| I was pleased to have a wonderful visit with friend and colleague, Walter
Shoenenberger, at the Swiss Federal Research Institute in Birmensdorf. The photo
at right is from one of the highlights of that visit, when Walter and collagues
Tomas xxxx and Christof xxxx took me on to see some of Walter's research sites in
the Swiss Alps. Because of the very mountainous terrain, there is of course great
concern in Switzerland over avalanche risks. Walter has been studying the recovery
of several forest sites in the Alps, which experienced major windstorms in 1990. The
concern is that once the fallen trees have decomposed, but prior to full regeneration
of the new cohort of trees, there will be a period of enhanced avalanche risk, because
of the lack of forests high on the mountain slopes. Walter's PhD student, Andrea
Kupfershmid, published her studies of the role of large mammal browsing in influencing
forest regeneration in wind-damaged mountain forests.
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