The LWF programme provides long-term data series together with a scientific interpretation to national and international policy makers, on the one hand. On the other hand, the available data and innovative LWF infrastructure provide an attractive scientific platform for collaboration with both national and international partners.
The Swiss Forest Monitoring ¶
Together, the programmes of the LWF, The National Forest Inventory NFI, and The Swiss Forest Protection PBMD, build the legal framework for The Swiss Monitoring as set out by The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment FOEN (WaV, SR 921.01, Art. 37a). The research projects and surveys of the LWF programme are both spatially and temporally harmonized and supplemented by cantonal monitoring in those areas most affected.
Flux sites
The so-called flux sites, containing Eddy Flux towers from the ETH Zurich and from the National Air Pollution Monitoring Network (NABEL), provide connections to networks that record air pollution (NABEL), climate (GCOS) and CO2 exchange (e.g., ICOS, FluxNet). These sites are located in:
National monitoring networks
The programme sites and methods of the LWF programme are coordinated with the following national monitoring networks:
- National Air Pollution Monitoring Network (NABEL)
- Swiss Soil Monitoring Network (NABO)
- National River Monitoring and Survey Programme (NADUF)
- Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss)
International cooperation ¶
As part of the LWF programme, Switzerland participates in the ICP Forests Programme which, in agreement with the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), determines the effects of pollution on forests (SR 0.814.323, Art. 6). Around 800 ICP Forest Level II plots throughout Europe are an example of international, cooperative surveys addressing global issues (see Figure).
Through the long-term data series of the LWF programme, Switzerland provides valuable information to global issues that are adressed through the following networks:
Partner ¶
