoring tool that will deliver added-value climate services regarding plant phenological responses to ongoing climate change and the carbon and water cycles.

INSIghtForest: IN SItu tracking of water fluxes in Forest ecosystems

INSIghtForest will accompany the Cost Action WATSON "WATer isotopeS in the critical zONeproposes" by establishing a unique data set of high frequency in-situ measured water isotopes located in a long-term irrigation experiment Pfynwald in the naturally dry valley of Valais, Switzerland.

FORWARDS: European Observatory to assess the vulnerability of forests towards climate change

FORWARDS aims to develop, test, and implement a European Observatory that will supply timely and detailed information on European forests' vulnerability to climate change impacts, and provide knowledge to guide climate smart forestry

MiCSS - Physiological drivers of tree growth

MiCSS is a SNF-funded project that aims to investigate the key physiological processes underlying tree growth in order to improve forest dynamics and carbon cycle modelling.

Harnessing forest genetic resources

OptFORESTS is an European funded project that aims to support the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources.

Calibrating remote-sensed drought impact

The main objective of the project is to contribute towards a better understanding of the impact of drought on forests from the Alps by integrating satellite based remote sensing with ground-based measurement of tree water use and carbon fixation performed at sub-seasonal resolution.

VPDrought: A novel approach to disentangle atmospheric and soil drought

Mit dem Projekt «VPDrought» werden die Einflüsse und Auswirkungen von Luft- und Bodentrockenheit auf den Wald wissenschaftlich untersucht. Der weltweit erstmalige Versuch in dieser Kombination und Qualität wird im Pfynwald auf der bereits bestehenden Forschungsfläche der WSL umgesetzt.

How does a changing light environment in terms of intensity and spectrum affect plant functioning?

Using stable isotopes, we want to investigate how a changing light quality could affect plant functioning and what mechanisms underlie these responses, especially when light interacts with other environmental factors.

PhenoMast

This project aims to integrate the recording of standardized mast observation into existing phenology networks (e.g. PhaenoNet, Phenowald, PhenoRanger) and field surveys. The recorded data will be made publicly available on the already established platform of MastWeb hosted at WSL.

PROHYDRO

PROHYDRO aims to explore the potential to improve reconstructions of inter- and intra-seasonal droughts and hydroclimate by developing a QWA-module for the tree-growth process-based Vaganov-Shashkin model.

StillbergDAT

This ETH-Domain ORD Program Contribute Project aims at curating and uploading the existing data of the European Long-term treeline Ecosystem Research (eLTER) site Stillberg, Switzerland, was established in to national and international ORD platforms (EnviDat, DEIMS-SDR).

Forest disturbances induce soil carbon losses

Disturbances of forest ecosystems by storms and dieback following drought and insect infestation are increasing with ongoing climatic changes. We study the magnitude of C losses following disturbances by combining field studies, modelling, and a meta-analysis.

Urbtrees

Notre projet combine des relevés de terrain à haute résolution, la modélisation et des ateliers participatifs, dans les domaines de l'écologie végétale, de la chimie atmosphérique et des sciences sociales urbaines. Nous escomptons qu'il permettra conduira d'élaborer des stratégies de solutions fondées sur la nature pour nos villes, où les facteurs environnementaux, socioculturels et infrastructurels sont pleinement pris en compte.

Leaf temperature reconstruction

We critically lack leaf temperature assessments because of the difficulties associated with these measurements. The project aims at developing a novel approach that reconstructs leaf temperature over multiple time scales using plant water isotopes.

High-resolution climate reconstruction

Tree-ring d13C variations are a valuable archive of climatic information. A novel laser-ablation isotope-ratio mass-spectrometer enables to study variations within a single tree ring. We therefore plan to determine the occurrence of dry and wet periods of the past with unprecedented resolution.

Digiforest

DIGIFOREST hat den Auftrag, eine Technologie zu entwickeln, die für eine nachhaltige digitale Forstwirtschaft erforderlich ist. Dazu gehört die Grundlagenforschung für die mobile Roboternavigation (Bewegungsverfolgung mit mehreren Sensoren, 3D-Missionsplanung usw.) und die datengesteuerte semantische Kartierung.

HEAT - Keeping it cool in a Hotter world: brEAking new ground into the drivers and consequences of forest Temperature regulation

We will use a hierarchical cross-scale approach that spans plant physiology, remote sensing, and community ecology to assess the physiological and ecological processes that underpin forest temperature regulation during hotter droughts. The work will take place at the Model Ecosystem Facility (MODOEK) and in Saillon (Valais).

Nanoplastic uptake and transport in trees

In this project we assess the uptake and transport of nanoplastics in trees by using polystyrene nanoparticles doped with Palladium and detection of these particles with ICP-MS.

TreeWater - Disentangling the isotopic signal transfer from source water to tree rings

TreeWater aims to improve our understanding of whether and how information on water uptake dynamics can be retrieved from the oxygen and hydrogen (i.e. water) isotopes in tree rings.

