Some important biological processes are too slow for our observations and experimentation (e.g. for 3-year project funding), such as changes in species composition of forests, species migration, and soil formation. Therefore we need paleoecology.
Biotic responses to past climatic changes (CC) need to be understood for testing models and their predictions about future CC, because CC in the past was (in some cases) of higher amplitude and higher rate of change than what we know from meteorological records.
Mountain ecosystems provide great opportunities to study the interplay between species assemblages and environmental conditions (e.g. climate or soils), because in mountains the environmental gradients are steep. Both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems respond to these gradients and their changes over time.
Birks, HJB; Ammann, B; Stefanova, I In Memoriam: Herbert E Wright Jr 1917-2015 The Holocene 26 (4): 507-510 APRIL 2016
2014
Ammann, B; van der Knaap, WO; Lang, G; Gaillard, MJ; Kaltenrieder, P; Rosch, M; Finsinger, W; Wright, HE; Tinner, W
The potential of stomata analysis in conifers to estimate presence of conifer trees: examples from the Alps Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 23 (3): 249-264 MAY 2014
2013
Ammann, B; van Raden, UJ; Schwander, J; Eicher, U; Gilli, A; Bernasconi, SM; van Leeuwen, JFN; Lischke, H; Brooks, SJ; Heiri, O; Nováková, K; van Hardenbroek, M; von Grafenstein, U; Belmecheri, S; van der Knaap, WO; Magny, M; Eugster, W; Colombaroli, D; Nielsen, E; Tinner, W; Wright, HE
Responses to rapid warming at Termination 1a at Gerzensee (Central Europe): Primary succession, albedo, soils, lake development, and ecological interactions Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 391 B: 111-131 DEC 2013
Ammann, B; van Leeuwen, JFN; van der Knaap, WO; Lischke, H; Heiri, O; Tinner, W
Vegetation responses to rapid warming and to minor climatic fluctuations during the Late-Glacial Interstadial (GI-1) at Gerzensee (Switzerland) Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 391: 40-59 DEC 2013
Ammann, B; Wright, HE; Stefanova, V; van Leeuwen, JFN; van der Knaap, WO; Colombaroli, D; Tinner, W
The role of peat decomposition in patterned mires: a case study from the central Swiss Alps Preslia 85: 317-332 AUG 2013
2012
Connor, SE; van Leeuwen, JFN; Rittenour, TM; van der Knaap, WO; Ammann B; Björck, S
The ecological impact of oceanic island colonization - a palaeoecological perspective from the Azores Journal of Biogeography 39 (6): 1007-1023 June 2012
Lotter, AF; Heiri, O; Brooks, S; van Leeuwen, JFN; Eicher, U; Ammann, B
Rapid summer temperature changes during Termination 1a: high-resolution multi-proxy climate reconstructions from Gerzensee (Switzerland) Quaternary Science Reviews 36: 103–113 FEB 2012
2010
Ammann, B
Reconstruction of vegetation as a tool to understand resources of the past in: Masserey, C. (ed.): News of Ancient Colchis - Archaeological, palaeobotanical and historical research, Georgian and Swiss cooperation:
15-21 ADAMANTIS.press Lausanne SEP 2010 [pdf]
van der Knaap, WO; van Leeuwen, JFN; Svitavská-Svobodová, H; Pidek, IA; Kvavadze, E; Chichinadze, M; Giesecke, T; Kaszewsk, BM; Oberli, F; Kalniņa, L; Pardoe, HS; Tinner, W; Ammann, B
Annual pollen traps reveal the complexity of climatic control on pollen productivity in Europe and the Caucasus Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 19, 285–307 AUG 2010 [Open Access]
Vescovi, E; Ammann, B; Ravazzi, C; Tinner, W
