science wire

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation With global trade not only products travel around the world, but sometimes also uninvited guests - such as fungi that can cause disease in trees.

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation In light of the ongoing fifteen-year megadrought in Chile, an international team of researchers, including the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), addressed the future of Andean glaciers.

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation Insect-driven tree mortality is rising across Europe, finds an international study led by the Czech University of Life Sciences with participation of WSL.

Glacial melting in Switzerland was once again enormous in 2025. A winter with low snow depth combined with heat waves in June and August led to a loss of three per cent of the glacier volume.

When the Soviet Union's collapse means no glacier data for decades in Tajikistan Too little snowfall is now also shaking the foundations of some of the world's most resilient 'water towers', a new study led by the Pellicciotti group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) shows. After establishing a monitoring network on a new benchmark glacier in central Tajikistan, the international team of researchers was able to model the entire catchment's behavior from 1999 to 2023.

From 1 September 2025, Arthur Gessler will head the new Forest and Soil Ecology research unit at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.

A question of height: SLF research shows when protection forests really work - 50 years of data from Stillberg. Tree height plays a key role in avalanche protection: A protection forest only effectively prevents avalanches once the trees are twice as high as the snowpack. Tree species influences snow retention: Evergreen conifers such as spruce or Swiss stone pine hold back more snow than larch trees.

The changes in Alpine permafrost are mostly invisible but have increasingly significant consequences for mountain regions.

On Wednesday, the glacier known as the Birchgletscher collapsed under the weight of rock and debris from rock avalanches on Kleines Nesthorn.

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation In spring 2025, WSL PhD candidate Lisa Jourdain spent four weeks in Australasia searching for centuries-old wood samples that hold valuable information about past climates.

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation When frozen rivers break up in spring, the sudden release of ice and water can reshape river channels and pose serious risks to nearby infrastructure.

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation To enhance biodiversity across aquatic and terrestrial systems, natural areas of high ecological value need to be interconnected. However, the necessary collaboration between different stakeholders is often lacking, particularly in urban areas. This is shown by a new study as part of the Blue-Green Biodiversity research initiative.

Avalanche bulletin and snow situation Over the past decade, extreme events such as heat, drought, storms and pests have taken a heavy toll on Swiss forests.

In view of biodiversity loss, it is important that early-career researchers get involved not only in science but also contribute to biodiversity policy. The Blue-Green Biodiversity research initiative of Eawag and WSL organised a workshop to facilitate cooperation between science, practice and politics.

Original article published in the Bündner Woche, August 28, 2024, p. Obere Strasse 22 7270 Davos Platz +41 81 410 60 80 info@academiaraetica.ch www.academiaraetica.ch Resea

Machine learning helps researchers to use weather stations to investigate the consequences of climate change for the growth of alpine vegetation. This text was automatically translated. Six days earlier than in 1998, on June 14 instead of June 20, plants begin to grow on average at higher altitudes in the Alps.

Number, size, surroundings and water level: for the first time, there are quantitative scientific recommendations when it comes to the development of new ecological infrastructures for amphibian conservation.

Developing wind and solar infrastructure in the landscape can be tricky and often associated with resistance to arise among the population. Thanks to a new study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, in addition to the spatial and ecosystem-related costs, also social costs in form of people's preferences can now be considered when siting for new solar and wind power plants.

The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL presents its 2035 research strategy.

Forests contain a lot of biodiversity and provide many ecosystem services such as carbon storage, wood production, and cooling. However, there is an important difference between the biodiversity and services provided by forest cores and forest edges. This is shown in an international study led by the University of Ghent with the collaboration of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL.

Climate change influences how often and how intensively forests in Switzerland could burn in the future.

The "SCNAT knowledge" web portal provides guidance. The Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) and its network report the state of knowledge, based on sound scientific findings and in regards to Switzerland - for the attention of politics, administration, business, science and practice.

It abseils down from a height and swings around obstacles: Robot Avocado will one day maneuver through the canopy of the rainforest and collect data for researchers about this difficult-to-access habitat .

Five years ago, the bacterial complex disease acute oak dieback was also discovered in Switzerland. In 2023, a new root disease was also discovered on oaks, as reported by Forest Protection Switzerland in the new Forest Protection News .

Glaciers in the Himalayas have been melting faster than in other places in Asia. Last October, WSL doctoral candidate Achille Jouberton from the HIMAL group of Francesca Pellicciotti joined a scientific expedition to study the fast-melting Trakarding-Trambau Glaciers, close to the Everest region.

More droughts in summer and autumn - combined, paradoxically, with an increased risk of flooding - and, in the long term, less snow in winter.

Permanently frozen ground, or permafrost, is becoming rarer on our planet. Climate change causes it to warm up and ultimately thaw.

Climate change is having an impact on avalanche activity. Wet snow avalanches can be expected earlier and more frequently, while instabilities in dry snowpack are becoming less common. Unexpected changes in the weather, such as rain in midwinter, will continue to make the work of avalanche warning services and rescue workers challenging, not only in open terrain but also in ski resorts.

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Climate change will significantly alter the Swiss forests.

SLF biologist Christian Rixen writes about his expedition to Greenland in the footsteps of historical botanists - and climate change.

With climate change resulting in less natural snow and higher temperatures, challenging times lie ahead for tourist destinations that depend on winter sports, as well as for winter sports fans.

SLF biologist Christian Rixen writes about his expedition to Greenland in the footsteps of historical botanists - and climate change.

Along the coast of East Greenland lie some of the most untouched fjords and glacier landscapes in the world.

One extreme year follows another. Glaciers in Switzerland lost 6% of their volume in 2022. However, 2023 saw 4% destroyed, representing the second largest decline since measurements began.

In many Swiss forests, and especially in protection forests, there is a lack of tree regeneration. One reason is the impact of red deer, chamois and roe deer, which browse on tree saplings or rub their antlers against young trees.

On 21 September 2023, the ETH Board elected Anita Risch to the WSL Directorate. The ecologist and private lecturer at ETH Zurich researches the interactions and functions of animals, plants and soil organisms in ecosystems around the world.