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Background: Although there are guidelines and ideas on how to improve public health education, translating innovative approaches into actual training programs remains challenging. In this article, we provide an overview of some initiatives that tried to put this into action in different parts of the world, and present the Emerging Health Care Leader (EHCL), a novel training program developed in Switzerland. Policy Options and Recommendations: Looking at the experience of the EHCL, we propose policymakers and other interested stakeholders who wish to help reform public health education to support these initiatives not only through funding, but by valuing them through the integration of early career healthcare leaders in projects where their developing expertise can be practically applied. Conclusion: By openly sharing the experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and lessons learned with the EHCL program, we aim to foster a transparent debate on how novel training programs in public health can be organised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background/Objective: This prospective, multicenter observational cohort study was carried out in 12 trauma centers in Germany and Switzerland. Its purpose was to evaluate the rate of undertriage, as well as potential consequences, and relate these with different Trauma Team Activation Protocols (TTA-Protocols), as this has not been done before in Germany. Methods: Each trauma center collected the data during a three-month period between December 2019 and February 2021. All 12 participating hospitals are certified as supra-regional trauma centers. Here, we report a subgroup analysis of undertriaged patients. Those included in the study were all consecutive adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) with acute trauma admitted to the emergency department of one of the participating hospitals by the prehospital emergency medical service (EMS) within 6 h after trauma. The data contained information on age, sex, trauma mechanism, pre- and in-hospital physiology, emergency interventions, emergency surgical interventions, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and death within 48 h. Trauma team activation (TTA) was initiated by the emergency medical services. This should follow the national guidelines for severe trauma using established field triage criteria. We used various denominators, such as ISS, and criteria for the appropriateness of TTA to evaluate the undertriage in four groups. Results: This study included a total of 3754 patients. The average injury severity score was 5.1 points, and 7.0% of cases (n = 261) presented with an injury severity score (ISS) of 16+. TTA was initiated for a total of 974 (26%) patients. In group 1, we evaluated how successful the actual practice in the EMS was in identifying patients with ISS 16+. The undertriage rate was 15.3%, but mortality was lower in the undertriage cohort compared to those with a TTA (5% vs. 10%). In group 2, we evaluated the actual practice of EMS in terms of identifying patients meeting the appropriateness of TTA criteria; this showed a higher undertriage rate of 35.9%, but as seen in group 1, the mortality was lower (5.9% vs. 3.3%). In group 3, we showed that, if the EMS were to strictly follow guideline criteria, the rate of undertriage would be even higher (26.2%) regarding ISS 16+. Using the appropriateness of TTA criteria to define the gold standard for TTA (group 4), 764 cases (20.4%) fulfilled at least one condition for retrospective definition of TTA requirement. Conclusions: Regarding ISS 16+, the rate of undertriage in actual practice was 15.3%, but those patients did not have a higher mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insurers often commission psychiatric experts to evaluate the eligibility of workers with mental disorders for disability benefits, by estimating their residual work capacity (RWC). We investigated the validity of a standardized, computer-based battery of established diagnostic instruments, for evaluating the personality, cognition, performance, symptom burden, and symptom validity of claimants. One hundred and fifty-three claimants for benefits were assessed by the assembled test battery, which was applied in addition to a conventional clinical work disability evaluation. A principal component analysis of the test and questionnaire battery data revealed six factors (Negative Affectivity, Self-Perceived Work Ability, Behavioral Dysfunction, Working Memory, Cognitive Processing Speed, and Excessive Work Commitment). Claimants with low, medium, and high RWC exclusively varied in the factor Negative Affectivity. Importantly, this factor also showed a strong association to psychiatric ratings of capacity limitations in psychosocial functioning. The findings demonstrate that the used test battery allows a substantiation of RWC estimates and of psychiatric ratings by objective and standardized data. If routinely incorporated in work disability evaluations, the test battery could increase their transparency for all stakeholders (insurers, claimants, medical experts, expert case-coordinators, and legal practitioners) and would open new avenues for research in the field of insurance medicine. The residual work capacity (RWC) estimation by medical experts is internationally good practice, but plagued by a relatively low interrater agreement. The current study shows that psychiatric RWC estimates and capacity limitation ratings can be substantiated by data from objective, standardized psychometric instruments. Systematically using such instruments might help to improve the poor interrater agreement for RWC estimates in work disability evaluations. Such data could also be used for adopting vocational trainings and return-to-work programs to the individual needs of workers with mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The genitourinary system is not as commonly affected as many other organ systems in severely injured patients. Although a delayed and missed diagnosis of genitourinary injuries (GUIs) can severely compromise long-term outcomes, these injuries are frequently overlooked. Therefore, we present a scoring system designed to assist emergency physicians in diagnosing GUIs in severely injured patients. Methods: The data were obtained from the TraumaRegister DGU® from the years 2015–2021. All severely injured patients (ISS ≥ 16) ≥16 years of age and treated in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland were included in this study. We excluded patients who were transferred out early (48 h), and all patients with isolated traumatic brain injury. After the univariate analysis of the relevant predictive factors, we developed a scoring system using a binary logistic regression model. Results: A total of 70,467 patients were included in this study, of which 4760 (6.8%) sustained a GUI. Male patients (OR: 1.31, 95% CI [1.22, 1.41]) injured in motorcycle accidents (OR: 1.70, 95% CI [1.55, 1.87]), who were under 60 years of age (OR: 1.59, 95% CI [1.49, 1.71]) and had sustained injuries in multiple body regions (OR: 6.63, 95% CI [5.88, 7.47]), and suffered severe pelvic girdle injuries (OR: 2.58, 95% CI [2.29, 2.91]) had the highest odds of sustaining a GUI. With these predictive factors combined, a novel scoring system, the GUIPP score, was developed. It showed good validity, with an AUC of 0.722 (95% CI [0.71; 0.73]). Conclusion: Predicting GUI in severely injured patients remains a challenge for treating physicians, but is extremely important to prevent poor outcomes for affected patients. The GUIPP score can be utilized to initiate appropriate diagnostic steps early on in order to reduce the delayed and missed diagnosis of GUI, with scores ≥ 9 points making GUIs very likely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This survey analyzes the quality of the portable document format (PDF) documents in online repositories in Switzerland, examining their accessibility for people with visual impairments. Two minimal accessibility features were analysed: the PDFs had to have tags and a hierarchical heading structure. The survey also includes interviews with the managers or heads of multiple Swiss universities' repositories to assess the general opinion and knowledge of PDF accessibility. An analysis of interviewee responses indicates an overall lack of awareness of PDF accessibility, and shows that online repositories currently have no concrete plans to address the issue. This paper concludes by presenting a set of recommendations for online repositories to improve the accessibility of their PDF documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As in many other countries, the transformation of the Swiss education system into one that is conducive to a sustainable society is difficult. This article attempts to clarify a framework within which such change could happen. Following an extensive review process, the author has compiled essential learning approaches, knowledge, skills, values and action competencies for education for sustainable development (ESD). He argues that learners can become effective change-agents--even within an overall economic, political and educational context which is not keen on giving up the current unsustainable paradigm--just by seeing models of the desired change and being able to experiment with them. (Contains 15 notes.)