MountEx

The MountEx project, part of the WSL research program Extremes, aims to develop guidance and tools for managing spruce-dominated mountain forests under the influence of previously unthinkable, extreme disturbances.

ProtoAIM - Enhanced Plot Design for Advanced Inventorying and Monitoring

We will enhance the design of the Swiss NFI plots to accomodate an augmented series of measurements, sampling and analysis needed to respond to pressing research question on status and change of the Swiss forest.

MastWeb 2.0: Mobile friendliness and interactive analysis tool to assess and visualize annual tree fecundity levels

New and improved functionality for the mastweb.ch platform to collect, distribute, visualise and evaluate data on tree fecundity levels in Swiss forests.

EMERGE - Extreme droughts in mountain regions

EMERGE will investigate the impacts of historic megadroughts on water fluxes and ecosystems in mountain regions, and use this knowledge to develop stress-test scenarios for a possible future megadrought in the Swiss Alps.

Detecting temperature thresholds for photosynthesis and understanding how they are controlled by long-term acclimation to soil drought

We evaluate the potential of thermal imaging with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to detect drought stress in Pinus sylvestris in a long-term irrigation experiment in the Pfyn forest in Valais (southern Switzerland).

European beech under climate change

We will conduct a continental-scale climate sensitivity analysis of European beech and will investigate how different beech provenances differ in their climate growth response.

Projet COMMON-RING (SwissForestLab)

En prenant en compte les réponses évolutives basées sur les cernes des arbres, il sera possible de réduire les incertitudes relatives à la répartition spatiale des essences d'arbres européennes en fonction des scénarios de changement climatique.

Functional ecology of alpine meadows

The ongoing climate change has caused changes in the species composition of alpine meadows. Complementing the vegetation surveys realized in the GLORIA initiative, this project investigates the functional responses above- and belowground to abiotic drivers in alpine forb and grass species.

ICOS-2: Integrated Carbon Observation System in Switzerland, Phase 2017-2021

Die Forschungsstation Seehornwald Davos wurde in den 80er-Jahren von der WSL initiiert und ist damit eine der ältesten permanent betriebenen Wald-Vegetations-Forschungsstationen in der Schweiz.

Tracing hybridization of oriental beech following assisted gene flow

Development of a cost-effective remote sensing tool based on optical spectroscopy to track the hybridization between European and oriental beech.

SCC II - REACT

SCC II - REACT: Species-specific reactions of temperate European forest trees to a changing environment

PhenoRangers

"PhenoRangers" a pour but d'établir des interactions entre les recherches actuelles sur l'impact des changements climatiques sur la forêt et le public, en utilisant la phénologie comme outil principal.

Drivers and consequences of drought-induced hydraulic dysfunctions and mortality under global warming

This project explores the specific impact of VPD and temperature increase on tree water use and mortality. It also investigates the potential damages of using X-ray MicroCT to track embolism in living trees.

Invasiveness of T. fortunei in the forests of southern Switzerland

The invasion of ecosystems by non-native species is one of the largest threats for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide. To control the spread of non-native plants, it is crucial to understand by which mechanisms they outperform native vegetation.

Arbres sous serre

Nous étudions comment les essences adaptées aux futures conditions poussent pendant la phase de régénération dans un climat aux hivers plus doux et étés chauds et secs, comment elles s'influencent mutuellement et quels effets leur présence a sur le sol et les organismes qui y vivent.

Partitioning of resources between beech trees during drought

We will examine whether recent drought events shifted the partitioning of growth among tree size classes of beech trees and use this information to develop thinning strategies for mitigating drought impacts in lowland and montane Swiss beech forests

Cold stress mighgt limit carbon gain also in a warming climate

Photosynthesis of forest ecosystems can be reduced in spring most likely due to cold temperatures. Such cold-related processes are, however, not captured in mechanistic models and we thus aim to assess the mechanisms and frequencies of such depressions and include them into models.

N-DEPEND - Is there a "Nitrogen Deposition Penalty" for Forests under Drought?

This project intends to test the "N-penalty" hypothesis for the Swiss forests. By statistical modeling and quasi-experimental analyses based on N deposition estimates, drought indices and NFI data, we assess interacting effects of N deposition and drought on forest health and productivity.

deepT - deep neural network algorithms to recognize species and their specific response patterns in stem growth data of TreeNet

deepT investigates times series of stem radius changes with deep neural network (DNN) algorithms in order to recognize tree species, growth patterns and tree water deficit-induced stem shrinkage characteristics.

How will changes in the phenology of species affect the biodiversity of lakes and their surrounding watersheds?

As part of the Blue-Green Biodiversity Research Initiative (Eawag-WSL funded by ETH), we study differences in the effect of global environmental change on the phenology of primary production in lakes and their surrounding watersheds using remote sensing techniques.

ROXAS X

The aim of this project is the complete revision of ROXAS, the successful image analysis tool for quantifying xylem cell anatomical features is ROXAS.

