Institution
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Facility•Birmensdorf, Switzerland•
About: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research is a facility organization based out in Birmensdorf, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Climate change & Soil water. The organization has 1256 authors who have published 3222 publications receiving 161639 citations. The organization is also known as: WSL.
Topics: Climate change, Soil water, Biodiversity, Glacier, Species richness
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an overview of the current scientific knowledge and methods that are applied by practitioners who deal with rockfall and forests protecting against it. But they do not discuss how the protection function of forests can be improved.
Abstract: To effectively prevent rockfall related disasters below forested slopes, silvicultural, eco-engineering, civil engineering or mixed techniques can be used. To do this in a cost-efficient manner it is necessary to know the following: 1) where rockfall events occur and which magnitudes are likely, 2) to what extent the forest reduces the run-out distances, the jump heights and the energies of rocks falling downslope, and 3) how the protective function of forests could be improved. This paper gives an overview of the current scientific knowledge and methods that are applied by practitioners who deal with rockfall and forests protecting against it. Efficient ways to derive information on the probable magnitude and frequency of future rockfall events from the source and deposit area are described. Subsequently, the scientific knowledge on the energy absorption capacity of single trees and the currently available knowledge on the protective function of forest stands against rockfall are presented. Then easy-to-...
83 citations
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TL;DR: Visible ozone symptoms on leaves are expressions of physiological mechanisms to cope with oxidative stresses and can be monitored with techniques based on the direct fluorescence of chlorophyll a in photosystem II, applying the JIP-test.
83 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of biotic (tree species) and abiotic factors (regional climate, altitude and stand aspect) on extreme tree-ring widths is dendroecologically investigated.
Abstract: The influence of biotic (tree species) and abiotic factors (regional climate, altitude and stand aspect) on extreme tree-ring widths is dendroecologically investigated. Negative pointer years are observed when abrupt radial growth reductions (exceeding 40%) occurred synchronously in a given tree population. Pointer year intensity is expected to follow several theoretical models when trees are sampled along ecological gradients in various site conditions. Hypotheses are made about expected patterns of pointer year spatial distribution. They are compared with observed results obtained with Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) sampled in two French Alpine valleys (Tarentaise and Maurienne) with different regional climates, on two aspects and three altitude levels. Results reveal that extreme years follow expected patterns well. Thus, clear site modulations are observed in 1956 and 1986 (only trees located in Maurienne reacted). Moreover, species differences are observed, with typical cases of single species sensitivity (for spruce, occurring in 1962 and 1992). Abiotic factors such as altitude and aspect also involve clear pointer year patterns, such as narrow rings in 1976 due to summer drought that occurred especially at lower altitudes. However, some observed extreme years sometimes appear to be a combination of two (or three) of these one-factor theoretical models (e.g. 1921 with both lower altitude level and only observed in Tarentaise; 1948 involving both higher altitude and northern slopes). These results demonstrate the consistency of various tree-ring and climate relationships along ecological gradients.
82 citations
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TL;DR: The data support the validity of morphological characters used to define species among the Hyalospheniidae and even suggest that taxa described as varieties may deserve the rank of species (e.g. N. penardiana var. minor).
82 citations
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TL;DR: A 2500-year long flood reconstruction for the European Alps is presented, based on dated sedimentary flood deposits from ten lakes in Switzerland, and shows that periods with high flood frequency coincide with cool summer temperatures, which suggests enhanced flood occurrence to be triggered by latitudinal shifts of Atlantic and Mediterranean storm tracks.
Abstract: Severe floods triggered by intense precipitation are among the most destructive natural hazards in Alpine environments, frequently causing large financial and societal damage Potential enhanced flood occurrence due to global climate change would thus increase threat to settlements, infrastructure, and human lives in the affected regions Yet, projections of intense precipitation exhibit major uncertainties and robust reconstructions of Alpine floods are limited to the instrumental and historical period Here we present a 2500-year long flood reconstruction for the European Alps, based on dated sedimentary flood deposits from ten lakes in Switzerland We show that periods with high flood frequency coincide with cool summer temperatures This wet-cold synchronism suggests enhanced flood occurrence to be triggered by latitudinal shifts of Atlantic and Mediterranean storm tracks This paleoclimatic perspective reveals natural analogues for varying climate conditions, and thus can contribute to a better understanding and improved projections of weather extremes under climate change
82 citations
Authors
Showing all 1333 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Peter H. Verburg | 107 | 464 | 34254 |
Bernhard Schmid | 103 | 460 | 46419 |
Christian Körner | 103 | 376 | 39637 |
André S. H. Prévôt | 90 | 511 | 38599 |
Fortunat Joos | 87 | 276 | 36951 |
Niklaus E. Zimmermann | 80 | 277 | 39364 |
Robert Huber | 78 | 311 | 25131 |
David Frank | 78 | 186 | 18624 |
Jan Esper | 75 | 254 | 19280 |
James W. Kirchner | 73 | 238 | 21958 |
David B. Roy | 70 | 250 | 26241 |
Emmanuel Frossard | 68 | 356 | 15281 |
Derek Eamus | 67 | 285 | 17317 |
Benjamin Poulter | 66 | 255 | 22519 |
Ulf Büntgen | 65 | 316 | 15876 |