In this study, 434 children and adolescents completed the Control-, Agency-, and Means-ends beliefs Interview (CAMI). Moreover, we asked for current mood-state and achievement-related affect after success and failure at school. There was no gender difference in achievement-related affective expression in children (9 and 10 years old), but there was a substantial difference in adolescents (15 and 16 years old), boys reporting less affect than girls. A different pattern emerged for the impact of affect on achievement-related beliefs. Again, children did not show any gender difference. In adolescents, however, boys' current mood-state was related to agency beliefs to a higher extent than girls' current mood state. Thus, boys, in comparison to girls, may develop inhibition of affective expression, but over the same span, they continue to base agency beliefs on their current mood-state whereas girls do not. (Contains 8 tables, 3 figures, and 4 notes.)

The present study investigates the Swiss population's perceptions of education. The results show that education is rated as very important. While functional and value-rational ideas about education are diferentiated in terms of social structure, there are no diferences related to origin and education for traditional ideas about education. Regardless of actual educational opportunities, disregarding gender and cohort diferences, approval of equal opportunities in the education system is high in all social groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working in academia entails many challenges including rejections by journals, competition for funding or jobs, and uncertain job outlooks (for non-tenure staff), which can result in poor mental health and well-being. Previous studies have suggested self-compassion as a resource for mental health and well-being, but to date no study has been published that has tested interventions targeting self-compassion in academia. In this weekly diary study, 317 academics from Germany, Switzerland, and the US were asked to recall a negative event and were then randomly assigned to either a self-compassionate writing intervention, a three good things intervention, or an active control intervention, respectively. They also completed two surveys on four consecutive Thursdays measuring state positive and negative affect and job-related well-being (i.e., job satisfaction and work engagement). Using multi-level regression modelling, results showed that participants in the self-compassion condition reported more job satisfaction and work engagement due to experiencing less negative affect. Academics in the three good things condition showed no such effects. Results indicated that self-compassion in academia is a resource that enables emotion-oriented coping during difficult times or in challenging situations that may benefit academics' job-related well-being. The study highlights both the importance of discussing well-being in academia and ways to strengthen it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main research goal of this paper is to identify the most likely source regions of pollution events at Beromünster, Switzerland. Trace gas concentration and flux observations are essential to investigate emission source regions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other pollutants. Here we present an analysis of observations taken at an altitude of 212 m above ground at one of the few European tall towers located close to Beromünster, Switzerland (2017–2020). The relatively high observation height — especially for flux measurements — results in a large tower footprint, i.e., area sampled by the tower, predestined for a source analysis on a large scale. We identify high observations and analyze subsets of the concentrations and fluxes by atmospheric stability conditions (local vertical temperature gradient and atmospheric boundary layer height) to distinguish shorter from longer transport distances. And we split the data by prevailing wind direction as an additional separation of potential source regions. Furthermore, we perform inter-species correlation analyses and a parameterized Flux Footprint (FFP) estimation for the tower. We find that pollution events at Beromünster tower are not associated with local emission sources, but are transported from further away — most prominently from the Northeast (NE) and Southeast (SE), where Zurich and Luzern are located, respectively. All species concentrations are highly correlated during winter, while in summer only a limited inter-species correlation exists. The parameterized annual mean FFP shows an extent of roughly 50-x-25 km along and perpendicular to the main wind axis, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revisitation studies use historical information from literature or museum collections to assess rates of local extinction. However, revisitation studies suffer from the bias that they can only detect decline or stasis relative to the number of historical sites, as newly colonized sites are not detected. This drawback can be avoided with complete resurveys of study areas. We used 100‐year‐old historical information on 99 mountain plants from a 174 km2 area in Switzerland and performed a revisitation study and a complete resurvey. The resurvey was used to determine the magnitude of the bias of revisitation. In the revisitation study, we found an average loss of historical sites of plant species of 51.1% (SE = 3.4%). When sites newly observed in the resurvey were also considered and assumed to represent new colonizations, the average loss in sites declined to 26.8% (SE = 5.7%). However, if newly observed sites were treated as historically overlooked sites the loss of sites was only 45.7% (SE = 3.4%). Our results thus show that revisitation studies can overestimate local extinction, but that the corresponding bias depends on whether newly observed sites are considered as historically overlooked sites or as new colonizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates for rare to very rare floods are limited by the relatively short streamflow records available. Often, pragmatic conversion factors are used to quantify such events based on extrapolated observations, or simplifying assumptions are made about extreme precipitation and resulting flood peaks. Continuous simulation (CS) is an alternative approach that better links flood estimation with physical processes and avoids assumptions about antecedent conditions. However, long-term CS has hardly been implemented to estimate rare floods (i.e. return periods considerably larger than 100 years) at multiple sites in a large river basin to date. Here we explore the feasibility and reliability of the CS approach for 19 sites in the Aare River basin in Switzerland (area: 17 700 km 2) with exceedingly long simulations in a hydrometeorological model chain. The chain starts with a multi-site stochastic weather generator used to generate 30 realizations of hourly precipitation and temperature scenarios of 10 000 years each. These realizations were then run through a bucket-type hydrological model for 80 sub-catchments and finally routed downstream with a simplified representation of main river channels, major lakes and relevant floodplains in a hydrologic routing system. Comprehensive evaluation over different temporal and spatial scales showed that the main features of the meteorological and hydrological observations are well represented and that meaningful information on low-probability floods can be inferred. Although uncertainties are still considerable, the explicit consideration of important processes of flood generation and routing (snow accumulation, snowmelt, soil moisture storage, bank overflow, lake and floodplain retention) is a substantial advantage. The approach allows for comprehensively exploring possible but unobserved spatial and temporal patterns of hydrometeorological behaviour. This is of particular value in a large river basin where the complex interaction of flows from individual tributaries and lake