Dr. Patrick Fonti

Fonction

senior scientist

Dynamique forestière

Dendrosciences

Contact

patrick.fonti(at)wslto make life hard for spam bots.ch

+41 44 739 22 85+41 44 739 22 85

Institut fédéral de recherches sur la forêt, la neige et le paysage WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf

Site

Birmensdorf Bi HL C 32

ResearcherID B-7400-2011

Scopus AuthorID 6602360450

Research Interests

Dendrochronology
Dendroecology, tree response to changing environment, tree competition dynamic and forest succession
Wood anatomy, wood formation
Plant hydraulic, water transport in xylem
Ecophysiology, environmental signal in tree rings

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

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.

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.

COMMON-RING SwissForestLab Project

Accounting for evolutionary responses based on tree-ring traits will allow reducing uncertainties in the spatial distributions of European trees species under forthcoming climate change scenarios

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.

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.

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.

GenWood

We link genomic and dendro-phenotypic data in Norway Spruce (Picea abies) to study the genomic basis of wood anatomy and assess the adaptive potential of forest trees under climate change.

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

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.

GenTree

GenTree aims at providing the European forestry sector with better knowledge, methods and tools for optimizing the management and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe in the context of climate change and continuously evolving demands for forest products and services.

Götterbäume in der Südschweiz

Götterbäume breiten sich derzeit rasant in den milden Lagen der Südschweiz aus und werfen vor allem im Schutzwald grosse Fragen auf: Als kurzlebige Pionierbaumart mit gebietsweise hohem Kernfäulebefall können sie zu einer Destabilisierung beitragen, die waldbaulich schwer zu korrigieren ist.

Lötschental

Lötschental offers an ideal setting to study the influence of global warming on tree-growth

Quality wood production

The WSL initiated together with other institutions a research program aiming at high quality chestnut timber by minimizing the costs and improving the functional features and the stability of the coppice stands.

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Short CV

Employement history

from 2020: Senior Scientist, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf

2006-2019: Research Scientist, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf

2003-2006: Research Scientist, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Bellinzona

2003: Post-doctoral fellow, University Berkeley (Prof. G. Biging)

2003: Collaborator at the environmental consulting Dionea SA, Locarno

2002-2003: Post-doctoral fellow, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Bellinzona

2000-2002: Teaching assistant, ETH Zurich

1997-1999: Research associate, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Bellinzo

Education

2000-2002: PhD in Natural Sciences at the ETH Zürich, Faculty of Forest Sciences.

Title of the Thesis: Investigations into ring shake of chestnut

1997-1999: Postgraduate course in applied statistic at the ETH Zürich, Department of Mathematic and Physic

1991-1997: Diploma as Forest Engineer at the ETH Zürich, Faculty of Forest Sciences

Publications WSL

Scientific publication article peer reviewed

Zweifel, R.; Pappas, C.; Peters, R.L.; Babst, F.; Balanzategui, D.; Basler, D.; Bastos, A.; Beloiu, M.; Buchmann, N.; Bose, A.K.; Braun, S.; Damm, A.; D'Odorico, P.; Eitel, J.U.H.; Etzold, S.; Fonti, P.; Freund, E.R.; Gessler, A.; Haeni, M.; ... Sterck, F., 2023: Networking the forest infrastructure towards near real-time monitoring - a white paper. Science of the Total Environment, 872: 162167 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162167

Puchi, P.F.; Khomik, M.; Frigo, D.; Arain, M.A.; Fonti, P.; Von Arx, G.; Castagneri, D., 2023: Revealing how intra- and inter-annual variability of carbon uptake (GPP) affects wood cell biomass in an eastern white pine forest. Environmental Research Letters, 18, 2: 024027 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/acb2df

Lopez-Saez, J.; Corona, C.; Von Arx, G.; Fonti, P.; Slamova, L.; Stoffel, M., 2023: Tree-ring anatomy of Pinus cembra trees opens new avenues for climate reconstructions in the European Alps. Science of the Total Environment, 855: 158605 (12 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158605

Miller, E.W.; Rademacher, T.; Fonti, P.; Seyednasrollah, B.; Richardson, A.D., 2022: Assessing intra-annual density fluctuations across and along white pine stems. Botany, 100, 7: 583-591. doi: 10.1139/cjb-2021-0218

Chen, Y.; Rademacher, T.; Fonti, P.; Eckes-Shephard, A.H.; LeMoine, J.M.; Fonti, M.V.; Richardson, A.D.; Friend, A.D., 2022: Inter-annual and inter-species tree growth explained by phenology of xylogenesis. New Phytologist, 235, 3: 939-952. doi: 10.1111/nph.18195

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Further scientific publications

Zweifel, R.; Basler, D.; Braun, S.; Buchmann, N.; Conedera, M.; Etzold, S.; Eugster, W.; Floriancic, M.; Fonti, P.; Gessler, A.; Haeni, M.; Hoch, G.; Hummel, D.; Kahmen, A.; Koechli, R.; Maeder, M.; Nievergelt, D.; Peter, M.; Peters, R.; ... Wilhelm, M., 2022: TreeNet. Technischer Bericht 2022. 76 p.