A new Late-glacial and Holocene record of vegetation and fire history from Lago del Greppo, northern Apennines, Italy Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 19 (3): 219–233 MAY 2010
Wehrli, M; Mitchell, EAD; van der Knaap, WO; Ammann, B; Tinner, W
Effects of climatic change and bog development on Holocene tufa formation in the Lorze Valley (central Switzerland) The Holocene 20 (3): 325-336 MAY 2010
2009
Andrič, M; Massaferro, J; Eicher, U; Ammann, B; Leuenberger, MC; Martinčič, A; Marinova, E; Brancelj, A
A multi-proxy Late-glacial palaeoenvironmental record from Lake Bled, Slovenia Hydrobiologia 631 (1): 121-141 SEP 2009
Ilyashuk, B; Gobet, E; Heiri, O; Lotter, A.F; van Leeuwen, JFN; van der Knaap, W.O; Ilyashuk, E; Oberli, F; and Ammann, B
Lateglacial environmental and climatic changes at the Maloja Pass, Central Swiss Alps, as recorded by chironomids and pollen Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 1340–1353 JUN 2009
2008
Finsinger, W; Belis, C; Blockley, SPE; Eicher, U; Leuenberger, M; Lotter, AF; Ammann B
Temporal patterns in lacustrine stable isotopes as evidence for climate change during the late glacial in the Southern European Alps Journal of Paleolimnology 40 (3): 885-895 OCT 2008
Ammann, B; Eicher, U; Schwander, J; von Grafenstein, U; Nováková, K; Brooks, S; van Leeuwen, J; Wick, L; van der Knaap, P
Biotic responses to rapid climatic changes during the Late Glacial. High-resolution biostratigraphies and biological processes Geographica Helvetica 63 (3): 160-166 2008
Valsecchi, V; Finsinger, W; Tinner, W; Ammann, B
Testing the influence of climate, human impact and fire on the Holocene population expansion of Fagus sylvatica in the southern Prealps (Italy) The Holocene 18 (4): 603-614 APR 2008
Sjögren, P; van der Knaap, WO; Kaplan. JO; van Leeuwen, J; Ammann, B
A pilot study on pollen representation of mountain valley vegetation in the central Alps Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 149: 208-218 APR 2008
Beer, R; Kaiser, F; Schmidt, K; Ammann, B; Carraro, G; Grisa, E; Tinner, W
Vegetation history of the walnut forests in Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia): natural or anthropogenic origin? Quaternary Science Reviews 27 (5-6): 621-632 MAR 2008
Blyakharchuk, TA; Wright, HE; Borodavko, PS; van der Knaap, WO; Ammann, B
The role of pingos in the development of the Dzhangyskol lake-pingo complex, central Altai Mountains, southern Siberia Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 257 (4): 404-420 FEB 2008
2007
van Leeuwen, JFN; van der Knaap, WO; Ammann, B
The native or introduced status of plant species determined by fossil pollen in Galapagos and the Azores. Abstract 1212. XVII INQUA Congress – The Tropics: Heat Engine of the Quaternary Quaternary International 167-168 (Supp. 1): 430 JUL 2007
Vescovi, E; Ravazzi, C; Arpenti, E; Finsinger, W; Pini, R; Valsecchi, V; Wick, L; Ammann, B; Tinner, W
Interactions between climate and vegetation during the Lateglacial period as recorded by lake and mire sediment archives in Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland Quaternary Science Reviews 26 (11-12): 1650–1669
JUN 2007
Ammann, B; Birks, HH; Walanus, A; Wasylikowa, K
Late Glacial Multidisciplinary Studies In: Elias S.A. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science Elsevier, Amsterdam 2475-2486
Finsinger, W; Bigler, C; Krähenbühl, U; Lotter, AF; Ammann, B
Human impacts and eutrophication patterns during the past ~200 years at Lago Grande di Avigliana (N. Italy) Journal of Paleolimnology 36 (1) 55-67 JUL 2006