TM Wrapper

We develop a R package for the easier applicability of the forest landscape model TreeMig.

Patterns and processes of biological invasions in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems

Insects are among the most successful invasive species but there are surprisingly few aquatic insects that invaded freshwater ecosystems. In this collaborative project between WSL and Eawag we are analysing several international datasets to determine why insects are under-represented among aquatic insects.

Phenological synchrony between soil microbes, nutrient availability, trees leaf-out and moths

The synchronization between supply and demand of resources in temperate forests is vital to ensure the optimal and sustainable functioning of these ecosystems. This project aims to understand how global warming is disrupting interactions between above- and below-ground organisms.

Global blue-green richness differences

This project contributes to the Blue Green Biodiversity Research Initiative - an Eawag-WSL collaboration focusing on Biodiversity at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

TreeNet - The biological drought and growth indicator network

TreeNet ist ein internationales Beobachtungs- und Forschungsnetzwerk, in dem Punktdendrometer automatisch die täglichen Stammradiusschwankungen von Bäumen erfassen. Der kontinuierliche Fluss von Daten liefert Echtzeitinformationen über die Wasserverhältnisse im Baum und das radial Stammwachstum

Soil and tree resilience after forest wildfire in Southern Italy

Pine tree stand and forest site resilience after the severe 2017 wildfire on the slopes of Vesuvius, Italy

Sécheresse et hêtres: effets à moyen terme de la sécheresse estivale de 2018 sur le hêtre sur le versant nord des Alpes

Dans ce projet, nous étudions les causes des impacts de l'extrême sécheresse de l'été 2018 sur la vitalité des hêtres dans différentes régions du Plateau suisse et du Jura.

Impact of tree species interactions on tree water relations under a warmer and drier climate

This research aims to gain a mechanistic understanding of the role of tree species interactions on tree plastic physiological responses to heat and drought stress. It combines an experimental climate manipulation with tree seedlings and fieldwork in a mature forest subjected yearly to hot droughts.

ExtremeImpact

This project build up on high-resolution observations of conifer tree growth in the Swiss Lötschental valley to quantify at cell-based resolution the impact of the extreme summer drought 2015 on tree-ring biomass, sapwood conductivity, and water use efficiency.

Moringa

We aim on analyzing the exact formation of tree-rings (Xylogenesis) in Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori during a calendar year, building a long chronology for this species, and analyzing 13C and 18O to assess the tree-environment interactions, particularly precipitation.

Bridging paleoclimate records and climate model simulations

We plan to measure anatomical properties of trees that grow in highly temperature-restricted environments and compare and assimilate them with ensembles of climate models (PMIP4/CMIP6).

UAV-based monitoring of physiological tree responses

In this project, we investigate the potential of spectral proxies, obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) high-resolution multispectral and thermal imaging, to detect trees pre-visual drought stress responses.

Integration of biodiversity conservation and forest management

The publication "How to balance biodiversity conservation and forest management - a tour across Europe" written by more than 70 scientific and professional experts from 50 Institutions and 20 different countries explores how to best integrate biodiversity conservation in forest management

eLTER Switzerland

The Long-Term Ecologiocal Research in Europe (LTER-Europe) capitalizes on research infrastructures such as the in-situ network of sites and information technology. Thousands of research projects have been carried out taking advantage of this infrastructure.

Acclimation and environmental memory

Which are the main mechanisms conveying adaptation on the organ and whole tree level, how fast does acclimation occur and how long is an acclimation potential sustained?

Climate-smart forestry directions based on national Forest Inventory data

In this project we use the data of the Swiss National Forest Inventory to develop an assessment system that accounts for the three aspects of climate-smart forestry: mitigation, adaptation and the sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services.

Modelling forest growth using 3-PG

Testing 3-PG in uneven-aged forests, comparing predictions with an empirical model and developing a 3-PG R package.

Swiss Biomass

Ziel des Projekts ist es, mittels nicht-destruktiven Messmethoden die Biomasse von Einzelbäumen genauer bestimmen zu können. Solche Biomasseschätzungen sind zentral für das Treibhausgasinventar, das Kyoto Reporting und für die Abschätzung von Holzressourcen und Bioenergiepotentialen.

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.

Dormancy-Track

The project aims to track the progress of winter bud dormancy of major temperate trees by regularly tracing the amount of isotopically labelled water that can be transferred to the buds during the whole dormancy period.

Anyui - Vulkane, Klima und die Bevölkerungen der Americas

We performed ambitious fieldwork on and documentation of the little-known Anyui volcano in northeast Siberia.

TreeCarbo: From assimilates towards tree-rings - Triple isotope analysis of carbohydrates

The project aims to provide novel mechanistic ways to reconstruct functional responses of trees to climatic changes in high temporal and spatial resolution by improving and combining fractionation models for carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen isotopes.

Give and take: how much water does soil retain for trees?