regulations are typically not well represented in the streamflow observations. The framework is also suitable for estimating more frequent floods, as often required in engineering and hazard mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Resurveys of vegetation plots are prone to several errors that can result in misleading conclusions. Minimizing such errors and finding alternative approaches for analyzing resurvey data are therefore important. We focused on inter‐observer error and excluded other sources of variation. Our main questions were: How large is the inter‐observer error (i.e. pseudoturnover) in vegetation surveys, and can it be reduced by simple data aggregation approaches? Which factors are affecting pseudoturnover and does it vary between morphological species groups or change over time? Is ecological inference robust against inter‐observer differences? Location: Switzerland. Methods: Over seven years, we double‐surveyed a total of 224 plots that were marked once in the field and then sampled by two observers independently on the same day. Both observers conducted full vegetation surveys, recording all vascular plant species, their cover, and additional plot information. We then calculated mean ecological indicator values and pseudoturnover. Results: Average pseudoturnover was 29% when raw species lists were compared. However, by applying simple aggregation steps to the species list, pseudoturnover was reduced to 17%. Pseudoturnover further varied among habitat types and declined over the years, indicating a training effect among observers. Most overlooked taxa, responsible for pseudoturnover, had low cover values. Mean ecological indicator values were robust against inter‐observer differences. Conclusions: To minimize pseudoturnover, we suggest continuous training of observers and species‐list aggregation prior to analysis. As mean ecological indicator values were robust against inter‐observer differences, we conclude that they can provide a reliable estimate of temporal vegetation and ecological changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new ensemble of daily runoff simulations for meso‐scale catchments in Switzerland for the period 1981–2099: The Hydro‐CH2018‐Runoff ensemble. The ensemble contains runoff simulations for 93 catchments in Switzerland covering a wide range of different catchment characteristics governed by pluvial, nival and glacial runoff regimes. The hydrological modelling system PREVAH was thoroughly calibrated and validated for each catchment. The simulations show satisfactory performance with a median Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.82 in the calibration and validation period. The calibrated parameters were then used to simulate runoff under climate change for each of the 93 catchments. These simulations were driven by the high‐resolution new Swiss climate change scenarios (CH2018) consisting of 68 GCM‐RCM combinations covering 3 different emission scenarios: RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The simulations show good agreement between simulated and observed runoff regimes in the reference period. The Hydro‐CH2018‐Runoff ensemble is publicly available under http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3937485 (Muelchi, R., Rössler, O., Schwanbeck, J., Weingartner, R., and Martius, O. (2020) Hydro‐CH2018‐Runoff ensemble (version v1). Zenodo) and can be used for further impact studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees in seasonal climates may use water originating from both winter and summer precipitation. However, the seasonal origins of water used by trees have not been systematically studied. We used stable isotopes of water to compare the seasonal origins of water found in three common tree species across 24 Swiss forest sites sampled in two different years. Water from winter precipitation was observed in trees at most sites, even at the peak of summer, although the relative representation of seasonal sources differed by species. However, the representation of winter precipitation in trees decreased with site mean annual precipitation in both years; additionally, it was generally lower in the cooler and wetter year. Together, these relationships show that precipitation amount influenced the seasonal origin of water taken up by trees across both time and space. These results suggest higher turnover of the plant‐available soil‐water pool in wetter sites and wetter years. Plain Language Summary: In the middle of a hot and dry summer, we often think that a large rain event can "rescue" a forest from drought. However, it is not clear whether trees can or do consistently use the water from summer rains. A growing body of research indicates that over the course of the summer growing season, trees take up significant amounts of water that originated as winter snow or rain. We studied the seasonal origins of the water taken up by three common tree species (beech, oak and spruce) in forest sites across Switzerland in two different years. Our results demonstrate that trees at most sites use some water from winter snow and rain, even at the height of summer, although there were differences among species and sites. The water sources used by trees likely reflect a combination of the amount and timing of winter and summer precipitation, the rate at which that precipitation moves through the soil, and the distribution of the tree roots that take up the water. Determining the seasonal origin of water used by trees, as well as why it may vary over time and space, can help us better anticipate the effects of global climate change. Key Points: We determined the representation of water originating from winter versus summer precipitation in the xylem of common Swiss treesWater originating from winter precipitation was observed in trees at most sites, even at the height of summer, but varied among speciesClimate and species appear to be key controls over spatial and inter‐annual variations in the seasonal origins of water used by trees [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the excess mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with that of other pandemics and mortality events dating back more than 100 years in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain—3 European countries that have reliable continuous data on death counts and were militarily neutral during both world wars. Visual Abstract. Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain.: This study compares the excess mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with that of other pandemics and mortality events dating back more than 100 years in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain—3 European countries that have reliable continuous data on death counts and were militarily neutral during both world wars. Background: Excess mortality quantifies the overall mortality impact of a pandemic. Mortality data have been accessible for many countries in recent decades, but few continuous data have been available for longer periods. Objective: To assess the historical dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 for 3 countries with reliable death count data over an uninterrupted span of more than 100 years. Design: Observational study. Setting: Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain, which were militarily neutral and not involved in combat during either world war and have not been affected by significant changes in their territory since the end of the 19th century. Participants: Complete populations of these 3 countries. Measurements: Continuous series of recorded deaths (from all causes) by month from the earliest available year (1877 for Switzerland, 1851 for Sweden, and 1908 for Spain) were jointly modeled with annual age group–specific death and total population counts using negative binomial and multinomial models, which accounted for temporal trends and seasonal variability of prepandemic years. The aim was to estimate the expected number of deaths in a pandemic year for a nonpandemic