Stand dynamics and succession modelling
We investigate processes that are of central importance for forest stand dynamics, including regeneration, growth and mortality. We use data from field investigations as well as dynamic models. The ultimate aim is to provide an improved understanding of these processes.
In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (external pageWSL), we are in charge of the monitoring of a large external pageforest reserve network as well as the processing and analysis of the respective data. We collect dendrochronological data (see Tree-ring lab), e.g. to evaluate climate impacts on growth and mortality of trees, and we conduct field investigations to determine the influence of various impacts on forest development.
We develop, evaluate and apply models of long-term forest dynamics (in particular the succession model ForClim) to investigate stand dynamics and changes in other ecosystem properties under both current and future climatic conditions. For model development and verification, we use a range of data sources, such as data from the forest reserve network, from the national forest inventories and from the silvicultural growth and yield research plots of the WSL.
Ongoing projects
Recently finished projects
