Protection forest; Rockfall; Invasive species; Dendrogeomorphology
Knüsel Simon, Liu Jianfeng, Conedera Marco, Gärtner Holger, Bugmann Harald, Li Mai-He, Stoffel Markus, Wunder Jan (2019), Comparative dendroecological characterisation of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle in its native and introduced range, in
Dendrochronologia, 57, 125608-125608.
Moos C., Toe D., Bourrier F., Knüsel S., Stoffel M., Dorren L. (2019), Assessing the effect of invasive tree species on rockfall risk – The case of Ailanthus altissima, in
Ecological Engineering, 131, 63-72.
Knüsel Simon, Conedera Marco, Zweifel Roman, Bugmann Harald, Etzold Sophia, Wunder Jan (2019), High growth potential of Ailanthus altissima in warm and dry weather conditions in novel forests of southern Switzerland, in
Trees, 33(2), 395-409.
Knüsel Simon, Conedera Marco, Bugmann Harald, Wunder Jan (2018), Low litter cover, high light availability and rock cover favour the establishment of Ailanthus altissima in forests in southern Switzerland, in
NeoBiota, (46), 91-116.
David Toe, Franck Bourrier, Luuk Dorren, Frédéric Berger (2018), A Novel DEM Approach to Simulate Block Propagation on Forested Slopes, in
Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 51(3), 811-825.
Wunder Jan, Knüsel Simon, Dorren Luuk, Schwarz Massimiliano, Bourrier Franck, Conedera Marco (2018), Götterbaum und Paulownie: die "neuen Wilden" im Schweizer Wald?, in
Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen, 169(2), 69-76.
David Toe, Franck Bourrier, Ignacio Olmedo, Jean-Mathieu Monnet, Frédéric Berger (2017), Analysis of trees effect on blocks propagation using a DEM model: implications for rockfall modelling, in
Landslide, 14(5), 1603-1614.
Ailanthus altissima (Mill.), commonly known as tree of heaven, is a deciduous tree native to both northeast and central China and Taiwan. The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 metres in 25 years. However, the species is also short-lived, rarely exceeding ages of 50 years. The tree was first brought from China to Europe in the 1740s. It has become an invasive species due to its ability both to quickly colonise disturbed areas and to suppress competition with allelopathic compounds. The tree also resprouts vigorously when cut, making its eradication difficult and time consuming. As a consequence, forests, mainly in the warmer, southern parts of the Alps, are increasingly invaded by A. altissima trees. Many of these forests play a key role in natural hazard risk management as they have a protective function against rockfall. Decades of fundamental research on both the ecological and mechanical characteristics of forests and trees in the Alps allowed the development of tools which enable quantitative comparisons between technical protective measures and protection forests. The expansion of the invasive species A. altissima in protection forests poses questions on the future development and stability of the affected protection forests and their protective capacity. To answer these questions, both new data and further model developments are needed. The four key goals of this project are therefore:1.To acquire fundamental ecological knowledge on the long-term development of the structure and stability of forest stands invaded by A. altissima2.To adapt and calibrate a forest dynamics simulation model for assessing the determinants of A. altissima spread and evaluating the effects of forest management interventions on the future development of invaded forest stands 3.To develop a model for the mechanical response of A. altissima trees during dynamic impacts4.To develop methods and models that allow quantifying the current and future protective function of forest stands invaded by A. altissima against rockfallALIEN will achieve these goals by interdisciplinary fundamental research on A. altissima, tightly coupling field data collection and process-based simulation modelling. The novel insights on the dynamics of invasive species, their impact on risk prevention related ecosystem services, and on the efficacy of alternative management options will be of high interest to the international research community and eventually also practitioners responsible for the management of protection forests.