scenario and the difference in observed and expected deaths aggregated over the year. Results: In 2020, the number of excess deaths recorded per 100 000 persons was 100 (95% credible interval [CrI], 60 to 135) for Switzerland, 75 (CrI, 40 to 105) for Sweden, and 155 (CrI, 110 to 195) for Spain. In 1918, excess mortality was 6 to 7 times higher. In all 3 countries, the peaks of monthly excess mortality in 2020 were greater than most monthly excess mortality since 1918, including many peaks due to seasonal influenza and heat waves during that period. Limitation: Historical vital statistics might be affected by minor completeness issues before the beginning of the 20th century. Conclusion: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the second-largest infection-related mortality disaster in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain since the beginning of the 20th century. Primary Funding Source: Foundation for Research in Science and the Humanities at the University of Zurich, Swiss National Science Foundation, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: In Switzerland, the COVID‐19 incidence during the first pandemic wave was high. Our aim was to assess the association of the outbreak with acute stroke care in Switzerland in spring 2020. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis based on the Swiss Stroke Registry, which includes consecutive patients with acute cerebrovascular events admitted to Swiss Stroke Units and Stroke Centers. A linear model was fitted to the weekly admission from 2018 and 2019 and was used to quantify deviations from the expected weekly admissions from 13 March to 26 April 2020 (the "lockdown period"). Characteristics and 3‐month outcome of patients admitted during the lockdown period were compared with patients admitted during the same calendar period of 2018 and 2019. Results: In all, 28,310 patients admitted between 1 January 2018 and 26 April 2020 were included. Of these, 4491 (15.9%) were admitted in the periods March 13–April 26 of the years 2018–2020. During the lockdown in 2020, the weekly admissions dropped by up to 22% compared to rates expected from 2018 and 2019. During three consecutive weeks, weekly admissions fell below the 5% quantile (likelihood 0.38%). The proportion of intracerebral hemorrhage amongst all registered admissions increased from 7.1% to 9.3% (p = 0.006), and numerically less severe strokes were observed (median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale from 3 to 2, p = 0.07). Conclusions: Admissions and clinical severity of acute cerebrovascular events decreased substantially during the lockdown in Switzerland. Delivery and quality of acute stroke care were maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cross-sectional surveys, as well as in longitudinal panel studies, systematic gender differences in survey participation are routinely observed. Since there has been little research on this issue, this study seeks to reveal this association for web-based online surveys and computer-assisted telephone interviews in the context of a sequential mixed-mode design with a push-to-web method. Based on diverse versions of benefit--cost theories relating to deliberative and heuristic decision-making, several hypotheses are deduced and then tested by longitudinal data in the context of a multi-wave panel study on the educational and occupational trajectories of juveniles. Employing event history data on the survey participation of young panelists living in German-speaking cantons in Switzerland and matching them with geographical data at the macro level and panel characteristics at the meso level, none of the hypotheses is confirmed empirically. It is concluded that indirect measures of an individual's perceptions of a situation, and of the benefits and costs as well as the process and mechanisms of the decision relating to survey participation, are insufficient to explain this gender difference. Direct tests of these theoretical approaches are needed in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Swiss and German (pre-)hospital systems, distribution and organization of trauma centres differ from each other. It is unclear if outcome in trauma patients differs as well. Therefore, this study aims to determine differences in characteristics, therapy and outcome of trauma patients between both German-speaking countries. Methods: The TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) was used. Patients with Injury Severity Score ≥ 9 admitted to a level 1 trauma centre between 01/2009 and 12/2017 were included if they required ICU care or died. Trauma pattern, pre-hospital procedures and outcome were compared between Swiss (CH, n = 4768) and German (DE, n = 66,908) groups. Results: Swiss patients were older than German patients (53 vs. 50 years). ISS did not differ between groups (CH 23.8 vs. DE 23.0 points). There were more low falls < 3 m (34% vs. 21%) at the expense of less traffic accidents (37% vs. 52%) in the Swiss population. In Switzerland 30% of allocations were done without physician involvement, whereas this occurred in 4% of German cases. Despite a comparable number of patients with a GCS ≤ 8 (CH 29.6%; DE 26.4%), differences in pre-hospital intubation rates occurred (CH 31% vs. DE 40%). Severe traumatic brain injuries were diagnosed most frequently in Switzerland (CH 62% vs. DE 49%). Admission vital signs were similar, and standardized mortality ratios were close to one in both countries. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that patients' age, trauma patterns and pre-hospital care differ between Germany and Switzerland. However, adjusted mortality was almost similar. Further benchmarking studies are indicated to optimize trauma care in both German-speaking countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessments of climate change impacts on runoff regimes are essential to climate change adaptation and mitigation planning. Changing runoff regimes and thus changing seasonal patterns of water availability strongly influence various economic sectors such as agriculture, energy production, and fishery and also affect river ecology. In this study, we use new transient hydrological scenarios driven by the most up-to-date local climate projections for Switzerland, the Swiss Climate Change Scenarios. These provide detailed information on changes in runoff regimes and their time of emergence for 93 rivers in Switzerland under three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs): RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5. These transient scenarios also allow changes to be framed as a function of global mean temperature. The new projections for seasonal runoff changes largely confirm the sign of changes in runoff from previous hydrological scenarios with increasing winter runoff and decreasing summer and autumn runoff. Spring runoff is projected to increase in high-elevation catchments and to decrease in lower-lying catchments. Despite the increases in winter and some increases in spring, the annual mean runoff is projected to decrease in most catchments. Compared to lower-lying catchments, runoff changes in high-elevation catchments (above 1500 m a.s.l.) are larger in winter, spring, and summer due to the large influence of reduced snow accumulation and earlier snowmelt and glacier melt. The changes in runoff and the agreement between climate models on the sign of change both increase with increasing global mean temperatures and higher-emission scenarios. This amplification highlights the importance of climate change mitigation. The time of emergence is the time when the climate signal emerges significantly from natural variability. Under RCP8.5, times of emergence were found early, before the period 2036–2065, in winter and summer for catchments with mean altitudes above 1500 m a.s.l. Significant changes in catchments below 1500 m a.s.l. emerge later in the century. Not all catchments show significant changes in the distribution of seasonal means; thus, no time of emergence