Université de Fribourg

Unraveling the patterns of late Holocene debris-flow activity on a cone in the Swiss Alps: chronology, environment and implications for the future

Stoffel, Markus ; Conus, Delphine ; Grichting, Michael A. ; Lièvre, Igor ; Maître, Gilles

In: Global and Planetary Change, 2008, vol. 60, no. 3-4, p. 222-234

Debris-flow activity on the forested cone of the Ritigraben torrent (Valais, Swiss Alps) was assessed from growth disturbances in century-old trees, providing an unusually complete record of past events and deposition of material. The study of 2246 tree-ring sequences sampled from 1102 Larix decidua Mill., Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Pinus cembra ssp. sibirica trees allowed reconstruction of 123...

Université de Fribourg

Dynamics in debris-flow activity on a forested cone — A case study using different dendroecological approaches

Bollschweiler, Michelle ; Stoffel, Markus ; Schneuwly, Dominique M.

In: Catena, 2008, vol. 72, no. 1, p. 67-78

Dendrogeomorphological analyses of trees affected by debris flows have regularly been used to date past events. However, this method has always been limited to forested cones where trees registered the impact of previous events. The minimum age dating of trees growing in the debris deposits can, in contrast, provide information on the latest possible moment of past activity. In this paper, we...

Université de Fribourg

Differentiating past events on a cone influenced by debris-flow and snow avalanche activity - a dendrogeomorphological approach

Stoffel, Markus ; Bollschweiler, Michelle ; Hassler, Gion-Reto

In: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2006, vol. 31, no. 11, p. 1424 - 1437

Dendrogeomorphology was used to investigate past events on a cone affected by both debris flows and snow avalanches. We report on results of 520 cores from 251 injured Larix decidua Mill. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. trees sampled on the Birchbach cone (Swiss Alps). Detailed analysis of tree-ring sequences allowed dating of 561 growth disturbances in individual trees for a 252 yr...

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

Seasonal timing of rockfall activity on a forested slope at Täschgufer (Swiss Alps) – a dendrochronological approach = Saisonale Steinschlagverteilung auf einem bewaldeten Hang im Täschgufer (Schweizer Alpen) – ein dendrochronologischer Ansatz.

Stoffel, Markus ; Lièvre, Igor ; Monbaron, Michel ; Perret, Simone

In: Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 2005, vol. 49, no. 1, p. 89-106

La dendrochronologie a été utilisée pour étudier 25 ans d’activités de chutes de pierres sur le versant boisé de Täschgufer, à Täsch (Alpes suisses). Une nouvelle approche, basée sur l’apparition de tissu calleux et de canaux résinifères résultant d’impacts dus à des chutes de pierres, permet de déterminer la saison des événements. Les résultats issus de l’analyse de...

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...