ALPFOR - Switzerland

Basic Information
Site Name
ALPFOR
Short name
ALPFOR
Country
Switzerland
Web Address
Alpine Research Station Furka (ALPFOR) of the University of Basel
Site Manager
Prof. Christian Koerner
Dr. Erika Hiltbrunner
Site Description
Alpine Research and Education Station Furka, ALPFOR, Switzerland The ALPFOR station is unique in Europe by being located at 2440 m a.s.l. directly in the centre of the alpine belt (Swiss central Alps), convenient access by public transport or car. ALPFOR was founded by members of the Institute of Botany of the University of Basel in cooperation with the regional 'Korporation Ursern' (Andermatt) and the Swiss Army in 2009. Three major buildings of the former military camp ‘Furkablick’ have been adapted and renovated in 2009-2011 to serve the new science- and education-oriented needs. Funds were provided by private and public donations. The station is run by the independent, non-profit organisation ALPFOR (affiliated to the ...
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Last modified
2025-01-07 11:01:19

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2008
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTER✔This site is a verified "ILTER" member.
LTER Europe✔This site is a verified "LTER Europe" member.
SCANNET✖The affiliation of this site with "SCANNET" is not verified by the network on DEIMS-SDR.
INTERACT✔ (https://www.interact-gis.org/Home/Station/27)This site is a verified "INTERACT" member.
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
LTER Switzerland✔ (LTER_EU_CH_023)This site is a verified "LTER Switzerland" member.
Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA)✖The affiliation of this site with "Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA)" is not verified by the network on DEIMS-SDR.
Photos
not defined
not defined
Geographic
Marker
300 km
200 mi
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 46.5765 Longitude: 8.42143

Size
ca. 200.00ha
Elevation (average)
2450.00msl
Elevation (min)
2100.00msl
Elevation (max)
3000.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Fresh water lakes
Fresh water rivers
Terrestrial
Biome
Alpine
Ecosystem Type
Alpine
Biogeographical Region
Alpine Bio-geographical Region
Air Temperature: Average Annual
-1.90°C
Precipitation Annual
1932.00mm
Geology
Mainly granite and gneiss (Aar- and Gotthardmassive) with calcareous layer (Ursern zone).
Vegetation
All major alpine habitats from glacier forefield to well-deveolped acidic and calcareous grassland types.
Soils
Various soil types from litho-, regosols to developed cambisols (alpine brown earth) and podsolized pseudogleys. Old and recent solifluction lobes; permafrost depending on elevation and aspect.
Hydrology
Continental (triple) watershed, origin of 3 major European river; the water either runs via the Rhone into the Mediterranean, via the Reuss to the North Sea or via the Ticino and Po in the Adriatic Sea.
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
plot scale
Design of Observation
partly observation
Scale of Observation
plot within catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Equipment
Data infrastructure » Data services » Other data services
Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » 2 - 5 places
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » > 10 beds
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » GMS/UMTS
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Energy supply » Permanent Power Supply Location » Central station(s)
Equipment notes
Three houses with lab and working rooms (former military camp), field container.
Accessible All Year
No
All parts of Site Accessible
No
Access Type
regular car
Permanent Operation
No
Operation Notes
From May to October (depending on access) permanent operation.
Site Visit Interval
2
Maintenance Interval
2
General Data Policy
Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset
LTER Site Classification
Emerging
There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:
Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Precipitation ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave RadiationRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind SpeedRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.