could be determined in these catchments. Furthermore, the significant changes of seasonal mean runoff are not persistent over time in some catchments due to nonlinear changes in runoff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future changes in river runoff will impact many sectors such as agriculture, energy production, or ecosystems. Here, we study changes in the seasonality, frequency, and magnitude of moderate low and high flows and their time of emergence. The time of emergence indicates the timing of significant changes in the flow magnitudes. Daily runoff is simulated for 93 Swiss catchments for the period 1981–2099 under Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 with 20 climate model chains from the most recent transient Swiss Climate Change Scenarios. In the present climate, annual low flows typically occur in the summer half-year in lower-lying catchments (<1500 m a.s.l.) and in the winter half-year in Alpine catchments (>1500 m a.s.l.). By the end of the 21st century, annual low flows are projected to occur in late summer and early autumn in most catchments. This indicates that decreasing precipitation and increasing evapotranspiration in summer and autumn exceed the water contributions from other processes such as snowmelt and glacier melt. In lower-lying catchments, the frequency of annual low flows increases, but their magnitude decreases and becomes more severe. In Alpine catchments, annual low flows occur less often and their magnitude increases. The magnitude of seasonal low flows is projected to decrease in the summer half-year in most catchments and to increase in the winter half-year in Alpine catchments. Early time of emergence is found for annual low flows in Alpine catchments in the 21st century due to early changes in low flows in the winter half-year. In lower-lying catchments, significant changes in low flows emerge later in the century. Annual high flows occur today in lower-lying catchments in the winter half-year and in Alpine catchments in the summer half-year. Climate change will change this seasonality mainly in Alpine catchments with a shift towards earlier seasonality in summer due to the reduced contribution of snowmelt and glacier melt in summer. Annual high flows tend to occur more frequent, and their magnitude increases in most catchments except some Alpine catchments. The magnitude of seasonal high flows in most catchments is projected to increase in the winter half-year and to decrease in the summer half-year. However, the climate model agreement on the sign of change in moderate high flows is weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of geological carbon storage depends on the assurance of permanent containment for injected carbon dioxide (CO 2) in the storage formation at depth. One of the critical elements of the safekeeping of CO 2 is the sealing capacity of the caprock overlying the storage formation despite faults and/or fractures, which may occur in it. In this work, we present an ongoing injection experiment performed in a fault hosted in clay at the Mont Terri underground rock laboratory (NW Switzerland). The experiment aims to improve our understanding of the main physical and chemical mechanisms controlling (i) the migration of CO 2 through a fault damage zone, (ii) the interaction of the CO 2 with the neighboring intact rock, and (iii) the impact of the injection on the transmissivity in the fault. To this end, we inject CO 2 -saturated saline water in the top of a 3 m thick fault in the Opalinus Clay, a clay formation that is a good analog of common caprock for CO 2 storage at depth. The mobility of the CO 2 within the fault is studied at the decameter scale by using a comprehensive monitoring system. Our experiment aims to close the knowledge gap between laboratory and reservoir scales. Therefore, an important aspect of the experiment is the decameter scale and the prolonged duration of observations over many months. We collect observations and data from a wide range of monitoring systems, such as a seismic network, pressure temperature and electrical conductivity sensors, fiber optics, extensometers, and an in situ mass spectrometer for dissolved gas monitoring. The observations are complemented by laboratory data on collected fluids and rock samples. Here we show the details of the experimental concept and installed instrumentation, as well as the first results of the preliminary characterization. An analysis of borehole logging allows for identifying potential hydraulic transmissive structures within the fault zone. A preliminary analysis of the injection tests helped estimate the transmissivity of such structures within the fault zone and the pressure required to mechanically open such features. The preliminary tests did not record any induced microseismic events. Active seismic tomography enabled sharp imaging the fault zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many regions, drought is suspected to be a cause of Scots pine decline and mortality, but the underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear. Because of their relationship to ecohydrological processes, δ18O values in tree rings are potentially useful for deciphering long-term physiological responses and tree adaptation to increasing drought. We therefore analyzed both needle- and stem-level isotope fractionations in mature trees exposed to varying water supply. In a first experiment, we investigated seasonal δ18O variations in soil and needle water of Scots pine in a dry inner Alpine valley in Switzerland, comparing drought-stressed trees with trees that were irrigated for more than 10 years. In a second experiment, we analyzed twentieth-century δ18O variations in tree rings of the same forest, including a group of trees that had recently died. We observed less 18O enrichment in needle water of drought-stressed compared with irrigated trees. We applied different isotope fractionation models to explain these results, including the Péclet and the two-pool correction, which considers the ratio of unenriched xylem water in the needles to total needle water. Based on anatomical measurements, we found this ratio to be unchanged in drought-stressed needles, although they were shorter. The observed lower 18O enrichment in needles of stressed trees was therefore likely caused by increased effective path length for water movement within the leaf lamina. In the tree-ring study, we observed lower δ18O values in tree rings of dead trees compared with survivors during several decades prior to their death. These lower values in declining trees are consistent with the lower needle water 18O enrichment observed for drought-stressed compared with irrigated trees, suggesting that this needle-level signal is reflected in the tree rings, although changes in rooting depth could also play a role. Our study demonstrates that long-term effects of drought are reflected in the tree-ring δ18O values, which helps to provide a better understanding of past tree physiological changes of Scots pine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to recalibrate the Swiss lichen bioindication methods, developed and calibrated with air pollution data 30 years ago. Since then, levels of air pollution have considerably decreased, and the mix of pollutants has changed due to successful emission control in Switzerland and neighboring countries. In particular, there has been a change from a sulfur- and acid-dominated to a more nitrogen-dominated pollution mix of NH3/NOx and ozone, resulting in increased pH levels. This allowed a recolonization and change in abundance and composition of the epiphytic lichen vegetation, indicating an improved air quality in Switzerland. The existing indices of atmospheric pollution or purity IAP18 and IAPBR developed 30 years ago showed good longitudinal correlations with air pollutant levels until the end of the last century, but a growing drift was observed in some regions over the last 15 years. This called for a method recalibration with more recent air