 Department of Environmental Systems Science| Acronym | D-USYS | | Homepage | http://www.usys.ethz.ch/ | | Country | Switzerland | | ZIP, City | | | Address | | | Phone | | | Type | Academy | | Parent organization | ETH Zurich | | Current organization | Department of Environmental Systems Science | | Child organizations | |
Open OpportunitiesForest ecosystems are facing rapid and severe changes due to climate change Increasingly frequent disturbances in Central Europe (Seidl et al., 2014; Senf and Seidl, 2021) affect ecosystem structure with cascading effects on ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services (Paul et al., 2020).
Diversification strategies are discussed as a predictor for forest resilience (Lloret et al., 2024). Such strategies may be implemented in forest adaptation by diversifying the local tree-species composition (e.g., species mixtures vs. monocultures), the local forest structure (e.g., height distribution), and the management types across a landscape; all of which are discussed as strategies to increase resistance and resilience to disturbances (Elmqvist et al., 2003; Hof et al., 2017; Morin et al., 2011), and to reduce trade-offs between ecosystem functioning and multiple ecosystem services (Knoke et al., 2017; Topanotti, 2024).
Transitions towards new forest management regimes, and in particular changes in tree-species composition, are slow processes due to the long production and planning periods in forest management. This contrasts with recent observations of increasingly severe events, such as the extreme mortality events following the drought in the year 2018 in Central Europe (Buras et al., 2020; Schuldt et al., 2020). Consequently, a new type of thinking developed that interprets disturbances as drivers of forest change rather than disruptions to a status-quo system that needs to be preserved (Buma and Schultz, 2020; Thom et al., 2017). Thom et al. (2017) showed that disturbance characteristics influence this adaptation-fostering effect of disturbances: An increasing frequency and intensity accelerated the adaptation process while an increasing size slowed it down. The study is based on simulation modeling in an unmanaged forest. In managed forests, however, post-disturbance management, such as salvage logging and planting, have a strong potential to alter these dynamics.
- Forestry Sciences, Geomatic Engineering
- Bachelor Thesis, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Forest ecosystems are experiencing rapid changes due to climate-driven disturbances, which impact their structure, functioning, and ability to provide essential ecosystem services. Diversifying tree-species composition and management strategies is key to enhancing forest resilience, yet the slow pace of these changes contrasts with the urgency created by increasingly severe events like storms and droughts. While disturbances are now seen as opportunities for driving positive forest change, little is known about how historic storms, fires, bark beetle outbreaks and post-disturbance management have influenced biodiversity in managed forests. Addressing this gap is crucial for developing effective management strategies and forest policies to enhance forest resilience and ensure their adaptability to future challenges. - Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Technology
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Background: Recent years have seen accelerated tree mortality due to heat and drought, with varying responses across tree species. Understanding the physiological mechanisms leading to mortality is critical, particularly in response to drought-induced stress. Tree rings offer historical insights into growth patterns affected by environmental conditions, while remote-sensing-based vegetation indices provide continuous large-scale information about tree health since the mid-1980s. Exploring the correlation between these two data sources may reveal early signs of stress and improve our understanding of mortality mechanisms across key European tree species. This approach will help define species-specific mechanisms of tree mortality and improve our ability to monitor forest health over time.
