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Table 1 Research methodologies applied in the Mountland project

From: Inter- and transdisciplinary perspective on the integration of ecological processes into ecosystem services analysis in a mountain region

Research discipline and focus

Methodology

Description

References

Ecology (impact of global change on forest processes and ecosystem goods and services)

Experiments

Afforestation (irrigated/non-irrigated, altitudinal gradients, transplantations)

Eilmann et al. 2010,2011

Rain-out shelter (under shelter/open land)

Eilmann and Rigling 2012

Rigling et al. 2013

Thinnings (understory/overstory removal)

Monitoring

National forest inventory and plots from the long-term ecosystem monitoring program

Weber et al. 2008; Wermelinger et al. 2008; Zweifel et al. 2009; Rigling et al. 2010; Heiniger et al. 2011

Additional temporal monitoring of plots (e.g., for insects, mistletoe, pathogens)

Modeling

Forest dynamics and future forest states were simulated using the landscape-scale model LandClim

Elkin and Bugmann 2010; Elkin et al. 2012,2013

Socio-economic (land-use change analysis under global change)

Modeling

Modeling concomitant effects of climate and land-use change on the provision of ecosystem goods and services using an activity-based, spatially explicit economic land allocation model

Briner et al. 2012,2013ab

Formative scenario analysis

Constructing consistent regional multi-scale scenarios by transdisciplinary processes

Brand et al. 2013

Policy analysis (identification of best accepted policy strategies)

Policy network and policy preferences analysis

Network structures and governance modes in adaptation policies in the Canton of Valais; role of network governance in enhancing sustainable development in mountain areas

Ingold et al. 2010; Hirschi 2010

Network dynamics and policy preferences in Swiss agricultural and forest policy

Hirschi et al. 2013