pollution data. Data from a total of 7178 trees from 22 Swiss regions grouped into 1331 homogenous plots and covering the period 1994 to 2017 were averaged by year within plots. Three pollutant-specific lichen indices were newly established, one for primary pollutants (NO2, PM10, SO2), one for ozone (AOT40f), and one for ammonia (NH3). These pollutant-specific lichen indices were derived from linear regression models with lichen variables and a linear time trend variable as predictors, using time-dependent coefficients. Parameters were selected using the Lasso method. The primary pollutant lichen index showed a coefficient of determination R2 of 0.86 in the model with NO2, PM10, and SO2 as predictor variables, whereas corresponding models with other predictor variables (i.e., NH3, AOT40f, and meteorological variables) were of considerably lower fit. Regionalized lichen models for three larger Swiss regions revealed even better results, compared with the unified Swiss models. The best regionalized ozone and ammonia lichen indices reached an R2 of 0.88 and 0.71, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable ozone trends after 2000 are essential to detect early ozone recovery. However, the long-term ground-based and satellite ozone profile trends reported in the literature show a high variability. There are multiple reasons for variability in the reported long-term trends such as the measurement timing and the dataset quality. The Payerne Switzerland microwave radiometer (MWR) ozone trends are significantly positive at 2 % to 3 % per decade in the upper stratosphere (5–1 hPa , 35–48 km), with a high variation with altitude. This is in accordance with the Northern Hemisphere (NH) trends reported by other ground-based instruments in the SPARC LOTUS project. In order to determine what part of the variability between different datasets comes from measurement timing, Payerne MWR and SOCOL v3.0 chemistry–climate model (CCM) trends were estimated for each hour of the day with a multiple linear regression model. Trends were quantified as a function of local solar time (LST). In the middle and upper stratosphere, differences as a function of LST are reported for both the MWR and simulated trends for the post-2000 period. However, these differences are not significant at the 95 % confidence level. In the lower mesosphere (1–0.1 hPa , 48–65 km), the 2010–2018 day- and nighttime trends have been considered. Here again, the variation in the trend with LST is not significant at the 95 % confidence level. Based on these results we conclude that significant trend differences between instruments cannot be attributed to a systematic temporal sampling effect. The dataset quality is of primary importance in a reliable trend derivation, and multi-instrument comparison analyses can be used to assess the long-term stability of data records by estimating the drift and bias of instruments. The Payerne MWR dataset has been homogenized to ensure a stable measurement contribution to the ozone profiles and to take into account the effects of three major instrument upgrades. At each instrument upgrade, a correction offset has been calculated using parallel measurements or simultaneous measurements by an independent instrument. At pressure levels smaller than 0.59 hPa (above ∼50 km), the homogenization corrections to be applied to the Payerne MWR ozone profiles are dependent on LST. Due to the lack of reference measurements with a comparable measurement contribution at a high time resolution, a comprehensive homogenization of the sub-daily ozone profiles was possible only for pressure levels larger than 0.59 hPa. The ozone profile dataset from the Payerne MWR, Switzerland, was compared with profiles from the GROMOS MWR in Bern, Switzerland, satellite instruments (MLS, MIPAS, HALOE, SCHIAMACHY, GOMOS), and profiles simulated by the SOCOL v3.0 CCM. The long-term stability and mean biases of the time series were estimated as a function of the measurement time (day- and nighttime). The homogenized Payerne MWR ozone dataset agrees within ±5 % with the MLS dataset over the 30 to 65 km altitude range and within ±10 % of the HARMonized dataset of OZone profiles (HARMOZ, limb and occultation measurements from ENVISAT) over the 30 to 65 km altitude range. In the upper stratosphere, there is a large nighttime difference between Payerne MWR and other datasets, which is likely a result of the mesospheric signal aliasing with lower levels in the stratosphere due to a lower vertical resolution at that altitude. Hence, the induced bias at 55 km is considered an instrumental artifact and is not further analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally accepted that the spatial distribution of neutral genetic diversity within a species' native range mostly depends on effective population size, demographic history, and geographic position. However, it is unclear how genetic diversity at adaptive loci correlates with geographic peripherality or with habitat suitability within the ecological niche. Using exome‐wide genomic data and distribution maps of the Alpine range, we first tested whether geographic peripherality correlates with four measures of population genetic diversity at > 17,000 SNP loci in 24 Alpine populations (480 individuals) of Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra) from Switzerland. To distinguish between neutral and adaptive SNP sets, we used four approaches (two gene diversity estimates, FST outlier test, and environmental association analysis) that search for signatures of selection. Second, we established ecological niche models for P. cembra in the study range and investigated how habitat suitability correlates with genetic diversity at neutral and adaptive loci. All estimates of neutral genetic diversity decreased with geographic peripherality, but were uncorrelated with habitat suitability. However, heterozygosity (He) at adaptive loci based on Tajima's D declined significantly with increasingly suitable conditions. No other diversity estimates at adaptive loci were correlated with habitat suitability. Our findings suggest that populations at the edge of a species' geographic distribution harbour limited neutral genetic diversity due to demographic properties. Moreover, we argue that populations from suitable habitats went through strong selection processes, are thus well adapted to local conditions, and therefore exhibit reduced genetic diversity at adaptive loci compared to populations at niche margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to assess rates of severe parkinsonism related to different antipsychotic drugs (APDs) using data from an observational pharmacovigilance programme in German-speaking countries—Arzneimittelsicherheit in der Psychiatrie (AMSP). Data on APD utilization and reports of severe APD-induced parkinsonism were collected in 99 psychiatric hospitals in Austria, Germany and Switzerland during the period 2001–2016. Of 340,099 patients under surveillance, 245,958 patients were treated with APDs for the main indications of schizophrenic disorders, depression, mania and organic mental disorders. A total of 200 events of severe APD-induced parkinsonism were identified (0.08%). First-generation low-potency APDs were significantly less often implicated (0.02%) than second-generation APDs (0.07%) and first-generation high-potency APDs (0.16%). Among the second-generation APDs, amisulpride and risperidone ranked highest. The phenothiazines were associated with significantly lower rates of severe parkinsonism (0.02%) than those of the butyrophenones (0.11%) and thioxanthenes (0.12%). In 71 cases (35.5%), more than 1 drug was considered responsible for the induction of severe parkinsonism. In 44 patients (22.0%), the symptoms were extremely severe, leading to complete immobility and/or massive complications such as pneumonia and severe injuries due to falls. Higher age (> 60 years) was associated with significantly higher rates of severe parkinsonism, as were the diagnoses of schizophrenic disorder or