International education and research during the pandemic: 31st European Dendroecological Fieldweek 2021 in Val Mustair, Switzerland
- 1Charles University, Faculty of Science, Prague, Czech Republic
- 2Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- 3Technical University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- 4Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK
- *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract
The European Dendroecological Fieldweek (EDF) provides an intensive learning experience in tree-ring research for anyone approaching or working in dendrochronology. Here we present an overview of scientific activities of the 31st EDF, held in Val Müstair, Switzerland, in summer 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDF gathered 20 participants and 10 instructors (7 dendrochronologists and 3 local experts) from 10 European countries and provided valuable outcomes for the local stakeholders such as Biosfera, the forest service and the private-public of Val Müstair.
During the eight days of the EDF, six groups developed different tree-ring projects, carefully designed with respect to the loal environmental setting. The dendroarchaeology group dated two buildings, an abandonned stable and a house in Val Müstair, providing private owners with accurate construction dates. The dendroclimatology group explored the potential of a relict Scots pine forest growing at ~2000 m asl for climate reconstruction, and created a chronology from 1648 to 2020 CE. The wood anatomy group found that the larger vessel sizes and and higher radial growth rates of two alpine shrub species at moist compared to dry sites, while tree ages were similar at both sites. The Blue Intensity group identified a robust climate signal in the BI chronology of high-elevation Norway spruce trees, which was significantly stronger than in the tree-ring width chronology. One dendroecology group found that growth of local larch trees recorded outbreaks of the grey larch budmoth between 1880 and 1980, a stop of outbreaks after and its return in 2018. A second dendroecology group investigated larch trees along an abandoned irrigation channel and could not detect a significant effect of the irrigation stop on growth.
The EDFs continuously provide an essential service to the dendrochronological community, and this even during challenging times. The 31st EDF was again an educational, scientific and multi-cultural experience in a unique environmental setting. It resulted in highly interesting and valuable scientific outreach and opened up new avenues for future tree-ring research in Val Mustair.
K. Treydte1, E. Martínez-Sancho1, I. Dorado-Liñán2, R.J. Kaczka3, L. Feichtinger4, A. Verstege1, K. Basset5, P. Cassitti6, R. D'Andrea7, O. Facchinetti8, C.M. Fileccia8, N. Islam9, A. Kessler, N. Korolyova10, N. Kunz8, M. Marušić11, J. Masek3, N. Obojes12, L. Oxley8, V. Rennhard13, E. Schaad7, G. Schmied14, M. Seifert15, H. Serrano-Leon16, K. Sever17, A. Spinu17, M. Vuerich18, A. Piermattei19**, A. Crivellaro19,20** 1Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland 2Technical University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain 3Charles University, Faculty of Science, Prague, Czech Republic 4 Biosfera, Tschierv, Val Mustair, Switzerland 5Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden 6Foundation Pro Monastery, Mustair, Switzerland 7Laboratory of Physical Geography and the Environment, University of Limoges, France 8Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Switzerland 9Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Switzerland 10Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic 11Croatian Forestry Research Institute, Zagreb, Croatia 12Eurac Research, Institute for Alpine Environemnt, Bolzano, Italy 13High School for Agriculture, Forestry, and Food Sciences, Bern, Switzerland 14Chair of Forest Growth and Yield Science, Technical University of Munich, Germany 15Archeological Service, Canton Graubuenden, Switzerland 16Chair of Silviculture, University of Freiburg, Germany 17Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Croatia 18 Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Udine, Italy 19Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK 20Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, "Stefan cel Mare", University of Suceava, Romania
How to cite: Kaczka, R., Treydte, K., Martínez-Sancho, E., Dorado-Liñán, I., Verstege, A., Piermattei, A., and Crivellaro, A. and the Participants of the 31st European Dendroecological Fieldweek: International education and research during the pandemic: 31st European Dendroecological Fieldweek 2021 in Val Mustair, Switzerland, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-13858, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-13858, 2023.
