Alpfor

View to the southeast of Alpfor (in the foreground Christian Körner 2018)

Alpfor (Alpine Research and Training Station Furka ) is a research station of the Botanical Institute of the University of Basel in the Swiss Alps .

Alpfor

Alpfor as an alpine station in the Swiss Central Alps.

history

Alpfor is located at the top of the Furka road in the Swiss Central Alps (Canton Uri ) at 2,450  m above sea level. M. The project was initiated by the Botanical Institute of the University of Basel in cooperation with the Swiss Army and the Ursern Corporation, Andermatt . Three buildings of the former military high camp “Furkablick” (built in 1917) have become a base for exploring the high mountains and for training.

environment

The station is unique in the middle of the alpine level in Europe, as other stations are established either in the mountain forest level or in the perpetual ice. The region is characterized by easy accessibility and an extremely wide range of high alpine habitats. Within one kilometer of the Alpfor station, around 300 species of flowering plants (angiosperms) can be found, which corresponds to around half of the Swiss alpine flora . This wealth of species is explained by the topographical diversity and the various geological conditions. Limestone and silicate rock meet in the immediate vicinity of the station . The two largest habitats in the region are alpine grassland dominated by Carex curvula and open rock vegetation . The area around the station also represents the watershed of three major European rivers ( Rhone , Rhine , Po ).

Life on the ward

Alpfor took over three buildings from the former military station. House Carex (a former health station) is mainly used by permanent employees (e.g. Erika Hiltbrunner , doctoral students , community service providers ). It offers beds for 12 people on two floors. The Rumex house (also two-storey) has a lecture room for 25 people, a "flora gallery" and a small tea kitchen in the basement, as well as a dormitory with 10 beds on the upper floor. House Ibex (former canteen and accommodation for officers) is a three-story building with a large kitchen, a dining room / lecture hall for up to 100 people and eight rooms with 2–4 beds. Several work rooms and modern sanitary facilities are offered in all three buildings. Alpfor can accommodate up to 30 visitors / researchers / students at the same time.

The Furka pass road is open between May and October, Alpfor from June 1st to September 30th.

Research and training

The Furkapass is a suitable region for alpine research. Since 1991, various field studies have contributed to the understanding of alpine ecosystems . The sum total of this resulted in Alpine Plant Life ( Christian Körner , Springer Publishers, 2003.), a textbook on the functional plant ecology of alpine habitats.

Major research projects at Alpfor deal with:

• Influence of an increased CO ₂ concentration on growth, productivity and water relations of grassland and glacier apron vegetation
• Influence of the snowmelt time on alpine grassland
• Effects of nitrogen deposition , climatic warming and the trampling of sheep on alpine meadows
• Microclimatology of alpine vegetation
• Population biology and reproductive ecology of alpine plants
• Molecular genetics of alpine plant populations (genetic ecology)
• hydrological consequences of land use change
• Bush encroachment by the green alder (Alnus viridis) and management with Engadine sheep

Summer courses for students and doctoral candidates are held annually on the Alpfor.

Sponsorship

The non-profit association “Alpine Research and Training Station Furka Alpfor”, which is linked to the University of Basel , acts as the sponsor and operator of the station . Plant ecologist Erika Hiltbrunner is the head of the station .

literature

• Erika Hiltbrunner , Christian Körner : Hotspot Furka. Biodiversity in the mountains. Alpine research and training station Furka and University of Basel. 2018. Online (PDF)

Web links

• Alpfor website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Alpine research and training station Furka (Alpfor). Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Alpfor: FIELD SITE INFORMATION TABLE. Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 
3. ^ Alpine research and training station Furka (Alpfor). Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 
4. ^ Christian Hefel, Jürg Stöcklin : Flora of the Furka. Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Alpine Research and Education Station Furka (Alpfor) - INTERACT . In: INTERACT . ( eu-interact.org [accessed November 30, 2018]).
6. ↑ Erika Hiltbrunner & Christian Körner : Hotspot Furka - biological diversity in the mountains. Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Alpine Plant Life - Functional Plant Ecology of High Mountain Ecosystems | Christian Körner | Jumper . ( springer.com [accessed November 30, 2018]).
8. ^ Alpine research and training station Furka (Alpfor). Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Dr. Erika Hiltbrunner | Physiological Plant Ecology. Retrieved November 30, 2018 . 

Coordinates: 46 ° 34 ′ 36 "  N , 8 ° 25 ′ 17"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and seventy-five thousand three hundred thirty-two  /  one hundred fifty-eight thousand eight hundred and forty-eight