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 article, the authors investigated the perception and visual assessment of old-field succession in the central Alpine part of Switzerland, a region with an increasing amount of abandoned land and found that most people experience spontaneous reafforestation in an ambivalent way and prefer partially reafforested landscapes with high diversity.
208 citations
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TL;DR: The authors analyzed sediment cores from lakes on the Swiss Plateau (Lobsigensee and Soppensee) for pollen and charcoal to investigate the relationship between vegetation and fire.
Abstract: Wildfires are very rare in central Europe, which is probably why fire effects on vegetation have been neglected by most central European ecologists and palaeoecologists. Presently, reconstructions of fire history and fire ecology are almost absent. We analysed sediment cores from lakes on the Swiss Plateau (Lobsigensee and Soppensee) for pollen and charcoal to investigate the relationship between vegetation and fire. Microscopic charcoal evidence suggests increasing regional fire frequencies during the Neolithic (7350 � /4150 cal. BP, 5400 � /2200 BC) and the subsequent prehistoric epochs at Lobsigensee, whereas at Soppensee burnings remained rather rare until modern times. Neolithic peaks of charcoal at 6200 and 5500 cal. BP (4250 and 3550 BC) coincided with declines of pollen of fire-sensitive taxa at both sites (e.g., Ulmus, Tilia, Hedera, Fagus), suggesting synchronous vegetational responses to fire at regional scales. However, correlation analysis between charcoal and pollen for the period 6600 � /4400 cal. BP (4650 � /2650 BC) revealed no significant link between fire and vegetation at Soppensee, whereas at Lobsigensee increases of Corylus and decreases of Fagus were related to fire events. Fire impact on vegetation increased during the subsequent epochs at both sites. Correlation analyses of charcoal and pollen data for the period 4250 � / 1150 cal. BP (2300 BC � /AD 800) suggest that fires were intentionally set to disrupt forests and to provide open areas for arable and pastoral farming (e.g., significant positive correlations between charcoal and Cerealia, Plantago lanceolata, Asteroideae). These results are compared with southern European records (Lago di Origlio, Lago di Muzzano), which are situated in particularly fire-prone environments. After the Mesolithic period (11 200 � /7350 cal. BP, 9250 � /5400 BC), charcoal influx was higher by an order of magnitude in the south, suggesting more frequent fires. Neolithic fires caused similar though more pronounced responses of vegetation in the south (e.g., expansions of Corylus). Post-Neolithic land-use practices involving (controlled) burning culminated in both regions at about 2550 cal. BP (c. 600 BC). However, fire-caused disappearances of entire forest communities were confined to the southern sites. Such differences in fire effects among the sites are explained by the dissimilar importance of fire as a result of different climatic conditions and cultural activities. Our results imply that the remaining (fire-sensitive) fragments of central European vegetation north of the Alps are especially endangered by increasing fire frequencies resulting from predicted climatic change.
207 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors made measurements on dissolved, suspended particulate and sediment samples collected in 1987, 1993 and 1994 from the Mackenzie River delta and shelf and in 1993 from 10 smaller Northwest Territories and Nunavut rivers that drain into the Canadian Archipelago or Hudson's Bay.
Abstract: Hydrocarbon measurements have been made on dissolved, suspended particulate and sediment samples collected in 1987, 1993 and 1994 from the Mackenzie River delta and shelf and in 1993 from 10 smaller Northwest Territories and Nunavut rivers that drain into the Canadian Archipelago or Hudson's Bay Suspended particulate samples from all rivers have a resolved higher alkane pattern with a well-defined odd–even predominance consistent with a major source in terrestrial, vascular plant material Particulate samples from the 10 smaller rivers have alkane concentrations that are similar to the Mackenzie River during summer, but PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) concentrations are approximately 10 times lower for the parent PAHs and 100 times lower for alkyl PAHs PAHs on suspended particulate from the Mackenzie River exhibit a uniform composition typical of mature petrogenic sources, while PAHs in the smaller rivers are typical of combustion The virtual absence of petrogenic PAHs in the smaller rivers is the single most important difference between these and the Mackenzie River During summer the alkane and PAH composition of suspended particulate in the Mackenzie River is sufficiently homogenous to estimate directly the hydrocarbon load from the particulate load Mackenzie River particulates and sediments have the hopane and sterane ratios characteristic of immature bitumens, shales or coals from the Devonian Canol formation that outcrops in the lower Mackenzie River valley The erosion of organic-rich rocks from this formation is likely the source of the refractory petrogenic material found in the Mackenzie River delta and shelf Data are insufficient to determine whether the petrogenic lower alkanes and PAHs have the same source or whether more mature petroleum also contributes Because sediment samples (suspended and bed) from the Mackenzie delta have natural PAH concentrations that exceed the level where adverse biological effects are expected to occur, there is an urgent need to establish whether these petroleum-derived PAHs are bioavailable and if they are inducing effects in bottom fish and other biota
204 citations
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University of Calgary1, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research2, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences3, ETH Zurich4, University of Washington5, University of Zurich6, University of Potsdam7, United States Geological Survey8, University of Minnesota9, University of Graz10, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna11, University of Toulouse12, University of Utah13, Heidelberg University14, University of Geneva15, University of Leeds16, Simon Fraser University17, Newcastle University18, University of Dayton19, University of Oslo20, Planetary Science Institute21, University of Alberta22, University of Grenoble23, University of Sheffield24, Indian Institute of Technology Indore25, UNESCO26, University of Dundee27, Jawaharlal Nehru University28, Stockholm International Water Institute29, University of British Columbia30, University of Exeter31, Kathmandu32, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology33, University of Kashmir34, University of Delhi35, Utrecht University36, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development37, University of Chile38, Northumbria University39
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness videos reveals that ~27x106 m3 of rock and glacier ice collapsed from the steep north face of Ronti Peak.
Abstract: On 7 Feb 2021, a catastrophic mass flow descended the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga, and Dhauliganga valleys in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India, causing widespread devastation and severely damaging two hydropower projects. Over 200 people were killed or are missing. Our analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness videos reveals that ~27x106 m3 of rock and glacier ice collapsed from the steep north face of Ronti Peak. The rock and ice avalanche rapidly transformed into an extraordinarily large and mobile debris flow that transported boulders >20 m in diameter, and scoured the valley walls up to 220 m above the valley floor. The intersection of the hazard cascade with downvalley infrastructure resulted in a disaster, which highlights key questions about adequate monitoring and sustainable development in the Himalaya as well as other remote, high-mountain environments.
201 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare sites along an altitudinal gradient, simulating a natural gradient in soil temperature to elucidate plant-soil microbe feedback in response to a climate-induced change in vegetation.
Abstract: Peatlands are important sinks for carbon dioxide, but how their biogeochemistry will be affected by climate warming is poorly understood. This study compares sites along an altitudinal gradient, simulating a natural gradient in soil temperature to elucidate plant–soil microbe feedback in response to a climate-induced change in vegetation.
200 citations
Authors
Showing all 1333 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
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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 |