Articles | Volume 22, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2433-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2433-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Jul 2022
Research article |
| 25 Jul 2022
| 25 Jul 2022
Full-scale experiments to examine the role of deadwood in rockfall dynamics in forests
Adrian Ringenbach
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Elia Stihl
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Yves Bühler
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Peter Bebi
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Perry Bartelt
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Andreas Rigling
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Marc Christen
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Guang Lu
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Andreas Stoffel
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Martin Kistler
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Sandro Degonda
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Kevin Simmler
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Daniel Mader
Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Andrin Caviezel
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
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Cited
7 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Quantifying the long-term recovery of the protective effect of forests against rockfall after stand-replacing disturbances D. May et al. 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1197682
- Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards C. Moos et al. 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1223934
- Detecting the impact of climate change on alpine mass movements in observational records from the European Alps M. Jacquemart et al. 10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104886
- Full-scale rockfall impact testing on untreated logs from protective mixed forests in the Pyrenees P. Gómez-García et al. 10.1016/j.enggeo.2025.108202
- Maintaining rockfall protection in mountain forests under climate change: optimizing management for sustainable stem size distributions U. Hiltner et al. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113634
- Modeling deadwood for rockfall mitigation assessments in windthrow areas A. Ringenbach et al. 10.5194/esurf-10-1303-2022
- Shape still matters: rockfall interactions with trees and deadwood in a mountain forest uncover a new facet of rock shape dependency A. Ringenbach et al. 10.5194/esurf-11-779-2023
7 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Quantifying the long-term recovery of the protective effect of forests against rockfall after stand-replacing disturbances D. May et al. 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1197682
- Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards C. Moos et al. 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1223934
- Detecting the impact of climate change on alpine mass movements in observational records from the European Alps M. Jacquemart et al. 10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104886
- Full-scale rockfall impact testing on untreated logs from protective mixed forests in the Pyrenees P. Gómez-García et al. 10.1016/j.enggeo.2025.108202
- Maintaining rockfall protection in mountain forests under climate change: optimizing management for sustainable stem size distributions U. Hiltner et al. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113634
- Modeling deadwood for rockfall mitigation assessments in windthrow areas A. Ringenbach et al. 10.5194/esurf-10-1303-2022
- Shape still matters: rockfall interactions with trees and deadwood in a mountain forest uncover a new facet of rock shape dependency A. Ringenbach et al. 10.5194/esurf-11-779-2023
Latest update: 30 Jun 2025
Short summary
Forests have a recognized braking effect on rockfalls. The impact of lying deadwood, however, is mainly neglected. We conducted 1 : 1-scale rockfall experiments in three different states of a spruce forest to fill this knowledge gap: the original forest, the forest including lying deadwood and the cleared area. The deposition points clearly show that deadwood has a protective effect. We reproduced those experimental results numerically, considering three-dimensional cones to be deadwood.
Forests have a recognized braking effect on rockfalls. The impact of lying deadwood, however, is...
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