The role of landuse and natural determinants for grassland vegetation composition in the Swiss Alps

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Rudmann-Maurer ◽  
Anne Weyand ◽  
Markus Fischer ◽  
Jürg Stöcklin
Keyword(s):  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Grassland Vegetation

scholarly journals High land-use intensity exacerbates shifts in grassland vegetation composition after severe experimental drought

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 2021-2034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Stampfli ◽  
Juliette M. G. Bloor ◽  
Markus Fischer ◽  
Michaela Zeiter
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Grassland Vegetation

scholarly journals The role of frost cracking in local denudation of steep Alpine rockwalls over millennia (Eiger, Switzerland)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 637-659
Author(s):  
David Mair ◽  
Alessandro Lechmann ◽  
Romain Delunel ◽  
Serdar Yeşilyurt ◽  
Dmitry Tikhomirov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Rock Fall ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Rock Face ◽  
Temperature Conditions ◽  
Denudation Rates ◽  
Reconstructed Temperature ◽  
Cryogenic Processes

Abstract. Denudation of steep rockwalls is driven by rock fall processes of various sizes and magnitudes. Rockwalls are sensitive to temperature changes mainly because thermo-cryogenic processes weaken bedrock through fracturing, which can precondition the occurrence of rock fall. However, it is still unclear how the fracturing of rock together with cryogenic processes impacts the denudation processes operating on steep rockwalls. In this study, we link data on long-term rockwall denudation rates at the Eiger (Central Swiss Alps) with the local bedrock fabric and the reconstructed temperature conditions at these sites, which depend on the insolation pattern. We then estimate the probability of bedrock for failure through the employment of a theoretical frost cracking model. The results show that the denudation rates are low in the upper part of the NW rockwall, but they are high both in the lower part of the NW rockwall and on the SE face, despite similar bedrock fabric conditions. The frost cracking model predicts a large difference in cracking intensity from ice segregation where the inferred efficiency is low in the upper part of the NW rockwall but relatively large on the lower section of the NW wall and on the SE rock face of the Eiger. We explain this pattern by the differences in insolation and temperature conditions at these sites. Throughout the last millennium, temperatures in bedrock have been very similar to the present. These data thus suggest the occurrence of large contrasts in microclimate between the NW and SE walls of the Eiger, conditioned by differences in insolation. We use these contrasts to explain the relatively low denudation rates in the upper part of the NW rockwall and the rapid denudation in the SW face and in the lower part of the NW rock face where frost cracking is more efficient.

What is the role of local landscape structure in the vegetation composition of field boundaries?

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsipe Aavik ◽  
Isabel Augenstein ◽  
Debra Bailey ◽  
Felix Herzog ◽  
Martin Zobel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Structure ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Field Boundaries

The observed impact of aerosols on cloud droplet formation during the RACLETS campaign

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paraskevi Georgakaki ◽  
Aikaterini Bougiatioti ◽  
Athanasios Nenes
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
Ice Production

<p>The influence of aerosols serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) on the production of droplets in mixed-phase cloud systems is an ongoing research problem that influences their optical and microphysical properties. During February and March 2019, the Role of Aerosols and CLouds Enhanced by Topography on Snow (RACLETS) field campaign collected unique and detailed airborne and ground-based in-situ measurements of cloud and aerosol properties over the Swiss Alps. This study presents analysis of the observed CCN activity of the aerosol, which combined with observed aerosol size distributions, can be introduced into a cloud droplet activation parameterization to investigate the drivers of droplet variability in these clouds. The implications for secondary ice production are then discussed.</p>

scholarly journals Atmospheric Forcing of Debris Flows in the Southern Swiss Alps

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 1554-1560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Toreti ◽  
Michelle Schneuwly-Bollschweiler ◽  
Markus Stoffel ◽  
Jürg Luterbacher
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Classification Algorithms ◽  
Precipitation Series ◽  
Large Scale Circulation

AbstractThis article addresses the role of large-scale circulation and thermodynamical features in the release of past debris flows in the Swiss Alps by using classification algorithms, potential instability, and convective time scale. The study is based on a uniquely dense dendrogeomorphic time series of debris flows covering the period 1872–2008, reanalysis data, instrumental time series, and gridded hourly precipitation series (1992–2006) over the area. Results highlight the crucial role of synoptic and mesoscale forcing as well as of convective equilibrium on triggering rainfalls. Two midtropospheric synoptic patterns favor anomalous southwesterly flow toward the area and high potential instability. These findings imply a certain degree of predictability of debris-flow events and can therefore be used to improve existing alert systems.

scholarly journals The role of short-term disturbances in paleovegetation dynamics in a montane forest-grassland vegetation mosaic, Western Ghats, India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabhakaran Ramya Bala ◽  
Sarath Kavil ◽  
Ichiro Tayasu ◽  
Chikage Yoshimizu ◽  
Kaustubh Thirumalai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Ghats ◽  
Montane Forest ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Grassland Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Mosaic

scholarly journals Swiss Alpine Milk, Education, and the Fabrication of the Ideal Swiss Citizen

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Dairy Products ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
Drinking Milk ◽  
Swiss Citizen ◽  
The Ideal

Since the 18th century, the Swiss Alps and Swiss alpine life have been idealized,giving rise to the Swiss Alpine myth. In the late 19th century – as a part of theso-called agrarian revolution – dairy farming was transformed into the mainsector of Swiss agriculture. Unlike in other countries, in Switzerland milk becameavailable to all social classes and was advertised as the Swiss national drink.Because milk was associated with the idyllic notion of healthy cows grazing onlush mountain pastures, dairy products eventually became an integral part of theAlpine myth. As a result, relatively banal activities such as drinking milk or eatingcheese were subsumed into the Swiss identity. In this paper, the role of primaryschool education in this phenomenon is explored and the significance of schoolingin the conceptualization of the ideal Swiss citizen as a milk drinker is analyzed.Key words: national identity; nutrition; primary school; Switzerland; temperancemovement.

Dynamique pluriannuelle des hyphomycètes aquatiques de l'Osse, rivière réalimentée du sud-ouest de la France

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Mothe-Jean-Louis
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Community ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Aquatic Hyphomycetes ◽  
Nutrient Cycle ◽  
Vegetation Phenology ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Flood Intensity ◽  
Community Stucture ◽  
Ph Variations

The Osse River is a plain river (southwest of France) fed by the Neste Canal flowing from the Pyrénées. From 1988 to 1993, 46 samples taken from the foam in the river have shown a great temporal variability in densities of aquatic hyphomycete conidia, especially during winter. In 1992, the winter maximum density, related to the latest leaf breakdown, was 1522 conidia/mm3, and the winter minimum, in 1989, 2 conidia/mm3. This variability was much lower during spring. The water temperature varied between 3.0 and 23.5 °C. Several species of hyphomycetes appeared as extremely sensitive to temperature variations, whereas no significant correlation with pH variations was found. The effects of floods on the fungal community varied according to the flood intensity and timing and to the composition of the riparian vegetation. The role of the species composition and the phenology of the riparian vegetation on the fungal community stucture and dynamics was discussed in relation to leaf litter decomposition. This paper emphasizes the need to take into account the flood intensity for the study of hyphomycetes dynamics and the significant role of hydrodynamics in freshwater nutrient cycle. Key words: aquatic hyphomycetes, temperature, pH, vegetation phenology, vegetation composition, decomposition, hydrodynamic.

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