Establishing an inventory of soil water availability to trees in Swiss forest soils. This is done by means of model-based analysis of the water balances at 16 long-term monitoring sites in Switzerland, representing various geographical locations, soil and vegetation types.

Effects of unbalanced winter-spring warming

Saplings of an evergreen and a deciduous tree species are treated with various levels of defoliation (to change the C-resource availability) and unbalanced winter-spring warming, to study the effects of unbalanced winter-spring warming on spring phenology and its C-resource related mechanisms.

Caldera

In this SNF funded Sinergia project - aimed at quantifying climate and societal impacts induced by major volcanic eruptions of the Common Era - the WSL mainly contribute by providing a unprecedented millennial long chronology of wood cell anatomical features.

Waldlabor Zürich

Das Waldlabor Zürich ist ein erlebnisorientierter Bildungs- und Forschungsort, es ist das erste Waldlabor der Schweiz. Im Zentrum steht der vom Menschen beeinflusste Wald, der "Kulturwald" mit verschiedenen Formen der Waldpflege und -bewirtschaftung, der Leistungen der Waldeigentümer und der Bedeutu

Assessing past atmospheric composition in Northern China using novel tree-ring analyses

We aim to assess the presence of particles in trees and to correlate them through dating to known air pollution and sandstorms' episodes.

XELLCLIM

We identify the best xylem cell anatomical features for climate reconstructions and assess their characteristics across temporal scales compared to established tree-ring parameters, and against instrumental records and climate model simulations.

Drought 2018 - TreeNet meets Sentinel2

TreeNet permanently measures growth and tree water deficit (TWD) of about 250 tree individuals in forests all over Switzerland with so-called point dendrometers. TWD has shown to be a reasonable biological indicator for drought stress and quantifies the amount of missing water a tree needs to reach full saturation. In combination with spectral anomalies of satellite-based indices (e.g., NDWI from Sentinel2ab) between 2018 and a reference period we test whether we can find a close link between the two drought stress indicators.

FORClimateS

The project aims to aggregate and synthesize existing information on different spatial and temporal scales to provide decision-makers with relevant and robust information on short- and long-term risks for forests and forest functions and on adaptation strategies under different climate futures

Modèles d'invasion biologique et dynamiques de croissance des frênes

En Europe, le dépérissement des pousses du frêne causé par Hymenoscyphus fraxineus a entraîné un taux de mortalité élevé chez les frênes communs. Nous analysons comment la croissance radiale et les paramètres anatomiques du bois influencent la progression de la maladie dans les arbres.

Legacy effects on stem growth

Tree species largely differ in the amount of annual stem growth explained by current-year conditions. Historic conditions have been shown to additionally explain a significant fraction of the unexplained variance. We investigate conceptual and empirical approaches to investigate processes determining stem growth and the respective legacy effects.

Establishing hydrogen isotope analysis of organic material

We aim to develop a method for hydrogen isotope (d2H) analysis of organics which will have many applications in plant and soil sciences and thereby provide a powerful new tool to disentangle and reconstruct past and present physiological, biochemical, and hydrological processes.

ISOWEB

Unser Ziel ist die Entwicklung eines Protokolls zur Analyse von Nahrungsnetzen in Totholz unter Verwendung von Komponenten-spezifischen stabilen Isotopenanalysen. Die Anwendbarkeit der Methode zur Verfolgung von Veränderungen in den Nahrungsnetzen zwischen Baumarten und in Abhängigkeit des Waldmanagements und im Laufe der Zersetzung von Totholz wird anhand von Daten aus einem großen Experiment getestet.

GenWood

Wir verbinden genomische und dendro-phänotypische Daten der Fichte (Picea abies) um die genomische Basis der Holzanatomie zu studieren und das Anpassungspotenzial von Waldbäume under dem Klimawandel einzuschätzen.

Isodrought

We want to explore a stable isotope tree-ring approach for analyzing physiological drought responses of trees. The results are expected to provide a novel diagnostic tool for understanding causes of tree decline.

BLACKDYNAMITE

Das spanisch-schweizerische Projekt untersucht die Dynamik und Konkurrenz der hoch geschätzten schwarzen Périgord und Burgunder Trüffel unter dem Einfluss des Klimawandels.

Root endophytic fungi and their contribution to arctic and alpine climate change feedback

Arctic and Alpine vegetation dynamics under climate change can exert a lasting impact on belowground processes and ultimately on world's largest carbon stocks. This long-term field manipulation investigates the functional significance of plant interactions with species-specific endophytic fungi.

Environmental impact on wood formation

Wood formation is a process that not only fix carbon into the wood structure, but also determine how much and how safely water can be transported trough the stem of a tree. This project make use of dated tree-rings to investigate how the environment impacts wood formation and structure

DEDrought duration effects

The present study will analyze the within-tree distribution of C, N, and P reserves in trees treated with different drought duration and frequency, to investigate the C, N and P reserves in relation to recovery ability and mortality following repeated drought events with various drought duration.