Becker, A; Ammann, B; Anselmetti, FS; Hirt, AM; Magny, M; Millet, L; Rachoud, AM; Sampietro, G; Wüthrich, C
Paleoenvironmental studies on Lake Bergsee, Black Forest, Germany Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen 240 (3): 405-445 JUL 2006
Finsinger, W; Tinner, W; van der Knaap, WO; Ammann, B
The expansion of hazel (Corylus avellana L.) in the southern Alps: a key for understanding its early Holocene history in Europe? Quaternary Science Reviews 25 (5-6): 612-631
Bendel, M; Tinner, W; Ammann, B
Forest Dynamics of the last centuries in the Pfyn forest (Valais, Switzerland, Central Alps): Interaction of pine (Pinus sylvestris) and oak (Quercus sp.) under changing land use and fire frequency. The Holocene, 16 (1): 81-89
2005
Tinner, W; Ammann, B
Long-term responses of mountain ecosystems to environmental changes: resilience, adjustments, and vulnerability. In:
Global Change and Mountain Regions: an overview of current knowledge
(eds. U. Huber, H. Bugmann, M. Reasoner). Springer, Dordrecht: 133-144
Tinner, W; Conedera, M; Ammann, B; Lotter, AF
Fire ecology north and south of the Alps since the last ice age
Holocene, 15 (8) 1214-1226 DEC 2005
Kaltenrieder, P; Tinner, W; Ammann, B
Zur Langzeitökologie des Lärchen-Arvengürtels in den südlichen Walliser Alpen
Botanica Helvetica 115 137-154 DEC 2005
Tinner, W; Lotter A.F; Ammann B; Conedera M; Hubschmid, P; van Leeuwen JFN; Wehrli M
Klima und Landschaftsumgestaltung: palynologische Hinweise zur Komplexität prähistorischer Mensch-Umweltbeziehungen. In: Della Casa Ph. & Trachsel, M. (eds.) Wetland Economies and Societies. Collectio Archaeologica 3: 57-68
Gobet, E; Tinner, W; Bigler, C; Hochuli, PA; Ammann, B
Early-Holocene afforestation processes in the lower subalpine belt
of the Central Swiss Alps as inferred from macrofossil and pollen
records The
Holocene, vol.
15 (5), pp. 672-686, July 2005
van der Knaap, WO; van Leeuwen, JFN; Finsinger, W; Gobet, E; Pini, R; Schweizer, A; Valsecchi, V; Ammann, B
Migration and population expansion of Abies, Fagus, Picea, and Quercus since 15000 years in and across the Alps, based on pollen-percentage threshold values Quaternary
Science Reviews, vol 24, no. 5-6, pp. 645-680 March 2005
van der Knaap, WO; van Leeuwen, JFN; Ammann, B.
The first rise and fall of Fagus sylvatica and interactions with Abies
alba at Faulenseemoos (Swiss Plateau) 6900-600 cal yr BP Acta
Palaeobotanica 44 (2): 249-266 2004
Gobet, E; Tinner, W; Hochuli, P. A; van Leeuwen, J. F. N. and B. Ammann.
Middle to Late Holocene vegetation history of the Upper Engadine (Swiss Alps): the role of man and fire Vegetation
History and Archaeobotany, 12 (3): 143 - 163
Willy Tinner, André F. Lotter, Brigitta Ammann, Marco Conedera,
Priska Hubschmid, Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen and Michael Wehrli
Climatic change and contemporaneous land-use phases north and south
of the Alps 2300 BC to 800 AD Quaternary
Science Reviews, 22 (14): 447-1460
Stefanova I; Ognjanova-Rumenova, N. Hofmann, W. and Ammann, B.
Late Quaternary environmental history of the Pirin Mountains (SW Bulgaria):
a palaeolimnological study of Lake Dalgoto (2310 m) Journal of Paleolimnology
30 (1): 95-111
Stefanova, I; and Ammann, B.
Late-glacial and Holocene vegetation belts
in the Pirin Mountains (southwestern Bulgaria) The
Holocene 13: 97-107
2002
Keller F; Lischke H; Mathis T; Möhl A; Wick L; Ammann B.,
Kienast F. 2002. Effects of climate, fire, and humans on forest
dynamics: forest simulations compared to the palaeological record.
Ecological
Modelling 152 (2-3): 109-127.