Rathgeber, C.B.K.; Fonti, P., 2022: The early arrival of spring doesn’t boost annual tree growth. Nature, 608: 473-474. doi: 10.1038/d41586-022-02107-x

Rathgeber, C.B.K.; Pérez-de-Lis, G.; Fernández-de-Uña, L.; Fonti, P.; Rossi, S.; Treydte, K.; Gessler, A.; Deslauriers, A.; Fonti, M.V.; Ponton, S., 2022: Anatomical, developmental and physiological bases of tree-ring formation in relation to environmental factors. In: Siegwolf, R.T.W.; Brooks, R.J.; Roden, J.; Saurer, M. (eds), 2022: Stable isotopes in tree rings. Inferring physiological, climatic and environmental responses. Cham, Springer. 61-99. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-92698-4_3

Frank, D.; Fang, K.; Fonti, P., 2022: Dendrochronology: fundamentals and innovations. In: Siegwolf, R.T.W.; Brooks, R.J.; Roden, J.; Saurer, M. (eds), 2022: Stable isotopes in tree rings. Inferring physiological, climatic and environmental responses. Cham, Springer. 21-59. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-92698-4_2

Huang, J.G.; Campelo, F.; Ma, Q.; Zhang, Y.; Bergeron, Y.; Deslauriers, A.; Fonti, P.; Liang, E.; Mäkinen, H.; Oberhuber, W.; Rathgeber, C.B.K.; Tognetti, R.; Treml, V.; Yang, B.; Zhai, L.; Zhang, J.L.; Antonucci, S.; Camarero, J.J.; Čufar, K.; ... Rossi, S., 2020: Photoperiod plays a dominant and irreplaceable role in triggering secondary growth resumption. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 117, 52: 32865-32867. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2019931117

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Magazine article and brochures

Bonfils, P.P.; Arend, M.; Kuster, T.M.; Fonti, P.; Vollenweider, P.; Junod, P.; Günthardt-Goerg, M.S., 2013: Le chêne, une essence de grande plasticité. La Forêt, 66, 10: 13-17.

Bonfils, P.; Kuster, T.; Fonti, P.; Arend, M.; Vollenweider, P.; Junod, P.; Günthardt-Goerg, M.S., 2013: Die Eiche reagiert plastisch. Wald und Holz, 45-49.

Conedera, M.; Moretti, M.; Fonti, P.; Krebs, P., 2006: Attività nel 2005. WSL Sottostazione Sud delle Alpi. Forestaviva, 14-15.

Conedera, M.; Moretti, M.; Giudici, F.; Fonti, P.; Krebs, P., 2005: WSL Sottostazione Sud delle Alpi: Le nostre attività di anno in anno. Agricoltore ticinese, 10, 34: 19-20.

Fonti, P., 2005: Dendrocronologia e dendropirocronologia. Dati statistiche e società: trimestrale dell'Ufficio di statistica del Cantone Ticino, 20.

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Monitoring

The Lötschental monitoring transect is an ensemble of 9 tree-growth monitoring sites distributed along an elevational gradient from 800 to 2200 m. a.s.l. The setting (Figure 2) was installed in fall 2006 and includes infrastructure to investigate continuous stem growth of mature Picea abies and Larix decidua trees grown under natural conditions.

Xcell DB

XCELL is an initiative promoting the creation and maintenance of a central repository of wood cell anatomy and intra-annual density profile data.

Aims of the initiative to preserve and promote individual efforts in quantifying cell anatomical and intra-annual density profile measurements performed along dated series of tree-rings to define standards and good praxis for the measurement and analyses of cell anatomical data to assemble, harmonize and facilitate the distribution/exchange of worldwide measured and dated datasets of xylem cell anatomical and intra-annual density data to make use of the data to complement or infer novel insights in the mechanism of xylem formation and functioning, as well as for assessing their impact on the plant-environment interaction and related biogeochemical cycles.

Cell anatomy or density profile data submitted to the XCELL must meet certain requirements before assimilation into the holdings. The collection is structured in order to only include cell anatomical or wood density profile data that are spatial-, chrono-, and geo-referenced, i.e.; only localized intra-ring measurements that have been obtained from dated annual rings (possibly along series of tree-rings), and from plants material collected from known locations.