Photoperiod and ciracian clocks - effects on adaptation and acclimation

Do evolutionary constraints on photoperiod and circadian clocks hinder adaptation and acclimation of plants to climate change? With this project, we will provide the mechanistic basis and a conceptual framework to understand how climatic and daylight/photoperiod cues jointly affects tree functioning.

Comprendre comment les interactions entre espèces modulent les impacts à long terme de la chaleur et de la sécheresse

Nos objectifs sont d'évaluer les processus physiologiques par lesquels les arbres s'adaptent et interagissent les uns avec les autres dans un climat changeant, de déterminer les conséquences de ces processus dynamiques sur la physiologie des arbres, et mieux comprendre ces effets sur les changements à long terme des cycles internes du carbone et de l'eau des arbres.

Adaptation of trees to extreme climate events

Extreme climate events are expected to become more frequent with climate warming. We test genetic differentiation in resistance to late frost and drought in silver fir populations planted in the 1980s in Swizterland and abroad.

QUPFIS

Our aim is to estimate Swiss forest net ecosystem productivity (NEP) at monthly or seasonal resolution for each individual year in order to link biomass changes over time with global drivers.

Carbon storage and ungulate browsing

The joint effects of drought tolerance and herbivory is determined by analysing the extent to which water use efficiency and C storage of Abies alba saplings are influenced by genetic factors and ungulate browsing.

Forests under stress

In this project we will assess the physiological processes by which trees adjust and interact among each other under a changing climate, determine the consequences of these processes on forest responses to climatic stresses and improve our understanding of these effects on forests functioning at a large comprehensive scale.

Host-mistletoe relationships

The project focuses on the host-mistletoe relationship in relation to changes in the growth environment of the host, and the underlying physiological mechanisms.

PRO3FILE

To improve our assessment of ozone effects on forest ecosystems, we advocate the need (i) for further experimental and long-term monitoring studies and (ii) to develop physiological and demographic modelling tools.

Sumforest - ForRISK

Risk resilient forest management - Adapting forest management regimes, including risk assessment related to potential climate change impacts.

Junior Research: Der Waldboden lebt, Föhren sterben heimlich und Jahrringe erzählen aus der Vergangenheit

Was steckt hinter diesen Aussagen? SchülerInnen vertiefen sich in eines dieser Themen, eignen sich neues Wissen an, lernen genau hinzuschauen und haben Gelegenheit, sich zeigen zu lassen, wie in der Forschung gearbeitet wird.

The dynamic of ozone injury and responses within tree foliage

Relating the stress and detoxification responses at cell level to the phytotoxic ozone dose in foliage of trees

TEA-Electrical potentials and accoustic emissions of trees

TEA combines established methods in ecophysiology (i.e., measuring sap flow, detecting continuous stem radius changes, and recording the microclimatic conditions) with advanced methods of measuring ultrasonic acoustic emissions (UAEs) and detecting electrophysiological signals, so-called electrical potentials (EPs).

Metalink

Soil contamination with heavy metals is a widespread problem affecting natural, cultivated, urban and industrial sites throughout Europe. The main objective in this Swiss/Polish collaboration project is to characterize the links between environmental, genotypic, and phenotypic features in the metal-tolerant plant model Arabidopsis halleri.

Drought effects on reproductive phenology and the underlying physiological mechanisms in pine trees

We use a long-term precipitation manipulation experiment in mature Pinus sylvestris forests and a natural precipitation gradient from 840 mm to 290 mm/year with Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, to study the "Drought effects on reproductive phenology and the physiological mechanisms of pine trees".

Examining drivers of litter decomposition

Decomposition of plant litter is a key process for the transfer of carbon and nutrients in ecosystems. Carbon contained in the decaying biomass is released to the atmosphere as respired CO2, and may contribute to global warming. Litterbag studies have been used to improve our knowledge of the drivers of litter decomposition, but they lack comparability because litter quality is plant species-specific. The use of commercial tea bags as a standard substrate was suggested in order to harmonize studies, where green tea and rooibos represent more labile and more recalcitrant C compounds as surrogates of local litter.

Der Einbezug von Naturschutzüberlegungen bei der Durchforstung

Das Projekt beabsichtigt, in verschiedenen Waldtypen verschiedene Vorgaben zu Waldmanagement und Durchforstung zu geben. Aufgrund eines Versuchs wollen wir herausfinden, wie bei der Durchforstung ein ökonomisch-ökologischer Ausgleich erzielt werden kann.

CaNuPine/MICRO

In this project, adaptive and stress responses to drought stress and varying nutrient availability are being analyzed at tissue, cell and subcellular level in foliage of Scots pine and downy oak.

Carbon and nutrient dynamics of Scots pine

In the CaNuPine project, we study the effects of drought and nutrient availability on the carbon dynamics within Pine (Pinus sylvestris) trees. This will contribute to the controversial debate whether drought may or may not cause acute growth decline and mortality via carbon starvation.