Carnelli, A.L; Medella, M; Theurillat, J-P; Ammann, B. 2002:
Aluminum in the opal silica reticuls of phytoliths: A new tool in
palaeoecological studies. American
Journal of Botany 89 (2): 346-351.
Buttler, A; Mitchell, E.A.D; Freléchoux, F; van der Knaap, W.O.,
van Leeuwen, J.F.N; Warner, B.G; Gobat, J.-M; Schweingruber, F.,
and Ammann, B; 2002. Ruptures multiples dans les tourbières du Jura:
changements climatiques et hydrologiques, succession végétales et
impacts humains. In: H. Richard and A. Vignot (editors) Équilibres et
ruptures dans les écosystèmes durant les 20 derniers millénaires en
Europe de l’Ouest – Actes du colloque international de Besançon,
septembre 2000. Besançon: Presses Universitaires Franc-Comtoises.
Annales Littéraires 730, Série «Environnement, sociétés et
archéologie» 3: 331-344.
2001
Tinner W. and Ammann B. 2001: Timberline paleoecology in the Alps.
PAGES
News 9: 9-11.
van der Knaap, W.O; van Leeuwen, J.F.N; Fankhauser, A; and Ammann,
B; 2001. Erratum to “Palyno-stratigraphy of the last centuries in
Switzerland based on 23 lake and mire deposits: chronostratigraphic
pollen markers, regional patterns, and local histories” [Rev.
Palaeobot. Palynol. 108 (2000) 85-142]. Review
of Palaeobotany and Palynology 114: 269-271.
Mitchell, E.A.D; van der Knaap, W.O; van Leeuwen, J.F.N; Buttler,
A; Warner, B.G; and Gobat, J.-M; 2001. The palaeoecological history
of the Praz-Rodet bog (Swiss Jura) based on pollen, plant macrofossils
and testate amoebae (Protozoa). The
Holocene 11: 65-80.
Grosjean, M; van Leeuwen, J.F.N; van der Knaap, W.O; Geyh, M.A.,
Ammann, B; Tanner, W; Messerli, B; Núñez, L.A; Valero-Garcés,
B.L; and Veit, H; 2001. A 22,000 14C year BP sediment and pollen
record of climate change from Laguna Miscanti (23°S), northern Chile.
Global and
Planetary Change 28: 35-51.
van der Knaap, W.O; van Leeuwen, J.F.N; and Ammann, B; 2001.
Seven years of annual pollen influx at the forest limit in the Swiss
Alps studied by pollen traps: relations to vegetation and climate.
Review of
Palaeobotany and Palynology 117: 31-52.
2000
Gedye, SJ; Jones, RT; Tinner, W; Ammann, B; Oldfield, F. 2000: The
use of mineral magnetism in the reconstruction of fire history: a case
study from Lago di Origlio, Swiss Alps. Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol; 164: (1-4) 101-110.
Gobet, E; Tinner, W; Hubschmid, P; Jansen, I; Wehrli, M; Ammann,
B; Wick, L. 2000: Influence of human impact and bedrock differences
on
the vegetational history of the Insubrian Southern Alps. Vegetation
History and Archaeobotany. 9: (3) 175-187.
Tinner, W; Conedera, M; Gobet, E; Hubschmid, P; Wehrli, M; Ammann,
B. 2000: A palaeoecological attempt to classify fire sensitivity of
trees in the southern Alps. Holocene,
10: (5) 565-574.
Ammann, B. 2000.: Biotic responses to rapid climatic changes. An
Introduction to a multidisciplinary study of the Younger Dryas and
minor climatic oscillations on an altitudenal transect in the Swiss
Alps. Palaeogeogr.
Paaleoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 159: (3-4) 191-201.
