Hydrological trends and the evolution of catchment research in the Alptal valley, central Switzerland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Stähli ◽  
Jan Seibert ◽  
James W. Kirchner ◽  
Jana Freyberg ◽  
Ilja Meerveld
Keyword(s):  
Central Switzerland

Die Brutvogelfauna eines Nadelwaldes der nördlichen Voralpen nach dem Sturm Lothar

2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
Pierre Mollet ◽  
René Hardegger ◽  
Res Altwegg ◽  
Pius Korner ◽  
Simon Birrer
Keyword(s):  
Forest Succession ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Mountain Forest ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Central Switzerland ◽  
Bird Fauna

Breeding bird fauna in a coniferous forest in the northern Prealps after storm Lothar In a 70-hectare large coniferous forest located on the northern edge of the Alps in central Switzerland, Canton of Obwalden, at an altitude of 1260 to 1550 metres above sea level, we surveyed the local breeding bird fauna in 2002 and 2013 by means of point counts as well as additional area searches for rare species. In December 1999, hurricane Lothar caused two large windthrow areas and several smaller areas with scattered throws in the survey range. We found a total of 48 breeding bird species, which is a very diverse species composition for a mountain forest. In the eleven years between surveys, a decline in distribution or abundance was recorded for four species, while seven species showed an increase; a further four species showed no change. For the remaining species, the data sets were too small to reliably estimate changes. A comparison with forest structure data provided by the Swiss Federal Institute of Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL revealed that for five bird species, the changes in distribution or abundance could be explained at least partially by forest succession. In order to obtain realistic distribution and abundance values in this kind of breeding bird survey, it is essential to collect large enough samples and to consider the detection probability of each individual species using appropriate statistical methods.

scholarly journals Nitrogen removal processes in lakes of different trophic states from on-site measurements and historic data

2021 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beat Müller ◽  
Raoul Thoma ◽  
Kathrin B. L. Baumann ◽  
Cameron M. Callbeck ◽  
Carsten J. Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Eutrophic Lake ◽  
Oligotrophic Lake ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
N Removal ◽  
Central Switzerland ◽  
Denitrification Activity ◽  
Historic Data ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen ◽  
Removal Processes ◽  
Sediment Interface

AbstractFreshwater lakes are essential hotspots for the removal of excessive anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loads transported from the land to coastal oceans. The biogeochemical processes responsible for N removal, the corresponding transformation rates and overall removal efficiencies differ between lakes, however, it is unclear what the main controlling factors are. Here, we investigated the factors that moderate the rates of N removal under contrasting trophic states in two lakes located in central Switzerland. In the eutrophic Lake Baldegg and the oligotrophic Lake Sarnen, we specifically examined seasonal sediment porewater chemistry, organic matter sedimentation rates, as well as 33-year of historic water column data. We find that the eutrophic Lake Baldegg, which contributed to the removal of 20 ± 6.6 gN m−2 year−1, effectively removed two-thirds of the total areal N load. In stark contrast, the more oligotrophic Lake Sarnen contributed to 3.2 ± 4.2 gN m−2 year−1, and had removed only one-third of the areal N load. The historic dataset of the eutrophic lake revealed a close linkage between annual loads of dissolved N (DN) and removal rates (NRR = 0.63 × DN load) and a significant correlation of the concentration of bottom water nitrate and removal rates. We further show that the seasonal increase in N removal rates of the eutrophic lake correlated significantly with seasonal oxygen fluxes measured across the water–sediment interface (R2 = 0.75). We suggest that increasing oxygen enhances sediment mineralization and stimulates nitrification, indirectly enhancing denitrification activity.

Wordsworth and the Relief of Central Switzerland

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-120
Author(s):  
Julia Tejblum
Keyword(s):  
Central Switzerland

Hybridization and evolution inCardamine (Brassicaceae) at Urnerboden, Central Switzerland: Biosystematic and molecular evidence

1997 ◽  
Vol 204 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 233-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna M. Urbanska ◽  
Herbert Hurka ◽  
Elias Landolt ◽  
Barbara Neuffer ◽  
Klaus Mummenhoff
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Central Switzerland

scholarly journals The annual ammonia budget of fertilised cut grassland – Part 2: Seasonal variations and compensation point modeling

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 9627-9675 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Flechard ◽  
C. Spirig ◽  
A. Neftel ◽  
C. Ammann
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Stomatal Resistance ◽  
High Ratio ◽  
Compensation Point ◽  
Deposition Flux ◽  
Gap Filling ◽  
Nh3 Emission ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Grassland Type ◽  
Central Switzerland