Les incendies de forêt, les attaques d'insectes et les chablis sont de plus en plus importants dans les forêts de montagne

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.

Compartmentation of de-icing salts and structural reactions to salt accumulation in foliage of ornamental lime trees

Street greenery has recently emerged as a major research and urbanization issue. The main objectives in this project are to study the accumulation and effects of de-icing salts in foliage of lime trees (Tilia x vulgaris) and to apply this knowledge for selecting more tolerant lime species and cultivars, with a view to street plantation.

Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS)

Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a European research infrastructure to quantify and understand the greenhouse gas balance of the European continent and of adjacent regions.

Net Ecosystem Productivity - NEPSRI

Point dendrometer-based SRI data are collected within the project TreeNet and used to estimate NEP. The estimation is performed in near-real-time on the TreeNet processing platform (TreeNet_Pro) and needs temporally highly resolved SRI data and a site-specific leaf area index as input.

L'ailante en Suisse méridionale

L'ailante se propage actuellement très rapidement dans les zones au climat doux du sud de la Suisse et pose, surtout dans les forêts protectrices, des problèmes importants. Il peut contribuer à une déstabilisation difficile à corriger dans la structure des forêts.

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.

Impact of fuel wood piles on saproxylic beetles

In Switzerland, a strong increase in the demand for energy wood is expected for the next decades. This is likely to have a strong influence on saproxylic beetles (dependent on dead wood). On the one hand, fewer old trees and less deadwood will remain and decompose in the forest, which directly limits habitat availability for saproxylics. On the other hand, fuel wood exploitation might have indirect ecological consequences.

Antimony uptake as a function of waterlogging in the rhizosphere

Antimony (Sb) is a relatively rare element in the earth's crust, but mining, traffic, waste incineration and an increasing multitude of industrial uses have led to elevated levels in soils and sediments in many locations and consequently increased exposure of plants, animals and humans to this toxic element.

Waldbrand und Insekten

2003 brannte oberhalb von Leuk eine Waldfläche von rund 300 ha nieder. Als Teil einer grösseren Untersuchung zur Wiederbesiedlung der Fläche durch Flora und Fauna wird die Sukzession von wirbellosen Tieren in regelmässigen Abständen untersucht.

trees

Im Forschungsprojekt 'trees: Ökophysiologische Prozesse hörbar machen' werden Zusammenhänge zwischen akustischen Emissionen von Pflanzen und ökophysiologischen Prozessen untersucht.

Wie Buchen auf Trockenheit reagieren

Im Projekt BuKlim wird die Reaktion von Buchen aus Gebieten mit unterschiedlichen Jahresniederschlägen auf Trockenheit untersucht. Die Resultate des Versuchs sollen helfen, das Anpassungspotential der Buche an die mit dem Klimawandel zunehmende Trockenheit besser abschätzen zu können.

Disentangling truffle ecology

We study the complex biotic and abiotic ecology and the population genetics of the Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum) in Switzerland and the German pre-Alps, with particular emphasis on the ecological and climatological drivers for the productivity and phenology of this most valuable truffle species.

Stillberg enzyme activities

The trees form ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associations with soil fungi that are central to ecosystem carbon balance as determinants of plant community structure and as decomposers of soil organic matter. This study will measure the response in ECM fungal community structure and functioning

Chestnut blight

The introduced chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica causes severe damage to chestnut forests and orchards across Europe. We investigate the biology and epidemiology of the disease and provide the scientific basis for biological control.

Below-canopy climate

Microclimate is a key factor influencing regeneration in forests. Particularly available light, water supply and temperature determine the success or failure of certain tree species. How will future climate change influence below-canopy microclimate and tree regeneration?

Evolutionary traits

The objective in this project is to characterize mechanistic aspects of metal accumulation and tolerance and relate it to the genetic structure of populations of Biscutella laevigata with varying genotypes, phenotypes, metal accumulation and tolerance.

Foliar symptoms specific for ozone stress in rain forest trees of southern Brazil

The toxic effects of tropospheric ozone concentrations on plants have been reported primarily for ecosystems from the northern hemisphere with a mediterranean, temperate or boreal climate. In the southern hemisphere with its tropical climate, the impact of ozone on natural ecosystems is still mostly unknown.

MICRO

Microscopical changes in cells and tissues in response to various environmental stress factors are investigated in trees to develop diagnosis tools and understand the mechanistic link between stress and injury.

Essences exotiques

Des essences non indigènes, adapteés à un climat plus chaud et plus sec, pourraient contribuer à l'adaptation au changement climatique. 6 de ces essences exotiques sont testées en plantation expérimentale de longue durée à Mutrux (VD)

Boron & salt allocation

Main objectives of this research project are to investigate the compartmentation-based mechanisms contributing to tolerance in foliage of poplar trees grown on soils contaminated with elevated levels of Boron and salts in the San Joaquin Valley in California.

