Site Info (CH-LAE)
Site Description
Managed mixed deciduous mountain forest located on the steep Lägeren mountain (NW of Zurich, Swiss Plateau), 800 m asl. The forest is highly diverse, dominated by beech and fir. The site is part of the international CarboEurope IP network and the NABEL (Swiss air quality network) and a long-term forest ecosystem research site (LWF) of the WSL (Institut f.Wald Schnee & Landschaft). Eddy covariance flux measurements were started in April 2004 (tower coordinates: 47°28’42.0″ N and 8°21’51.8″ E; at 689 m asl).
Location
Site name: Lägeren, Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland
Land cover (IGBP land classification): MF (Mixed Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of tree communities with interspersed mixtures or mosaics of the other four forest types. None of the forest types exceeds 60% of landscape.)
Land use: high forest
Altitude: 689 m a.s.l.
Coordinates: 47°28’42.0″ N / 8°21’51.8″ E (Google Maps)
Location description: The site is located on the southern slope of the Lägern, which forms the eastern most part of the Jura mountains (NW of Zurich, Swiss Plateau). (1)
FLUXNET ID: CH-Lae (link)
Digital landscape model of the footprint area (red frame). Source: Wehrli L. 2006: GIS-basierte Kohlenstoffvorratsinventur: Waldböden an der CarboEuropeIP Untersuchungsfläche Lägern. Diplomarbeit. Universität Zürich.
Climate
All numbers shown are for the time period 2005-2020.
Average air temperature: 8.6°C
Average air temperature 2005-2012: 7.8°C
Average air temperature 2013-2020*: 9.4°C (+1.6°C compared to 2005-2012)
5 warmest years*: 2018 (10.7°C), 2020 (10.5°C), 2019 (10.3°C), 2017 (9.8°C), 2016 (9.6°C)
5 coolest years*: 2010 (6.8°C), 2013 (7.1°C), 2005 (7.4°C), 2008 (7.6°C), 2012 (7.8°C), 2009 (7.9°C)
Highest measured air temperature: 33.5°C (25 Jul 2019, half-hourly average between 15:30 and 16:00)
Lowest measured air temperature: -17.2°C (7 Feb 2012, half-hourly average between 4:30 and 5:00)
* … numbers updated 8 Jun 2021
Vegetation
The forest is highly diverse, dominated by beech and fir.
Main tree species: fagus sylvatica
Top-height diameter (quadratic average diameter of the 100 thickest trees per ha): 72.18 cm
Number of trees BHD >= 12 cm (2011): 503
Woodland association after Ellenberg and Klötzli’s classification (1972): Galio odoratio-Fagetum typicum / Pulmonario-Fagetum typicum
Maximum Tree Age
- picea abies: 120-170 years
- fagus sylvatica: ca. 150 years
LAI
LAI (± standard error): 4.1 ±0.3 m2 m-2
Measured in Jun 2006, in 17 plots within the footprint area, using Licor LAI-2000.
Soil
Geology: The main bedrocks of the study site are limestone, marl and sandstone, with transition zones between marland limestone (loamy debris) and marl mixed with sandstone (loam).
Soil type: The main soil types are rendzic leptosols (or rendzinas) and haplic cambisols according to the World Reference Base of Soil Resources (IUSS Working Group WRB, 2007). The litter layer is thin, since leaf litter decomposes almost completely within one year.
Management
Management system: high forest
Silvicultural system: forest reserve
Webcam
References
- Ahrends et al. (2008) Quantitative phenological observations of a mixed beech forest in northern Switzerland with digital photography
- (1) Bürgi et al. (2010) (ZIP) GAiA
- Etzold et al. (2010) Contribution of advection to the carbon budget measured by eddy covariance at a steep mountain slope forest in Switzerland
- Heim et al. (2010) Effects of sampling design on the probability to detect soil carbon stock changes at the Swiss CarboEurope site Lägeren
- Kammer et al. (2010) Application of a quantum cascade laser-based spectrometer in a closed chamber system for real-time 13C and 18O measurements of soil-respired CO2
- Paul-Limoges et al. (2017) Below-canopy contributions to ecosystem CO2 fluxes in a temperate mixed forest in Switzerland
- Ruehr et al. (2009) Drought effects on allocation of recent carbon: from beech leaves to soil CO2 efflux
- Ruehr, Knohl, Buchmann (2010) Environmental variables controlling soil respiration on diurnal, seasonal and annual time-scales in a mixed mountain forest in Switzerland
- Rühr and Eugster (2009) (ZIP) Soil respiration fluxes and carbon sequestration of two mountain forests in Switzerland
- Steck and Bürgi (2009) (German, ZIP) Rekonstruktion der historischen Verbreitung lichter Wälder und assoziierter Pflanzenarten – Eine Fallstudie im Bereich der Lägern, Kanton Zürich
- van Gorsel et al. (2009) Estimating nocturnal ecosystem respiration from the vertical turbulent flux and change in storage of CO2
- Wehrli (2006) (German, ZIP) GIS-basierte Kohlenstoffvorratsinventur: Waldböden an der CarboEuropeIP Untersuchungsfläche Lägern
- Zweifel, Etzold, Eugster (2009) (German, ZIP) Einfluss des Klimas auf Zuwachs – Validierung mit EC-Messungen