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  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Recent climate change: Rethinking drought in the context of Forest Fire Research in Ticino, South of Switzerland
    (2005)
    Reinhard, Michael
    ;
    ;
    Schlaepfer, Rodolphe
    We analyse trends over the past 32 years in drought variables in the context of forest fire research and climate change in Ticino, Southern Switzerland. January to April and in particular the month of March have become drier. This is the time of the year when forest fires are most frequent. Our results show an increasing trend in all climatic variables favourable to drought and forest fires, including the length of episodes without precipitation, sunshine duration and temperature, and a decrease in relative humidity. The only exception is the number of "foehn" days, which have not significantly increased.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Climate change may already threaten Scots pine stands in the Swiss Alps
    (2004) ;
    Dobbertin, Matthias
    Large numbers of Scots pine are dying in the dry inner-alpine valleys of the European Alps; in Switzerland, locally almost half the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) population has died since 1995. As Switzerland's temperature has increased at more than twice the global average in the 20(th) stop century and as most of this increase has occurred during the last 20 years, we investigated possible relationships between the dying Scots pine and climatic parameters. We centred our studies in the upper Rhone valley. Our results show that the strong climatic warming that has occurred in recent years may well be the indirect cause of the mortality observed in these forests. Tree mortality was highest following the dry and hot year 1998, and tree defoliation, an indicator of tree vitality, showed a strong correlation with the previous year's precipitation. While precipitation showed no clear significant trend over time, the number of warm days (mean >20degreesC, maximum >25 degreesC) and potential evapotranspiration have significantly increased over the last 20 years. Higher temperatures favour pine wood nematodes and bark beetles, both of which are found at the study site, and increasing drought stress reduces tree resistance against pathogens. As these forests have in part protective functions, there is a need to better understand the mortality through interdisciplinary research and also to find means to change the species composition in order to establish tree species that are better able to withstand warmer temperatures.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Changes in daily and nightly day-to-day temperature variability during the twentieth century for two stations in Switzerland
    An analysis of day-to-day variability was performed on two century-longs daily minimum and maximum temperature series from Switzerland. Warmer temperatures during the 20(th) century have been accompanied by a reduction in day-to-day variability, particularly for minimum temperatures and for winter. There is a significant negative correlation between day-to-day variability and the skewness of the temperature distribution, particularly in winter and for minimum temperatures. Lower variability is linked to a reduced number of cold days and nights. Higher NAO index values tend to be associated not only with warmer temperatures but also with lower day-to-day variability. This paper confirms that the temperature warming during the 20(th) century has happened mainly through the loss of the coldest part of the series, not only in the 24-hour or yearly cycle, but also through the loss of the coldest episodes in each month.