mania. The large number of patients included in the present survey allows for the comparison of severe parkinsonism rates related to different APD classes and single APDs. The first-generation low-potency APDs had significantly reduced risk of severe parkinsonism compared not only to high potency but also to second-generation APDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat loss leading to smaller patch sizes and decreasing connectivity is a major threat to global biodiversity. While some species vanish immediately after a change in habitat conditions, others show delayed extinction, that is, an extinction debt. In case of an extinction debt, the current species richness is higher than expected under present habitat conditions.We investigated wetlands of the canton of Zürich in the lowlands of Eastern Switzerland where a wetland loss of 90% over the last 150 years occurred. We related current species richness to current and past patch area and connectivity (in 1850, 1900, 1950, and 2000). We compared current with predicted species richness in wetlands with a substantial loss in patch area based on the species‐area relationship of wetlands without substantial loss in patch area and studied relationships between the richness of different species groups and current and historical area and connectivity of wetland patches.We found evidence of a possible extinction debt for long‐lived wetland specialist vascular plants: in wetlands, which substantially lost patch area, current species richness of long‐lived specialist vascular plants was higher than would have been expected based on current patch area. Additionally and besides current wetland area, historical area also explained current species richness of these species in a substantial and significant way. No evidence for an extinction debt in bryophytes was found.The possible unpaid extinction debt in the wetlands of the canton of Zürich is an appeal to nature conservation, which has the possibility to prevent likely future extinctions of species through specific conservation measures. In particular, a further reduction in wetlands must be prevented and restoration measures must be taken to increase the number of wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cardiovascular diseases are still the leading cause of global mortality. Some antipsychotic agents can show severe cardiovascular side effects and are also associated with metabolic syndrome. Methods This observational study was based on data of AMSP (Arzneimittelsicherheit in der Psychiatrie), a multicenter drug surveillance program in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, that recorded severe drug reactions in psychiatric inpatients. Results A total of 404 009 inpatients were monitored between 1993 and 2013, whereas 291 510 were treated with antipsychotics either in combination or alone. There were 376 cases of severe cardiovascular adverse reactions reported in the given timespan, yielding a relative frequency of 0.13%. The study revealed that incidence rates of cardiovascular adverse reactions were highest during treatment with ziprasidone (0.35%), prothipendyl (0.32%), and clozapine (0.23%). The lowest rate of cardiovascular symptoms occurred during treatment with promethazine (0.03%) as well as with aripiprazole (0.06%). The most common clinical symptoms were orthostatic collapse and severe hypotonia, sinustachycardia, QTc prolongation, myocarditis, and different forms of arrhythmia. The dosage at the timepoint when severe cardiovascular events occurred was not higher in any of the given antipsychotics than in everyday clinical practice and was in average therapeutic ranges. In terms of subclasses of antipsychotics, no significant statistical difference was seen in the overall frequencies of adverse reactions cases, when first-generation high potency, first-generation low potency, and second-generation antipsychotics were compared. Thirty percent of adverse events among second-generation antipsychotics were induced by clozapine. Conclusions Our findings on cardiovascular adverse reactions contribute to a better understanding of cardiovascular risk profiles of antipsychotic agents in inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the national government and the universities in Switzerland is outlined. It is suggested that the state should acknowledge universities as the best judges of many educational issues, and should establish laws that merely outline university responsibilities. (MSE)

Objectives: The study aimed to assess seizure rates related to different antipsychotic drugs (APDs) in a clinical setting using data from the drug safety programme Arzneimittelsicherheit in der Psychiatrie (AMSP). Methods: Psychotropic drug use data and reports of APD-related seizures were collected in 89 psychiatric hospitals in Austria, Germany and Switzerland from 1993 to 2015. Results: Of 475,096 patients under surveillance, 320,383 patients were treated with APDs for the main indications of schizophrenic disorders, mood disorders and organic disorders. A total of 144 APD-related tonic clonic seizures were identified (0.04%). The butyrophenones ranked slightly lower (0.03%) compared to the phenothiazines, thioxanthenes and second-generation APDs (0.05% each). No significant differences were observed when comparing first- and second-generation APDs. Clozapine was related to the highest seizure rate (0.18%). In 107 cases (74.3%), more than one drug was considered responsible for seizure induction. With the exception of clozapine, seizures imputed to a single APD were in the clear minority. Seizure rates under the combinations of APDs with tricyclic antidepressants or lithium, as well as under triple combinations of APDs, were increased approximately two-fold. Young age (≤30 years), the male gender, and diagnosis of schizophrenic disorder were associated with significantly higher seizure rates (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Closely reflecting daily clinical practice, the present results provide supplementary information regarding APD therapy for patients not only at risk for seizures but also seizure-unaffected psychiatric inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2011, WHO growth curves replaced those of Prader and colleagues (First Zurich longitudinal study) in Switzerland. Aim: To present contemporary height-, weight- and body mass index (BMI)-for-age references reflecting children's growth in modern Switzerland. Subjects and methods: Cross-sectional sample comprising 30,141 boys and girls aged 0–20 years measured between 2012 and 2019. Height, weight and BMI reference curves were created using the LMS method. Derived percentiles were compared with those of Prader, WHO and neighbouring countries. Results: Growth in the first 5 years is almost identical with Prader curves. Thereafter children are taller, yet their final height is only about 1 cm higher. Today's children, in particular boys, are considerably heavier. In comparison with WHO growth references, Swiss children are taller from the second year until adulthood; the WHO 3rd percentiles lie about 4 cm below those of our updated references. Weight and BMI median percentiles from our sample are similar to those of WHO and higher than the Prader curves. However, the course of the 97th BMI percentile WHO curves extends well below the 97th percentile of the updated Swiss curves. Conclusion: This study provides contemporary reference data for assessing individual growth based on height, weight and BMI of Swiss children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topology of animal transport networks contributes substantially to how fast and to what extent a disease can transmit between animal holdings. Therefore, public authorities in many countries mandate livestock holdings to report all movements of animals. However, the reported data often does not contain information about the exact sequence of transports, making it impossible to assess the effect of truck sharing and truck contamination on disease