Understory removal experiment Salgesch

Long-term research on the interactions between changes in land use and climate and their consequences regarding forest health and dynamic in the pine forests at low elevation of Central Alps

Kastanienrindenkrebs

Der eingeschleppte Kastanienrindenkrebs gefährdet die Edelkastanienbestände auf der Alpennordseite. Um diese Bestände zu erhalten, wird im Rahmen dieses Projektes der Kastanienrindenkrebs auf der Alpennordseite mit hypovirulenten Pilzstämmen bekämpft

Standortsfaktor Boden

Das Projekt liefert auf Messwerten beruhende boden- und standortskundliche Informationen für den Schweizer Wald: (i) Verhalten von Baumarten hinsichtlich abiotischer Wachstumsfaktoren, (ii) quantitative Charakterisierung der ökologischen Nischen von Baumarten und (iii) ökologische Zeigerwerte für ausgewählte Waldpflanzen.

Trockenheit als limitierender Faktor für An- und Aufwuchs von Hauptbaumarten

Für die Anpassung unserer Wälder an ein wärmeres Klima sind verschiedene Strategien denkbar. In diesem Projekt wird die Plastizität verschiedener Provenienzen von Waldföhre und Fichte bezüglich Trockenheit in der Jugendphase untersucht.

Nadelbäume und Trockenheit

Sehr starke waldbauliche Eingriffe im Gebirgswald können kurzfristig ökonomisch vorteilhaft sein. Langfristig könnten sie aber die Waldverjüngung verzögern und den Holzuwachs vermindern. Ob solche nachteiligen Auswirkungen auftreten und wie gross sie allenfalls sind, wird mit retrospektiven ertragskundlichen und dendroökologischen Erhebungen in Gebirgswäldern abgeschätzt.

Tree regeneration after windthrow

Wind disturbance is the main natural driver of forest stand dynamics in Central and Northern Europe. On the basis of a large sample of windthrow gaps, this project aimed to quantify natural tree regeneration after wind disturbance, and to identify factors influencing tree regeneration dynamics.

Mountland

Le projet ‹Mountland› étudie l’influence des évolutions possibles du climat et de l’utilisation des sols sur les services écosystémiques des régions de montagne. Il associe les méthodes des sciences naturelles, sociales et politiques dans une démarche intégrative pour développer des alternatives politiques pour une gestion durable.

Expérience de germination

Depuis 1995 environ, on constate une mortalité accrue du pin dans les forêts de la vallée supérieure du Rhône. Une doctorante examine l’influence de différents facteurs climatiques et de la concurrence interspécifique sur la régénération du pin sylvestre et du pin noir.

Mykorrhiza und Waldbrand

Im vorliegenden Projekt wird untersucht, inwiefern Waldbrand die Diversität von Mykorrhizapilzen verringert, und ob ein Zusammenhang zwischen Pilzdiversität und dem Wachstum von Baumkeimlingen besteht.

Das Lötschental

Das Lötschental im Wallis: ein idealer Untersuchungsraum, um den Einfluss der globalen Erwärmung auf das Baumwachstum zu studieren.

Querco

Querco, dans le sens de "quid quercus, quo vadis?" Les mécanismes des réactions sous stress hydrique, de l'élévation de la température de l'air et de leurs combinaisons seront analysées en comparaison avec le traitement de contrôle de 3 espèces de chênes autochtones (4 provenances par espèce) au cours d'un essai d'une durée de 4 ans.

Macro- and micro morphological reactions to low soil water availability in the foliage of Scots pine from Wallis

In this project, the structural changes in foliage of Scots pine are used as sensitive bioindications of environmental constraints to study the reactions of dry pine forests in Wallis to low soil water availability and changes in land use.

Evoltree

A large network of research institutions collaborates within an EC-funded Network of Excellence to study the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems from an evolutionary perspective.

Composition du bois flottant

Lors des intempéries du mois d'août dernier, de nombreuses localités n'ont pas dû seulement faire face à d'importantes masses d'eau mais aussi à de grandes quantités de bois flottant. Très rapidement, on s'est demandé s'il s'agissait de bois de chablis laissé à terre dans les forêts.

Irrigation Experiment Pfynwald

Drought-induced forest decline will gain in importance as the frequency and severity of drought events are expected to increase in the context of climate change. To understand how chronic drought affects tree growth, we study mature Scots pine in an irrigation experiment in an inner-Alpine dry valley since 2003.

Streunutzung – ein Experiment

Noch vor 150 Jahren waren die Wälder stark durch agrarische Nutzungsweisen geprägt. Dazu gehörte neben der Waldweide auch die Nutzung der Waldstreue. Durch experimentelle Streunutzung wollen Wissenschafter herausfinden, welche Bedeutung diese Nutzungsweise für die heutigen Naturschutzmassnahmen im Wald haben könnte.

Nadelchemie der Fichte

Mit dem Projekt "Monitoring Flankierende Massnahmen Umwelt" (MFM-U) untersucht die Schweiz die Umwelt-Auswirkungen des Landverkehrsabkommens mit der EU sowie die Umwelt-Auswirkungen der flankierenden Massnahmen. Im diesem Teilprojekt stehen die Auswirkungen auf den Wald im Vordergrund.

