Region: Central/Europe
Paolo Cherubini1 and John L. Innes2
1Forest Ecosystems and Ecological Risks Section, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
2 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Today, forests in Switzerland must fulfill many different functions. In mountainous regions, their role in providing protection from natural hazards such as avalanches and rockfalls is especially important. Elsewhere, other functions may be more important, ranging from the provision of wildlife habitat, through the provision of recreational opportunities to the provision of employment for more than 90,000 people. The diversity of functions means that many different factors can impact on the value of a forest, necessitating monitoring and research of the pressures affecting forests and their responses to their pressures. The chemical composition of the earth’s atmosphere is changing because of human activities and, as a result, European forests and woodlands face new environmental conditions. Several environmental changes pose a real risk for the forest. These include changes in the abiotic environment (e.g.climate and air pollution) and changes in the biotic environment (browsing pressure, changes in the ways in which forests are perceived and valued). Consequently, the monitoring of the processes and phenomena which occur in forest ecosystems is a prerequisite to ensure that the benefits provided by forests are maintained for future generations.
Description of programme, objectives, and core areas
The Swiss Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF) was established in 1994 under the Forest Observations Programme (now called Forest Monitoring in Switzerland). It is one of four programmes designed to provide basic information about forest dynamics in Switzerland, primarily in relation to the sustainable management of the forest resource. The mission of the LWF is to improve the understanding of forest ecosystem processes through the long-term study of 15 to 20 selected forest plots in Switzerland. A particular emphasis is the possible effects of air pollution and climate change on forest ecosystem processes. The Swiss LWF aims to obtain a deeper understanding of the processes that take place in the forest ecosystem and the cause-effect relationships involved. Detailed investigations should yield information about how the influences of modern society, e.g. changed patterns of forest use, pollution and anticipated climate change, affect the forest. It should become apparent which processes harm the forest in both the short- and the long-term. The Swiss LWF is divided into two main components: long-term continuous monitoring of ecosystem processes, and short-term (1-4 years) research projects. The main aims of the programme are:
1. To monitor the state of ecosystems and provide an explanation of changes in terms of causal environmental factors in order to provide a scientific basis for emission controls and other environmental policies.
2. To develop and validate models for the simulation of ecosystem responses and to use these (a) in concert with survey data to make regional assessments, (b) to undertake ecological risk analyses in relation to actual or predicted changes in environmental stresses.
Site selection
Study areas were selected using a number of criteria, including:
wthe areas must be homogeneous with respect to their ground conditions and stand structure (local relief, vegetation);
wmust belong to a forest community type that is important in Switzerland;
wmust be located in a region sensitive to environmental change; and
wand should have, if possible, already been the subject of past or ongoing environmental studies.
Information management
At each plot, all data collected automatically by continuous measurement systems are on a single data logger. All the data of all the plots (both the data automatically recorded as well as those periodically achieved through surveys) are stored to an integrated Project Database (Relational Oracle Database). Information about the system is available on the Internet. Information is shared with several international programmes including the “International Cooperative Programme for the Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects in Forests” and the “International Cooperative Programme for the Integrated Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Ecosystems”. In future, all the major data sets will be available through Internet.
Network management
The Swiss LWF network is managed by the staff of the LWF group based at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research in Birmensdorf, near Zurich. The group consists of more than 20 scientists and technicians, together with a number of research students. Day to day site maintenance is undertaken by someone from the local community, usually the village forester. More detailed information about the activities of the Swiss LWF (plots, people, research projects, publications) is available at the url: http://www.wsl.ch/wsidb/wsidb.html
Application of LTER Research (including education)
Conferences, excursions and other information activities are regularly organized by the Swiss LWF research group to inform the public (mainly local foresters, environmentalists, scientists and students).
Partnerships
The Swiss Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research is a joint research and monitoring activity between the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research and the Federal Office of Environment, Forests and Landscape. Active collaboration with research institutes and universities in Switzerland and abroad is encouraged. The aims of the Swiss LWF are in agreement with the aims of two international programmes: the “International Co-operative Programme on Integrated Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects” (ICP-IM) and the “International Co-operative programme on assessment and monitoring of air pollution effects on forests” (ICP-Forests).
Collaboration among networks
The LWF is one of the research groups participating in the Center for Terrestrial Ecosystem Management and Protection, based at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.