- Environmental Sciences, Forestry Sciences, Landscape Ecology
- ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Forest regeneration is a fundamental process ensuring the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems. Across Europe, tree species regeneration varies due to differences in climate, soil conditions, competition, and forest management practices. Understanding regeneration patterns is crucial for maintaining biodiversity, promoting forest resilience, and ensuring the long-term provisioning of ecosystem services. However, there is limited comprehensive analysis of how tree species regeneration has changed over time at a continental scale. By assessing regeneration trends, dominant regenerating species, and the role of functional groups (deciduous vs. coniferous), we can gain insights into the factors influencing forest regeneration in different regions. - Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Technology
- Bachelor Thesis, ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Die Bachelorarbeit untersucht die Absatzförderung in der Schweiz vor dem Hintergrund der Herausforderungen für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Hülsenfrüchten aufgrund hoher Produktionskosten und fehlendem Grenzschutz. Ziel ist es, die Funktionsweise der Absatzförderung, die Auswahl geförderter Produkte sowie die Potenziale für die Aufnahme von Hülsenfrüchten zu analysieren. - Agricultural Economics
- Bachelor Thesis
| Beschreibung und ökonomische Interpretation der Marktordnung des Schweizer Markts für Hülsenfrüchte. - Agricultural Economics
- Bachelor Thesis
| Beschreibung und ökonomische Interpretation der Marktordnung eines Schweizer Agrarmarktes - Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences
- Bachelor Thesis
| Dairy production holds significant economic and social importance in Europe (European Commission 2020). However, the sector is a major contributor to environmental pressures, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ammonia emissions (European Commission 2024). Developing effective agri-environmental schemes to help farmers mitigate these pressures is therefore a key policy objective in many European countries. The success of such schemes often hinges on the level of compensation provided to farmers and the costs they incur to comply with the associated regulations. To address this, some studies have adopted production-based approaches using farm-level data to estimate the costs of mitigating environmental pressures, aiming to establish fair compensation for farmers participating in these schemes (e.g., Peerlings and Polman 2004; Mamardashvili et al. 2016; Dalheimer et al. 2024) However, there is a lack of comprehensive literature reviews examining whether certain environmental pressures have been prioritized over others when estimating these costs. Filling this gap could provide valuable insights for designing agri-environmental schemes that address environmental pressures in dairy farming more holistically.
- Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences, Economics
- Bachelor Thesis
| Biodiversity is widely recognized as a critical challenge to agricultural production (Dainesem et al., 2019). This issue has been acknowledged by many European countries, leading to the implementation of specific policies and instruments, such as agri-environmental schemes aimed at reversing biodiversity decline (Pe’er et al., 2017). In Switzerland, two primary policy instruments address biodiversity conservation. The first is a set of cross-compliance requirements, known as the Proof of Ecological Performance, which mandates that farmers allocate a portion of their land to ecological focus areas (FOAG 2021). The second, which complements the first, involves action-based and result-based direct payments designed to preserve and enhance biodiversity (Huber et al. 2024). The success of such agri-environmental schemes often depends on the level of compensation provided to farmers and the costs of farms to comply with the regulations in agri-environmental schemes. Consequently, some studies use production-based approaches with farm-level data to approximate the cost of biodiversity conservation (e.g. Peerlings and Polman 2004; Gullstrand et al. 2014; Dalheimer et al. 2024). However, two significant gaps remain: 1) no study has calculated the cost of biodiversity conservation at the farm level using these approaches for Swiss dairy farms 2) no study has examined whether the choice of the farm level biodiversity measure can affect the magnitude of the estimated. Addressing both gaps can be very informative for the efforts of Swiss agricultural policy for designing effective biodiversity conservation schemes.
- Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences, Economics
- Master Thesis
| Healthy soil is essential of agriculture and a key resource for meeting 21st-century human needs such as food, feed, fiber, clean water, and clean air (Amundson et al., 2015). However, soil degradation is a major problem for agriculture globally but also in Switzerland. Agriculture significantly contributes to soil degradation due to its reliance on resource-intensive practices, such as overgrazing (see Borrelli et al., 2017, and references therein). From a theoretical perspective, soil erosion can have a dual effect on agricultural production. On one hand, it degrades soil quality, reducing the effectiveness of land and other inputs, such as fertilizers, and subsequently lowering agricultural output. On the other hand, at higher levels of soil erosion, farmers may adopt advanced technologies that enable more efficient use of land and inputs, allowing them to adapt to ongoing erosion risks and potentially increasing agricultural output. Thus, the net effect of soil erosion on production depends on whether the negative impacts outweigh the positive adaptations or vice versa. The relevance of soil erosion and production also holds for dairy production in Switzerland, e.g. due to the relevance of on farm feed production. Despite its importance, there is a lack of farm-level studies examining the dynamics of soil erosion within the production structure of dairy farming. Addressing this gap could provide valuable policy insights for promoting sustainable farming practices to mitigate soil erosion.
- Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences, Economics
- Master Thesis
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