Diagnose von Wald- und Baumkrankheiten

Wichtige Informationen zur Beurteilung der Waldgesundheit stammen aus der Beratung, bei welcher mittels differenzialdiagnostischen Methoden die Ursachen von Baumkrankheiten analysiert werden. Die Kunden agieren als externe Mitarbeiter und erhalten als Gegenleistung die Diagnose inklusive einer Empfehlung für das geeignete weitere Vorgehen.

Treeline in Ural

Historical photographs document that the upper treeline of the Ural mountains has moved up 60 to 80 m during the last century. We assess how the expansion of forests into tundra affects soil organic matter dynamics in the pristine Southern, Northern and Polar Ural.

Soil solution in LWF plots

The chemistry of soil solution and the soil water availability for plants have been monitored since 1997 in seven forest plots in Switzerland. This project, linked to the Swiss Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research project (LWF), aims to assess the soil response to atmospheric pollution (acidifying substances and nitrogen) and to climate change.

Baumphysiologie und Klimawandel

Im Wallis wachsen Waldföhren und Flaumeichen zumindest zeitweise am Rande ihrer physiologischen Möglichkeiten. Wir untersuchen die Anpassungsfähigkeit aber auch die physiologischen Grenzen der dort vorkommenden Baumarten.

Azote et végétation du sous-bois

La végétation du sous-bois est un bon indicateur des conditions écologiques. L'objectif de ce projet est de déterminer dans quelle mesure les facteurs qui contribuent à la réponse de la végétation dans l'espace et dans le temps peuvent être discriminés, en mettant l'accent sur la problématique de l'azote.

Crown condition assessment

It is important to have good information on the condition of the trees in the plots. Therefore scientists determine the relationships between crown condition and a number of environmental parameters.

Faune des zones affectées par les tempêtes

Après les grandes tempêtes Vivian (1990) et Lothar (1999), des études ont été entreprises pour surveiller l'évolution à long terme de la diversité des insectes dans les aires de chablis nettoyées et non nettoyées. Depuis lors, des inventaires ont été menées durant 20 ans à 7 (Vivian) et 4 (Lothar) reprises.

Schadenanalysen in Forstentomologie

Insekten prägen massgebend die Dynamik unserer Waldökosysteme. Informationen zur Verbreitung, Biologie und Epidemiologie der Waldinsekten dienen dazu, für Praxis und Behörden angepasste Massnahmen der Überwachung und Bekämpfung zu erarbeiten.

WATER - within the EVOLTREE network

A network of four research institutions collaborates within an EC-funded Network of Excellence to determine and understand the influence of genetic diversity of trees and site water regime on neutral and functional diversities of the associated mycorrhizal community.

TreeNet

TreeNet ist ein internationales Beobachtungs- und Forschungsnetzwerk, in dem mit Punktdendrometern automatisch die täglichen Stammradiusschwankungen von Bäumen gemessen werden.

Tout afficher

Publications

Cai, J.; Weiner, J.; Luo, W.; Feng, X.; Yang, G.; Lu, J.; Lü, X.; Li, M.; Jiang, Y.; Han, X., 2023: Functional structure mediates the responses of productivity to addition of three nitrogen compounds in a meadow steppe. Oecologia, doi: 10.1007/s00442-022-05310-9

Ballikaya, P.; Song, W.; Bachmann, O.; Guillong, M.; Wang, X.; Cherubini, P., 2023: Chemical elements recorded by Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. tree rings reveal trends of pollution history in Harbin, China. Forests, 14, 2: 187 (18 pp.). doi: 10.3390/f14020187

Thrippleton, T.; Temperli, C.; Krumm, F.; Mey, R.; Zell, J.; Stroheker, S.; Gossner, M.M.; Bebi, P.; Thürig, E.; Schweier, J., 2023: Balancing disturbance risk and ecosystem service provisioning in Swiss mountain forests: an increasing challenge under climate change. Regional Environmental Change, 23: 29 (16 pp.). doi: 10.1007/s10113-022-02015-w

Tang, Y.; Schiestl-Aalto, P.; Lehmann, M.M.; Saurer, M.; Sahlstedt, E.; Kolari, P.; Leppä, K.; Bäck, J.; Rinne-Garmston, K.T., 2023: Estimating intra-seasonal photosynthetic discrimination and water use efficiency using δ¹³C of leaf sucrose in Scots pine. Journal of Experimental Botany, 74, 1: 321-335. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erac413

Mayer, M.; Rusch, S.; Didion, M.; Baltensweiler, A.; Walthert, L.; Ranft, F.; Rigling, A.; Zimmermann, S.; Hagedorn, F., 2023: Elevation dependent response of soil organic carbon stocks to forest windthrow. Science of the Total Environment, 857: 159694 (9 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159694

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