transmission. The aim of this study was to analyze the topology of the Swiss pig transport network by means of social network analysis and to assess the implications for disease transmission between animal holdings. In particular, we studied how additional information about transport sequences changes the topology of the contact network. The study is based on the official animal movement database in Switzerland and a sample of transport data from one transport company. The results show that the Swiss pig transport network is highly fragmented, which mitigates the risk of a large-scale disease outbreak. By considering the time sequence of transports, we found that even in the worst case, only 0.34% of all farm-pairs were connected within one month. However, both network connectivity and individual connectedness of farms increased if truck sharing and especially truck contamination were considered. Therefore, the extent to which a disease may be transmitted between animal holdings may be underestimated if we only consider data from the official animal movement database. Our results highlight the need for a comprehensive analysis of contacts between farms that includes indirect contacts due to truck sharing and contamination. As the nature of animal transport networks is inherently temporal, we strongly suggest the use of temporal network measures in order to evaluate individual and overall risk of disease transmission through animal transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health has recommended vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer since 2008. To establish monitoring of the future public health impact of vaccination, baseline population-based data are required. The objectives of this study were to examine the distribution of oncogenic HPV genotypes in biopsies with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia stage 3 or more severe lesions (CIN3+) at the beginning of HPV vaccination programmes and to compare sociodemographic and behavioural factors of women with CIN3+ with women in the Swiss general population.Methods: We conducted a retrospective and prospective cross-sectional study with women diagnosed with CIN3+ in Switzerland. Ten pathology institutes from six cantons and three language regions participated. We conducted HPV typing on formaldehyde fixed-paraffin embedded specimens from 2014 and 2015. Women enrolled in 2015 were asked to complete a questionnaire. We described frequencies of HPV types. We also compared demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status in the CIN3 + plus group with the Swiss National Cohort in 2014 and compared risk factors for HPV infection with the Swiss Health Survey in 2012.Results: We included 768 biopsies from 767 women. Four hundred and seventy-five (61.8%) biopsies were positive for HPV 16 and/or 18, 687 (89.5%) were positive for oncogenic HPV genotypes 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and/or 58 and five (0.7%) were HPV negative. Twenty-eight (10.3%) of the 273 women who completed the patient questionnaire reported having received at least one dose of an HPV vaccine. When compared with Swiss women in the six study cantons, fewer women in the CIN3+ plus study group were of Swiss nationality, more were born abroad and more were single. The study group also had a higher proportion of women with ≥2 partners in the last year, current smokers and was younger at age of first sexual intercourse.Conclusions: Introduction of the nonavalent vaccine could cover approximately 90% of CIN3+ lesions in Swiss women compared with around 60% with the quadrivalent vaccine. Surveillance of HPV genotype distribution in CIN3+, together with information about vaccination and CIN3+ incidence will allow monitoring of the public health impact of vaccination programmes.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02323997 . Registered 24 December 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the World Trade Organization (WTO) and one of its important instruments, Trade Policy Review (TPR), should refocus on what they were created for: trade policy. This strategy is shown to be well‐founded in international trade theory. In contrast, the TPR 2017 on Switzerland and Liechtenstein deals with a large number of policies that are not or only indirectly related to international trade, but lie at the core of a country's self‐identification and sovereignty. It is concluded that the world trade system would gain in political support and thus benefit if countries were limited in their interference at the border, but enjoyed more freedom in their national policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overcoming reliance on non-renewable resources is a key concern of energy transitions worldwide. But as the literature on carbon lock-in has shown, overcoming path dependence is all but trivial. Even well-minded decision-makers tend to relapse into inertia when it comes to making concrete divestment decisions. We investigate one specific case, the 2016 Swiss popular initiative to phase out nuclear power, to explore the cognitive and affective drivers of energy path dependence on the individual level. Within eight weeks of an intense political campaign, support for this initiative dropped from more than 60 to just 45.8% of Swiss voters. Based on a representative longitudinal survey ( N  = 1014), we show that changes in perceived risk and benefit of nuclear power play key roles in explaining fading voter support for nuclear divestment, and that affect is in turn a significant driver of those changes. By framing it as a choice between the lesser evil of nuclear power or importing German coal power, opponents of the phase-out managed to introduce an asymmetrically dominated option into voters' choice set, leading many to change their original voting intentions. Our paper responds to calls for integrating dual-process theories (“ thinking fast and slow ”) into research in Ecological Economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes in agricultural practice during the last century resulted in high-input farming in lowlands and the abandonment of crop fields in marginally profitable mountain regions. In Switzerland abandoned fields were converted into grassland. These fields had a rich historical flora and the few still existing fields still belong to the most species rich. As many arable weeds produce persistent seeds, abandoned fields should have a high potential to promote rare and threatened arable plants if tilled again. To test this hypothesis we collected 21 soil samples down to 20 cm depth in each the centre and the border of 38 abandoned fields. The centre and border samples of each field were each pooled, and afterwards the present seeds washed out. These seeds were then sown in pots and germination monitored in a greenhouse during six months. A total of 119 plant species were identified. Of these, 48 species were typical arable weeds and only one was red listed in Switzerland. The number of arable weeds per former field was lower at higher altitudes. Hence, the surveyed meadows have a small potential to promote threatened arable weeds if tilled again. Likely, some seeds were no longer viable because the fields were not tilled for a too long. If on newly established conservation fields no threatened species grow spontaneously after a few years, the reintroduction of desired plant species should be considered. The source of the seeds should preferably be a nearby species pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several experts such as Nicole A. Mathys, Rolf Frischknecht, and Brian Cox discusses various paper at the 66th life cycle assessment (LCA) forum, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Zurich, Switzerland held on August 30, 2017. Topics discussed include environmental impacts of electric cars and mobility scenarios; planning of road and rail infrastructure programmes, air emission, and others in the nation; and focuses on climate change.

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