Abstract. The net annual NH3 exchange budget of a fertilised, cut grassland in Central Switzerland is presented. The observation-based budget was computed from semi-continuous micrometeorological fluxes over a time period of 16 months and using a process-based gap-filling procedure. The data for emission peak events following the application of cattle slurry and for background exchange were analysed separately to distinguish short-term perturbations from longer-term ecosystem functioning. A canopy compensation point model of background exchange is parameterised on the basis of measured data and applied for the purposes of gap-filling. The data show that, outside fertilisation events, grassland behaves as a net sink for atmospheric NH3 with an annual dry deposition flux of −3.0 kg N ha−1 yr−1, although small NH3 emissions by the canopy were measured in dry daytime conditions. The median Γs ratio in the apoplast (=[NH4+]/[H+]) estimated from micrometeorological measurements was 620, equivalent to a stomatal compensation point of 1.3 μg NH3 m−3 at 15°C. Non-stomatal resistance to deposition Rw was shown to increase with temperature and decrease with surface relative humidity, and Rw values were among the highest published for European grasslands, consistent with a relatively high ratio of NH3 to acid gases in the boundary layer at this site. Since the gross annual NH3 emission by slurry spreading was of the order of +20 kg N ha−1 yr−1, the fertilised grassland was a net NH3 source of +17 kg N ha−1 yr−1. A comparison with the few other measurement-based budget values from the literature reveals considerable variability, demonstrating both the influence of soil, climate, management and grassland type on the NH3 budget and the difficulty of scaling up to the national level.

scholarly journals Study protocol: a prospective cohort on non-communicable diseases among primary healthcare users living in Kosovo (KOSCO)

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e038889
Author(s):  
Katrina Ann Obas ◽  
Jana Gerold ◽  
Ariana Bytyçi-Katanolli ◽  
Naim Jerliu ◽  
Marek Kwiatkowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Chronic Respiratory Disease ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Epidemiological Evidence ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Central Switzerland

IntroductionWith the lowest life expectancy in the Balkans, underlying causes of morbidity in Kosovo remain unclear due to limited epidemiological evidence. The goal of this cohort is to contribute epidemiological evidence for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases such as depression, hypertension, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease in Kosovo as the basis for policy and decision-making, with a spotlight on the relationships between non-experimental primary healthcare (PHC) interventions and lifestyle changes as well as between depression and the course of blood pressure.Methods and analysisPHC users aged 40 years and above were recruited consecutively between March and October 2019 from 12 main family medicine centres across Kosovo. The data collected through interviews and health examinations included: sociodemographic characteristics, social and environmental factors, comorbidities, health system, lifestyle, psychological factors and clinical attributes (blood pressure, height, weight, waist/hip/neck circumferences, peak expiratory flow and HbA1c measurements). Cohort data were collected annually in two phases, approximately 6 months apart, with an expected total follow-up time of 5 years.Ethics and disseminationEthical approvals were obtained from the Ethics Committee Northwest and Central Switzerland (Ref. 2018-00994) and the Kosovo Doctors Chamber (Ref. 11/2019). Cohort results will provide novel epidemiological evidence on non-communicable diseases in Kosovo, which will be published in scientific journals. The study will also examine the health needs of the people of Kosovo and provide evidence for health sector decision-makers to improve service responsiveness, which will be shared with stakeholders through reports and presentations.

scholarly journals Temperature effects on the spatial structure of heavy rainfall modify catchment hydro-morphological response

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Peleg ◽  
Chris Skinner ◽  
Simone Fatichi ◽  
Peter Molnar
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Morphological Response ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Central Switzerland ◽  
Rainfall Volume ◽  
Heavy Rainfall Events

Abstract. Heavy rainfall is expected to intensify with increasing temperatures, which will likely affect rainfall spatial characteristics. The spatial variability of rainfall can affect streamflow and sediment transport volumes and peaks. Yet, the effect of climate change on the small-scale spatial structure of heavy rainfall and subsequent impacts on hydrology and geomorphology remain largely unexplored. In this study, the sensitivity of the hydro-morphological response to heavy rainfall at the small-scale resolution of minutes and hundreds of metres was investigated. A numerical experiment was conducted in which synthetic rainfall fields representing heavy rainfall events of two types, stratiform and convective, were simulated using a space-time rainfall generator model. The rainfall fields were modified to follow different spatial rainfall scenarios associated with increasing temperatures and used as inputs into a landscape evolution model. The experiment was conducted over a complex topography, a medium-sized (477 km2) Alpine catchment in central Switzerland. It was found that the responses of the streamflow and sediment yields are highly sensitive to changes in total rainfall volume and to a lesser extent to changes in local peak rainfall intensities. The results highlight that the morphological components are more sensitive to changes in rainfall spatial structure in comparison to the hydrological components. The hydro-morphological features were found to respond more to convective rainfall than stratiform rainfall because of localized runoff and erosion production. It is further shown that assuming heavy rainfall to intensify with increasing temperatures without introducing changes in the rainfall spatial structure might lead to overestimation of future climate impacts on basin hydro-morphology.

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