Portal
Suchergebnisse
Results list
Tree measurements 2002-2016 from the long-term irrigation experiment Pfynwald, Switzerland
To study the performance of mature Scots pine (_Pinus sylvestris_ L.) under chronic drought conditions in comparison to their immediate physiological response to drought release, a controlled long-term and large-scale irrigation experiment has been set up in 2003. The experiment is located in a xeric mature Scots pine forest in the Pfynwald (46° 18' N, 7° 36' E, 615 m a.s.l.) in one of the driest inner-Alpine valleys of the European Alps, the Valais (mean annual temperature: 9.2°C, annual precipitation sum: 657 mm, both 1961-1990). Tree age is on average 100 years, the top height is 10.8 m and the stand density is 730 stems ha-1 with a basal area of 27.3 m2 ha-1. The forest is described as _Erico Pinetum sylvestris_ and the soil is a shallow pararendzina characterized by low water retention. The experimental site (1.2 ha; 800 trees) is split up into eight plots of 1'000 m2 each. During April-October, irrigation is applied on four randomly selected plots with sprinklers of 1 m height at night using water from an adjacent water channel. The amount of irrigation corresponds to a supplementary rainfall of 700 mm year-1. Trees in the other four plots grow under naturally dry conditions. Soil moisture has been monitored since the beginning of the project at 3 soil depths (10, 20 and 60 cm). The crown condition of each tree is being assessed each year since 2003. Tree measurement data such as diameter at breast height, tree height, and social status were assessed in 2002, 2009 and 2014. The duration of the irrigation experiment is planned for 20 years.
Root-traits
Fine-root traits of Scots pine in response to enhanced soil water availability deriving from long-term irrigation in the Pfynwald Data_Fig.1.xlsx Fine-root biomass of the topsoil (0-10 cm) in the dry and irrigated treatment of the Scots pine forest of the years 2003 to 2016 recorded by soil coring Data_Tab1+2_2005.xlsx Fine-root traits from roots of ingrowth cores from 2005 after two years of growth in the dry and irrigated treatment of the Scots pine forest Data_Tab1+2_2016.xlsx Fine-root traits from roots of ingrowth cores from 2016 after two years of growth, and from roots of the soil-coring sampling from 2016 in the dry and irrigated treatment of the Scots pine forest
Wasserschloss Europas
*english description below Die Schweiz als „Wasserschloss Europas“ ist eine etablierte Bezeichnung im öffentlichen Diskurs, die sich im Laufe der Zeit zu einer identitätsstiftenden Metapher entwickelt hat. Die Zeitungsanalyse der letzten 100 Jahre zeigt, wie sich die Verwendung dieser Metapher unter dem Einfluss äusserer Faktoren gewandelt hat. Das Jahr mit den meisten Zeitungsartikeln, in denen die Metapher verwendet wurde, war der Hitzesommer 2003. Weitere Jahre mit häufigem Vorkommen der Metapher fallen mit internationalen Ausstellungen (Expos) zusammen, bei denen sich die Schweiz als „Wasserschloss Europas“ präsentierte oder entsprechende Bezüge herstellte. Dabei diente die Metapher einerseits als Symbol für den Wasserreichtum des Landes, andererseits unterstrich sie die Rolle der Schweiz im Umweltschutz, deren Verantwortung gegenüber den Unterliegern; zudem diente sie der touristischen Vermarktung der Naturlandschaft. Lange Zeit galt der Wasserreichtum in der Schweiz als selbstverständlich, angesichts der rasanten Klimaerwärmung und des damit einhergehenden steigenden Nutzungsdrucks auf die Ressource Wasser und die aquatischen Lebensräume erscheint die Verwendung dieser beschaulichen Metapher als überholt. Switzerland, as the “Wasserschloss Europas”, is an established term in public discourse that has evolved over time into an identity-shaping metaphor. A newspaper analysis spanning the last 100 years shows how the use of this metaphor has changed in response to external factors. The year with the highest number of newspaper articles employing the metaphor was the heatwave summer of 2003. Other years with high numbers of occurrences coincide with international exhibitions (Expos), where Switzerland presented itself as the “Wasserschloss Europas” or made related references. The metaphor served as a symbol of the country’s abundance of water and, highlighted Switzerland’s role in environmental protection and its responsibility towards downstream countries; it also supported the tourist marketing of its natural landscapes. For a long time, Switzerland’s water wealth was taken for granted. In view of rapid climate warming and the resulting increasing pressure on water resources and aquatic habitats, the use of this idyllic metaphor now seems outdated.
Visp, Switzerland: Long-term forest meteorological data from the Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research Programme (LWF), from 1997 onwards
High quality meteorological data are needed for long-term forest ecosystem research, particularly in the light of global change. The long-term data series published here comprises almost 20 years of measurements for two meteorological stations in Visp in Switzerland where one station is located within a natural mixed forest stand (VSB) with Scots pine (_Pinus sylvestris_; 40-80 yrs) as dominant tree species. A second station is situated in the very vicinity outside of the forest (field station, VSF). The meteorological time series are presented in hourly time resolution of air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and wind speed. Visp is part of the Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research Programme (LWF) established and maintained by the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.
