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Library Swiss Tree Lines – a GIS-Based Approximation

Swiss Tree Lines – a GIS-Based Approximation

Swiss Tree Lines – a GIS-Based Approximation

Resource information

Date of publication
september 2012
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
DOAJ:b59ff61f7ace4088bc21f3a71e7b8e3f
Pages
17
License of the resource

Mountain timber lines are relevant in the context of land abandonment and climate change. For Switzerland,
GIS-compliant delimitations of the tree line and the forest line are still lacking. Recent high-resolution landcover
information offers new possibilities for GIS-based approaches. In a Swiss-wide study, an analysis based
on slope zones was combined with a moving-window analysis to assess tree and forest line altitude, using
topographic data. The tree and the forest lines were delimited at the upper altitude reached by a tree or closed
forest respectively. The model delivered a fine-scaled delimitation sensitive to local conditions. The results
indicate that earlier studies underestimated the tree line altitudes for the fringes of the Alps. Also the variability
inside climatic and bio-geographical regions is larger than it was estimated up to now.

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