The forest: a continuously evolving environment
«Forests will undergo important changes.» says Professor Alexandre Buttler interpreting the first results of the Mountland project, a large study on the impact of land-use change and climate change on high elevation pasture-woodland ecosystems of the Jura mountains, a joint-venture between ECOS and the Federal Institute of Research WSL.
The Mountland project is a collaborative project between the ECOS laboratory at EPFL, the Swiss Federal Research Insitute WSL and other partners.
Silvopastoral systems are highly productive and combine long-term wood production with annual provision of forage for livestock. In the Swiss Jura mountains these systems are a key component of the landscape. As in other cold biomes, climate change can potentially accelerate landscape change within these historically sustainable systems.
Experimental transplantations of 600 monolith soil turfs to lower altitudes (from 1450 to 1000, 600 and 400 m) simulate soil warming and reduced annual precipitation. A list of above- and belowground variables are measured to assess the resilience of biogeochemical processes, plant productivity, tree regeneration, and carbon sequestration for each respective land-use practice: pastures, wooded pastures, and forests.
"First results show that with increasing temperatures, pasture lands emit higher CO2 rates than forests", says Alexandre Buttler, head of ECOS. On the other hand, the soil of wooded pastures is more resilient to climate change than forest soil. Spruce will disappear, replaced by beech which will alter the visual nature of the forests. But the changes not only happen on a landscape level, they also affect the economy. In particular, two traditional activities of these regions: wood production and livestock.