Federal Research Institute for Forests, Snow and Landscape
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The Federal Research Institute for Forests, Snow and Landscape ( WSL for short ) deals with the use, design and protection of near-natural and urban habitats.
tasks
The institute develops contributions and solutions so that people can use landscapes and forests responsibly and deal carefully with natural hazards, such as those that occur particularly in mountainous countries. The WSL provides the basis for a sustainable environmental policy in Switzerland.
WSL is a federal research center, part of the ETH domain and employs around 500 people. In addition to the headquarters in Birmensdorf and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos , branches in Lausanne and Bellinzona have been promoting local synergies and dialogue with practice since 1991 and in Sion since 1996.
history
The WSL was founded in 1885 as the Swiss Central Institute for Forest Research and in 1933 renamed the Federal Institute for Forest Research (EAFV) .
Since its inception, WSL has taken Swiss regionality into account. As early as 1888, test areas were set up in a wide variety of forests in order to find out more about their (wood) yields. Today, WSL looks after and researches over six thousand test and research areas, including large test facilities for rockfall or debris flow, experiments on the effects of climate change on the forest or areas affected by natural events such as storms or forest fires.
It has had its current name since 1989. The WSL also includes the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF , which is responsible for the official avalanche warning in Switzerland. It has locations in Birmensdorf, Davos, Sion , Lausanne and Bellinzona , where around 500 employees work. From 2007 to July 1, 2012, the WSL was headed by James Kirchner. Subsequently, and until his death on August 8, 2020, Konrad Steffen was director of the WSL. Until further notice, the deputy director, Christoph Hegg, has taken over the management ad interim .
Examples of activities
The WSL deals with the use and protection of landscapes and habitats, with a focus on forests and natural hazards. As an application-oriented research institute, it acts as a bridge between science and implementation.
WSL operates the world's largest laboratory for dendrochronology . One of the sensational discoveries made by the WSL in April 2013 was the securing of 14,000-year-old trunks of a subfossil forest in Zurich-Wiedikon on the initiative of Daniel Nievergelt, a dendrochronologist at the WSL.
"These are the first proven trees that immigrated back to us from the Mediterranean after the last Ice Age ... such finds are unique in the world."
The researchers have now been able to secure around 200 strains. The finds are sensational not only for dendrochronology, a dating probably going back 2000 years using the annual ring tables would be made possible.
With the international EU research project CARBO-Extreme on the impact of extreme weather events on terrestrial ecosystems, it was possible to prove that the storage capacity of carbon dioxide is drastically decreasing as a result of global warming. The forests in particular are weakened in the long term by forest fires and other damage after periods of drought, which again contributes to an increase in greenhouse gases.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Financial report of the EHT Council on the ETH Domain 2019 , on ethrat.ch
- ^ History of the WSL
- ↑ New director WSL ( Memento from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Director Konrad Steffen had a fatal accident. In: wsl.ch. August 10, 2020, accessed August 10, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Archeology online: Subfossil forest discovered in Zurich , accessed on May 25, 2013.
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger (May 21, 2013): Helène Arnet: The oldest forest in the world , accessed on May 22, 2013.
- ↑ Weather extremes are fueling climate change - CARBO Extreme Project ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research planeterde . Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ Markus Reichstein, David Frank a. a .: Weather extremes heat up climate change - "Climate extremes and the carbon cycle" , Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena, August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.