Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research

Airflows redefine the cost of aerial transport in the wild

Fuel economy matters to both animals and machines, as the cost of transport can determine where, when, and how far locomotion is possible. However, established estimates of these values for animal flight come from laboratories and treat the atmosphere as constant, even though fre...

Salmonids elicit an acute behavioral response to heterothermal environments

Abstract Most fish species are ectothermic and rely on behavioral strategies to control their body temperature in heterothermal environments. Both thermotaxis and thermokinesis have been suggested as important underlying mechanisms. However, to what extent these behaviors allow f...

Forest management, climate change, and roe deer: A conceptual model of how silvicultural systems shape habitat, population density, and browsing impacts

Management of roe deer in European forests may be challenging due to their impact on tree regeneration and potential negative effects on tree species composition, forest resilience and various ecosystem services including timber production. However, silvicultural practices themse...

The influence of lakes and reservoirs on estimated flood peaks at hourly vs. daily timescale in the Alps

Abstract. Water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs can play a crucial role in reducing flood peaks both on daily and hourly timescales. While the effect of water bodies on flood peaks at different time resolutions has been demonstrated in the past, it remains unclear how they af...

Limited global awareness of invasive alien species and little support for their management

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main drivers of global change and can cause a wide range of negative ecological and social impacts. Addressing these impacts requires management actions, which can fail to be effective when not supported by the public. Here, we conducte...

Land use intensification results in abrupt transitions between extensively and intensively managed grasslands

Abstract Understanding whether land use intensification causes regime shifts (i.e. persistent, large changes in ecosystem states) is of key importance for management, particularly if these shifts occur abruptly as thresholds in land use intensity are crossed. Further, these thres...

Alpine forest genomics—advances in the research field and perspectives ahead

Abstract Key message Alpine or mountainous forest genomics research is rapidly moving from classic population genetic studies toward exploring population environmental adaptation to address climate vulnerabilities. For alpine conifers in particular, future progress in sustainable...

The future of spatial energy planning: A shift toward social learning and participatory visioning

Participatory planning is increasingly used to address complex challenges such as deciding where and how the energy transition should be implemented. Yet it remains unclear what people learn through participatory planning processes and how this learning shapes collective outcomes...

Do cork oak trees grow in the dry, hot summer of the mediterranean climate?

Abstract Monitoring stem radial intra-annual growth dynamics is a useful approach for characterising tree growth responses to climate change. In the Mediterranean there have been only a few studies reporting growth responses of cork oak ( Quercus suber L.) to seasonal water short...

Operationalizing an ecogeomorphological framework for national-scale landslide susceptibility: A hybrid PCA-AHP approach to support risk-informed spatial planning in Austria

Human settlements, urban centers, and critical infrastructure in Alpine regions are increasingly exposed to natural hazards. In Austria, while disaster risk management is coordinated nationally, institutional governance is currently distributed across nine federal provinces, resu...

Vegetation-driven shifts in soil microbial communities and predicted carbon-cycling potential across soil depths in High-Arctic islands

Abstract Background Arctic ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented warming, driving vegetation expansion into previously barren areas. Although Arctic greening is expected to alter biogeochemical cycles, how vegetation cover shapes soil microbial communities and their functiona...

A general physiologically driven representation of leaf turnover in grasslands in the QUINCY land surface model (revision: 974a6b7f)

Abstract. Terrestrial vegetation plays an important role in shaping the Earth's climate due to its control on the global carbon cycle. Understanding and predicting vegetation phenology and biomass turnover into soil organic matter is therefore of great importance for our understa...

Endogenous and exogenous control of tree architectural and hydraulic traits of European beech growing in natural populations

Abstract Key message Genetic components explain a moderate, yet statistically significant proportion of the phenotypic variation in tree architecture and hydraulic traits of beech trees growing in naturally regenerated monospecific stands. Abstract Drought tolerance of European b...

Rethinking common gardens for forest tree species in the face of climate change

Abstract Key message Maintaining forest resilience under climate change depends on understanding genetic adaptation and preserving diversity. Long-term common garden networks are essential for revealing how species and populations perform across life stages and environments. When...

Environmental drivers of litter- and soil-dwelling springtail communities across European forests, assessed by morphotaxonomy and soil DNA metabarcoding

Springtails are abundant in forest litter and soils, where they play a crucial role in the transformation and decomposition of organic matter. However, most data on springtail communities originates from studies at the local and regional levels, while larger-scale studies are lac...

Impacts of droughts on biomass burning emissions, air quality, and public health in the Amazon

Abstract. Wildfires in the Amazon, increasingly influenced by climate variability and anthropogenic activities, pose severe environmental and health challenges. While drought events amplify fire activity and emissions, the cascading effects of droughts and deforestation on air qu...

Decoupling of emigration timing and skill acquisition in a saturated population of golden eagles

Abstract Many animals must gain independence from parental care by acquiring skills necessary for survival. Thus, the rate of skill acquisition can predict when parental care ends and animals emigrate. However, young animals sometimes acquire adult-like skills long before they em...

Potential glacier contributions to the 2024 La Bérarde flood

Abstract. On 20–21 June 2024, an unprecedented flood of the Etançons river caused important damage to the village of La Bérarde (Écrins, France). An analysis of the event showed that the flood was caused by the combination of an intense rain-on-snow event at high altitude and the...

More than just green: the role of vegetation heterogeneity for species richness and multidiversity in urban green spaces

<title>Abstract</title> Urban green spaces (UGS) provide ecological, social, and climatic functions, yet their effectiveness depends not only on area but also on vertical spatial structure. We present a high-resolution urban green space typology (UGST) for four Swiss cities (Base...

Macroevolutionary dynamics of Androsace s.l . (Primulaceae) across the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract Mountain regions of the Northern Hemisphere harbor exceptional biodiversity, yet the processes underlying species diversification and migration among these regions remain poorly understood. This study investigates the macroevolutionary dynamics of Androsace s.l ., a genu...