A numerical solver for heat and mass transport in snow based on FEniCS
This python code uses the Finite Element library FEniCS (via docker) to solve the one dimensional partial differential equations for heat and mass transfer in snow. The results are written in vtk format. The dataset contains the code and the output data to reproduce the key Figure 5 from the related publication: _Schürholt, K., Kowalski, J., Löwe, H.; Elements of future snowpack modeling - Part 1: A physical instability arising from the non-linear coupling of transport and phase changes, The Cryosphere, 2022_ The code and potential updates can be accessed directly through git via: https://gitlabext.wsl.ch/snow-physics/snowmodel_fenics
Short-term Drainage Density Dynamics Dataset for the Haute-Mentue Catchment
The dataset contains time series of water levels, precipitation measured in the two sub-catchments of the Haute-Mentue catchment and its vicinity during summer and autumn 2022, as well as flowing drainage network lengths calculated for these areas using the CEASE method developed by the authors. Detailed description of the dataset is provided in the documentation.
Experts survey protective forest and combined extremes in Val Mesolcina
This dataset contains the results of a case study analysing the potential impacts of a compound meteorological extreme event on the protective forest in the Val Mesolcina. These impacts were assessed in an experts survey. 29 Experts from practice, administration and science estimated the probabilities for a loss of the protective function due to a drought-related compound extreme event based on different hazard scenarios. The experts not only assessed these probabilities but also provided estimates about the reliability of the scenarios, other socio-economic consequences and options for adaptation. This dataset contains the following information: - Table with all (anonymised) answers from the survey - Factsheets summarising the results and methods in German, French and Italian - A detailed description of the study site and survey instructions - Link to the project website wit illustrations for each individual question of the survey
Environmental DNA Freshwater Namibia Namibia 2022
Monitoring terrestrial mammals through eDNA in rivers of northern Namibia In 2022, we collected 20 water samples from 10 stations two rivers of Namibia. Samples were taken from the side of the river. At each station, we performed two filtration replicates using a peristaltic pump to conduct environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. Each filtration targeted a maximum duration of 30 minutes, during which approximately 30 liters of water were filtered through each capsule. After filtration, the water inside the capsules was removed, and the capsules were filled with 50 ml of conservation buffer for preservation at room temperature. We followed strict contamination control protocols throughout both the fieldwork and laboratory processes, adhering to the guidelines of Valentini et al. (2016). We used eDNA primers targeting bacteria, bivalves, fish, vertebrates (V05) and all Eukaryotes (Euka03). To prevent contamination, each sample was processed using disposable gloves and single-use filtration equipment. The MiSeq Reagent Kit v3 (2x75 bp) (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) was used for paired-end sequencing at a theoretical sequencing depth of 200,000 reads per sample. Data content: * rawdata/: contains the raw reads for each individual sample. One archive contains the paired-end reads specified by the _R1 or _R2 suffix as well as individually tagged PCR replicates (if available) together with an archive containing all extraction and PCR blank samples of the library. Reads have been demultiplexed using cutadapt but not trimmed, individual demultiplexing tags and primers remain present in the sequences. * taxadata/: contains the table with all detected taxonomy for each sample after bioinformatic processing (see Polanco et al. 2020 for details; https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.140) and associated field metadata. * metadata/: contains two metadata files, one related to the data collected in the field for each filter, and the second related to the sequencing process in the lab (including the tag sequence, library name, and marker information for each sample)
Urban bird capture data with prey species and fungal community
We captured birds in urban parks and peri-urban forests in the cities of Lugano and Zurich. The urban sites were located in an urban forest (Lugano) and in a cemetery (Zurich), and the bird assemblages were comparable with those of the surrounding forests. We captured individual birds during sessions lasting multiple days using mist-nets, concentrating the activities within 3-4 hours after sunrise and before sunset. We extracted birds from nets using single-use nitrile gloves and gently wiped their body parts with a dry foam swab MW940 (Medical Wire & Equipment), which was then placed in a screw-capped tube (2 ml), which was previously filled with 1 ml ethanol puriss. (Sigma-Aldrich) under sterile conditions.Then, we marked each bird with an alphanumeric leg band, identified the species, determined the sex and age whenever possible, measured for relevant biometrics (e.g. wing chord), the amount of body fat and pectoral muscle (i.e. body condition), and weighed. Afterwards, we placed each bird in a disposable paper bag within a cotton bag that ensured respiration and left it for few minutes in a safe and calm place to allow for defecation and the collection of faecal samples. The faecal sample was collected from insectivorous and omnivorous birds, and few granivorous birds that are known to occasionally eat invertebrates, such as the house sparrow Passer domesticus. After releasing the bird, we stored the faecal sample in a screw-capped tube (2 ml), which was previously filled with 1 ml ethanol puriss. (Sigma-Aldrich) under sterile conditions. We wore single-use nitrile gloves and used sterile toothpicks to collect solid samples. The tubes were initially stored in the refrigerator during the field campaign and no later than seven days after collection at -20°C until prepared for DNA extraction. DNA extraction and library preparation was performed at WSL Phytopathology facilites, Sequencing was performed at Lausanne Genomic Technologies Facility (University of Lausanne; [https://wp.unil.ch/gtf/](https://wp.unil.ch/gtf/)) on an AVITI benchtop sequencing system (Element Biosciences). Bioinformatics was performed at the Genetic Diversity Center (ETH Zurich) using a custom pipeline.
IceCube_microCT_Snow_grainsize
The specific surface area (SSA) of different snow types were measured with the IceCube instrument and the Scanco Medical microCT 40. In addition, the snow particles created during the preparation of IceCube samples were counted. The difference in SSA between these instruments is explained by the formation of the surface particles. A numerical simulation using TARTES simulation support the observations.