{"title":"Stillberg - Switzerland","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"669bef3e-2baf-4268-b4a7-20dab3f58ed3"},"type":"site","created":"2013-05-01T08:39:46+02:00","changed":"2025-02-21T10:37:51+01:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"GERI","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"c3abdc60-49f1-49db-81fe-863b7dbb21d3"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"ILTER","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"1aa7ccb2-a14b-43d6-90ac-5e0a6bc1d65b"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"LTER Europe","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"4742ffca-65ac-4aae-815f-83738500a1fc"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"LTER Switzerland","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"cedf695c-c6dc-4660-b944-3c22f12ad0d9"}},"siteCode":"LTER_EU_CH_022","verified":true}],"projects":[{"label":"eLTER PLUS (H2020) - RA","uri":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3030\/871128"},{"label":"eLTER PLUS (H2020) - TA","uri":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3030\/871128"},{"label":"eLTER PLUS (H2020) - VA","uri":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3030\/871128"}]},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Alessandra Bottero","email":"alessandra.bottero@wsl.ch","orcid":null},{"type":"person","name":"Peter Bebi","email":"peter.bebi@wsl.ch","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":null,"metadataProvider":[{"type":"person","name":"Peter Bebi","email":"peter.bebi@wsl.ch","orcid":null}],"fundingAgency":null,"siteUrl":[{"title":"Stillberg research site description (website of the WSL Institute for Snow andAvalanche Research SLF)","value":"https:\/\/www.slf.ch\/en\/about-the-slf\/instrumented-field-sites-and-laboratories\/mountain-ecosystem-research-sites\/stillberg-afforestation-research.html"},{"title":"Stillberg research infrastructure (website of the WSL Institute for Snow andAvalanche Research SLF)","value":"https:\/\/www.slf.ch\/en\/about-the-slf\/instrumented-field-sites-and-laboratories\/mountain-ecosystem-research-sites\/stillberg-afforestation-research.html"},{"title":"Stillberg research data and metadata on the environmental data portal EnviDat (EnviDat Project Treeline Research Stillberg Switzerland)","value":"https:\/\/www.envidat.ch\/#\/projects\/treeline-research-stillberg-switzerland"},{"title":"Global Treeline Range Expansion Experiment (G-TREE) ","value":"https:\/\/www.wsl.ch\/fr\/projets\/gtree-1.html"}]},"general":{"abstract":"The research site Stillberg is located in the treeline ecotone on a northeast-facing slope (30 - 45\u00b0), near Davos, Switzerland in the Central Alps (eastern Switzerland; 47\u00b082\u2019 N, 78\u00b030\u2019 E). The research site features topographically highly structured terrain across an elevational gradient of 1980 to 2230 m a.s.l.. Mean annual precipitation at Stillberg is 1050 mm. The July mean daily temperature is 9.4\u00b0C, while the mean daily temperature in January is \u20135.8\u00b0C. Average maximum snow depth is 146 cm, varying between 60 cm on wind exposed hilltops and 420 cm on leeward slopes. \r\n\r\nThe research facility Stillberg is a long-term monitoring site near treeline in the Swiss Alps. Research focuses on I) the ecology and limiting factors of the treeline ecotone; II) potential effects of climate- and land-use change in Alpine ecosystems and III) establishing suitable measures to decrease the risk of snow avalanches. In 1955, research activities began at the Stillberg site with the initiation of an interdisciplinary mountain research program by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. After a series of observational studies and pre-experiments, the main experiment was established in 1975 by the plantation of 92\u2019000 seedlings of Larix decidua, Pinus mugo ssp. uncinata, and Pinus cembra following a gridded planting scheme along an elevational gradient of 150 m (2075 \u2013 2230 m a.s.l.). Trees were planted in \u003E4000 square plots, with 25 trees in each plot placed into the original dwarf shrub community. Survival, growth and damage of trees was intensely monitored. In addition to the afforestation experiment, various other ecological experiments have been carried out at the Stillberg research site, such as a study combining free-air carbon dioxide enrichment with soil warming and a nutrient addition study. More recently, plant-snow interactions, plant-soil interactions and community shifts under experimental warming as well as drivers of tree seedling recruitment in this treeline ecotone are studied. \r\n\r\nThe Stillberg site is a long-term research infrastructure of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and located in close proximity of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos. The surrounding Dischma valley is a well studied mountain valley with a large number of studies about alpine ecology, geomorphology, land-use change and forest dynamics that was part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program MAB. Maintained infrastructure of the Stillberg site includes an automatic weather station, a research laboratory at 2000 m a.s.l. (with working space, kitchen and sleeping rooms), a cable car and a helicopter platform at the upper limit of the afforestation experiment at 2230 m a.s.l.\r\n\r\n\r\n","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":1955,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":null,"siteName":"Stillberg","shortName":"Stillberg","siteType":"Stationary land-based site","protectionLevel":null,"landUse":null,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/photos\/stillberg.jpg","alt":"The treeline reserach site Stillberg"}]},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":2,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":null},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":1050,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":null},"biogeographicalRegion":"alpine","biome":"alpine","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Boreal forests\/taiga","uri":null},{"label":"Forest","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":[{"label":"Coniferous woodland (G3)","uri":null},{"label":"Lines of trees, small anthropogenic woodlands, recently felled woodland, early-stage woodland and coppice (G5)","uri":null},{"label":"Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G)","uri":null}],"landforms":[{"label":"Mountain","uri":null}],"geoBonBiome":["Terrestrial"],"geology":"siliceaous Paragneis bedrock","hydrology":null,"soils":"The soil (classified as Podzol\/Ranker) consists typically of a 5-20 cm deep organic top layer.","vegetation":"The original vegetation consists of different dwarf shrub communities and patches of treeline trees (larici pinetum cembrae)in the lower part of the study area."},"geographic":{"boundaries":"POLYGON ((9.84 46.79, 9.89 46.79, 9.89 46.75, 9.84 46.75, 9.84 46.79))","coordinates":"POINT (9.87 46.77)","country":["Switzerland"],"elevation":{"avg":2100,"min":2000,"max":2230,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":10,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"mainly experimentation","scale":"beyond catchment scale"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"beyond catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"ecosystem parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20939"},{"label":"landscape parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20943"},{"label":"soil parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20944"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":"dirt road  (4WD)","allPartsAccessible":true,"maintenanceInterval":30,"permanentPowerSupply":true,"operation":{"permanent":false,"notes":null,"siteVisitInterval":30},"notes":"2 mountain huts with water and electricity, accessible by a cable car. ","collection":[{"label":"2 - 5 places","uri":null},{"label":"6 - 10 beds","uri":null},{"label":"Data portal","uri":null},{"label":"Helicopter","uri":null},{"label":"More than 100 kW","uri":null},{"label":"Other data services","uri":null},{"label":"Spatial data file (GIS)","uri":null},{"label":"Telephone line","uri":null},{"label":"Temperature Controlled Container","uri":null},{"label":"Web Map Service (WMS)","uri":null}],"data":{"policy":{"url":[{"title":null,"value":"https:\/\/www.wsl.ch\/en\/about-wsl\/programmes-and-initiatives\/envidat.html"}],"rights":["The opportunity to collaborate on the project using the dataset"],"notes":"Data use possible acording to EnviDat: policy of WSL https:\/\/www.wsl.ch\/en\/about-wsl\/programmes-and-initiatives\/envidat.html\r\nIn order to use data properly, close collaboraion with WSL is necessary in most cases. "}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":"Extensive Site"}}}}