Université de Fribourg

Assessing the protective effect of mountain forests against rockfall using a 3D simulation model

Stoffel, Markus ; Wehrli, André ; Kühne, Roderick ; Dorren, Luuk K.A. ; Perret, Simone ; Kienholz, Hans

In: Forest Ecology and Management, 2006, vol. 225, p. 1-3

We used one of the few rockfall models explicitly taking trees into account and compared the results obtained with the 3D simulation model RockyFor with empirical data on tree impacts at three mountain forests in Switzerland. Even though we used model input data with different resolutions at the study sites, RockyFor accurately predicted the spatial distribution of trajectory frequencies at all...

Université de Fribourg

Analyzing rockfall activity (1600–2002) in a protection forest—a case study using dendrogeomorphology

Stoffel, Markus ; Schneuwly, Dominique M. ; Bollschweiler, Michelle ; Lièvre, Igor ; Delaloye, Reynald ; Myint, Moe ; Monbaron, Michel

In: Geomorphology, 2005, vol. 68(3-4), p. 224

For the first time, dendrogeomorphology has been used to investigate spatial and temporal variations of rockfall activity in a protection forest. We report results of 564 cores from 135 severely injured Larix decidua Mill. trees on the west-facing Täschgufer slope, Swiss Alps. While trees sampled reached an age of 297 years on average, the oldest one attained breast height in AD 1318. For...