Schwander, J; Eicher, U; Ammann, B. 2000: Oxygen isotopes of lake
marl at Gerzensee and Leysin (Switzerland), covering the Younger Dryas
and two minor oscillations, and their correlation to the GRIP ice
core. Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol; 159: (3-4) 203-214.
von Grafenstein, U; Eicher, U; Erlenkeuser, H; Ruch, P; Schwander,
J; Ammann, B. 2000: Isotope signature of the Younger Dryas and two
minor oscillations at Gerzensee (Switzerland): Palaeoclimatic and
palaeolimnologic interpretation based on bulk and biogenic carbonates.
Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 159: (3-4) 215-229.
van der Knaap, WO; van Leeuwen, JFN; Fankhauser, A; Ammann, B. 2000:
Palynostratigraphy of the last centuries in Switzerland based on 23
lake and mire deposits: chronostratigraphic pollen markers, regional
patterns, and local histories. Review
of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 108: (1-2) 85-142.
1999
Tinner W. Hubschmid P. Wehrli M. Ammann B. & Conedera M. 1999:
Long-term forest fire ecology and dynamics in southern Switzerland.
Journal of Ecology, 87: 273-289.
AMMANN, B; BIRKS, J; BROOKS, S; EICHER, U; von GRAFENSTEIN, U.,
HOFMANN, W; van der KNAAP, W.O; LEMDAHL, G; SCHWANDER, J; TOBOLSKI,
K; and WICK, L. 1998: Wie reagieren aquatische und terrestrische
Ökosysteme auf rasche Klimaänderungen? Vdf Verlag Zürich,
reports on NFP31, 101 pp.
Tinner, W; Conedera, M; Ammann, B; Gäggeler, HW; Gedye, S; Jones, R;
Sägesser B. 1998: Pollen and charcoal in lake sediments compared with
historically documented forest fires in southern Switzerland since AD
1920. The Holocene 8: 31-42.
1997
van der Knaap, W.O. and Ammann, B. 1997: Depth-age
relationships of 25 well-dated Swiss Holocene pollen sequences
archived in the Alpine Palynological Data.Base. Revue de
Paléobiologie 16: 433-480.
1996
LOTTER, A.F; AMMANN, B; HAJDAS, I; STURM, M; and van LEEUWEN, J.
1996: Faulenseemoos reveisted: New Results from an Old Site. PACT
50-II.5: 133-144.
AMMANN, B; GAILLARD, M.-J; and LOTTER, A.F. 1996: Switzerland. In:
BERGLUND, B.E; BIRKS, H.J.B; RALSKA-JASIEWICZOWA, M, and WRIGHT, H.E.
(eds.): Palaeoecological Events during the last 15 000 years. Regional
Syntheses of Paaeoecological Studies of Lakes and Mires in Europe.
Wiley, 647-666.
Tinner W; B. Ammann & P. Germann 1996: Treeline fluctuations
recorded for 12500 years by soil profiles, pollen and plant
macrofossils in the Central Swiss Alps. Arctic and Alpine Research 28:
131-147.
Tinner, W; Conedera, M; Ammann, B. 1996: Fire history and vegetation
paleoecology in southern Switzerland. Abstracts of the workshop Fire
Ecology and the European Biota, Toledo 1-3 July 1996: 25-26. Seccion
de Ecologia del Fuego, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Ambientales,
Universitad Complutense, Madrid.
Conedera, M; Marxer, P; Hofmann, C; Tinner, W; Ammann B. 1996:
Forest fire research in Switzerland. Part 1: Fire ecology and history
research in the southern part of Switzerland. International Forest
Fire News 15: 13-21.
1995
AMMANN, B 1995: Changes in plant biodiversity of the Alps during the
last 15,000 years. In: CHAPIN F.S; III and KOERNER, Ch. (eds): Arctic
and Alpine Biodiversity: Patterns, Causes, and Ecosystem Consequences.
Ecological Studies 113: 137-149, Springer.
Wick, L; 1994b: Early-Holocene reforestation and vegetation change
at a lake near the Alpine forest limit: Lago Basso (2250 m asl),
N-Italy. In: Lotter, A.F. and Ammann, B. (Eds.), Festschrift Gerhard
Lang. Dissertationes Botanicae 234, 555-563.
Institute of Plant Sciences
