Biodiversity

Biodiversity is key to modern, sustainable forest management. The more diverse and species-rich a forest is, the better it can cope with external influences, protect against natural hazards, produce timber and serve recreational needs. This is the message that emerged from the “Forum für Wissen” held virtually in November 2020 by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

The Ecotox Centre presents a new strategy to assess the quality of sediments. Sediments are of great significance in water protection.

Swiss stone pines, which can live for 500 years, are integral to the biological community at the upper forest line. However, due to their long generation time, they may be unable to adapt quickly enough to rapid climate change, and could go locally extinct in some places. This is the finding of a genetic study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

In recent decades, forest biodiversity has declined almost everywhere in Europe, yet at the same time the public's expectations of the forest environment have grown. Consequently, many forest owners in Europe now use forests in a way that combines timber production with other demands of society. A recently published book on this subject summarises experiences on how to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation.

Europe still has barely any downstream passage facilities that guide fish past the turbines of run-of-river power stations unharmed. Now, an interdisciplinary team of engineers from ETH Zurich and fish biologists from Eawag have developed a rack that uses pressure and flow differences to guide fish out of the main flow and into the safe fish passage. Laboratory tests have shown that the system, which works by influencing fish behaviour, is particularly effective for cyprinid fish and salmon parr.

When it gets warmer, organisms rise higher from the lowlands. Researchers from ETH and WSL investigated what could happen to plant communities on alpine grasslands if grasshoppers from lower elevations settled there.