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Dataset on new snow water equivalent
This dataset includes quality-controlled measurements of new snow depth (HN), new snow water equivalent (HNW), snow depth (HS), and snow water equivalent (SWE) from 41 stations located in Switzerland for the period from 2016-09-01 to 2022-08-31. These data are the basis of the following publication: Magnusson J., Cluzet B., Quéno L., Mott R., Oberrauch M., Mazzotti G., Marty C., Jonas T., 2025, Evaluating methods to estimate the water equivalent of new snow from daily snow depth recordings, Cold Regions Science and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2025.104435. Abstract The water equivalent of new snow (HNW) plays a crucial role in various fields, including hydrological modeling, avalanche forecasting, and assessing snow loads on structures. However, in contrast to snow depth (HS), obtaining HNW measurements is challenging as well as time-consuming and is hence rarely measured. Therefore, we assess the reliability of two semi-empirical methods, HS2SWE and ΔSNOW, for estimating HNW. These methods are designed to simulate continuous water equivalent of the snowpack (SWE) from daily HS only, with changes in SWE yielding daily HNW estimates. We compare both parametric methods against HNW predictions from a physics-based snow model (FSM2oshd) that integrates daily HS recordings using data assimilation. Our findings reveal that all methods exhibit similar performance, with relative biases of less than ~3 % in replicating SWE observations commonly used for model evaluations. However, the ΔSNOW model tends to underestimate daily HNW by ~17 %, whereas HS2SWE and FSM2oshd combined with a particle filter data assimilation scheme provide nearly unbiased estimates, with relative biases below ~5 %. In contrast to the parsimonious parametric methods, we show that the physics-based approach can yield information about unobserved variables, such as total solid precipitation amounts, that may differ from HNW due to concurrent melt. Overall, our results underscore the potential of utilizing commonly available daily HS data in conjunction with appropriate modeling techniques to provide valuable insights into snow accumulation processes. Our study demonstrates that daily SWE observations or supplementary measurements like HNW are important for validating the day-to-day accuracy of simulations and should ideally already be incorporated during the calibration and development of models. Acknowlegements These data were recorded by SLF observers and staff members. Their contribution is gratefully acknowledged.
GEM2: Meteorological and snow station at Gemsstock (3021 m asl), Canton Uri, Switzerland
Meteorological station at Gemstock (3021 m asl) in Canton Uri. The station includes in/out LW/SW and a snow height sensor. Data from this station is managed by the permos.ch project. More information: https://www.permos.ch/permafrost-monitoring/field-sites
Compilation of normalized crack propagation speeds
Compilation of normalized crack-propagation speeds (expressed as a fraction of the slab shear-wave speed). The dataset contains crack-propagation speeds from DEM simulations (79 flat and 6 tilted; Bobillier et al., 2024), MPM simulations (48 flat and 191 tilted; Trottet et al., 2022), and field measurements: PSTs (222 data points, including 192 from low-angle terrain < 30°; van Herwijnen et al., 2016) and avalanche-video analyses (6 cross-slope and 5 down-slope speeds; Trottet et al., 2022). The dataset also includes Python scripts that generate the relative-frequency distribution of the compiled, normalized crack-propagation speeds. Bobillier, G., Bergfeld, B., Dual, J., Gaume, J., van Herwijnen, A., 55 and Schweizer, J.: Numerical investigation of crack propagation regimes in snow fracture experiments, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-024-01423-5 2024 Trottet, B., Simenhois, R., Bobillier, G., Bergfeld, B., van Herwijnen, A., Jiang, C. F. F., and Gaume, J.: Transi- 55 tion from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation in snow avalanches, Nat. Phys., 18, 1094–1098, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01662-4, 2022. van Herwijnen, A., Gaume, J., Bair, E. H., Reuter, B., Birkeland, K. W., and Schweizer, J.: Estimating the effective elastic modulus and specific fracture energy of snowpack layers from field experiments, J. Glaciol., 62, 997–1007, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.90, 2016a.
Individual Detected Trees
This dataset provides individual detected trees for selected Swiss Cantons (Appenzell Outer-Rhodes - AR, Grisons - GR, Nidwald - NW, Obwald - OW and St. Gall - SG), including the derived diameter at breast height and the derived NFI development stage. Data show the Individual detected trees (ITD) with the x- and y-positions of each detected tree based on a spike-free vegetation height model based on nationwide LiDAR data. The shapefile contains the following attributes: tree height [m] (Height), estimated diameter at breast height [cm] (BHD), and the NFI development stage (Ent; 1: young growth/thicket (< 12 cm); 2: pole timber (12-30 cm); 3: young timber (31-40 cm); 4: medium timber (41-50 cm); 5: old timber (> 50 cm).
Stable water isotopes and EC in overland flow, topsoil interflow, soil water, groundwater, and rainwater for 12 rainfall events in the Studibach catchment, Alptal, Switzerland
This dataset contains stable isotope ratios of oxygen and hydrogen (O-18 and H-2) and electrical conductivity (EC) in overland flow (OF), topsoil interflow (TIF), soil water, groundwater, and rainwater for 12 rainfall events during the snow-free seasons of 2021 and 2022 in the Studibach catchment, Alptal, Switzerland. Overland flow, topsoil interflow (i.e., lateral flow from the more densely rooted soil layer), soil water, and groundwater were collected at 14 small trenched runoff plots (1 x 3 m) in three subcatchments (C2, C3, C5) of the Studibach catchment. Overland flow was collected from the surface up to 2-5 cm depth and thus includes biomat flow. A trench was used to collect topsoil interflow (up to 60 cm below the surface; see Table 1 in the manuscript for details). Rainwater was collected at two locations in the Studibach catchment (in C3 and C5, respectively). Soil water was collected in between the events from suction lysimeters installed at 12.5 cm and 20 cm below the soil surface in the middle of each plot. Groundwater was collected between events from wells installed near the plots up to the soil-bedrock interface. The water samples were analysed for the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (O-18 and H-2) using with a cavity ring-down spectroscope (CRDS; L2140-i or L2130-i, Picarro, Inc., USA) at the Chair of Hydrology at the University of Freiburg, Germany. The isotope ratios are reported in per mil (‰) relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water. A more detailed description of the field setup, data collection and preparation can be found in Leuteritz et al. (in press). The dataset contains in addition to the sample identifier and the site and event identifiers that are used in the publication, also the sample collection date (typically one day after the event) and the coordinates for each plot (coordinate system: WGS84). For the plots for which samples were collected with an automatic sampler (ISCO), the date and time (UTC) of sample collection are given as well.
Soil measurements of Seewer Berg and Davos
The dataset contains measured values of soil liquid water content, matric potential, and soil texture of 40 soil samples in Davos, Switzerland. The measurements were used for determining van Genuchten parameter values through fitting of water retention curves, pedotransfer functions, and inverse fitting with Hydrus-1D.
Data and code underlying 'Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals biodiversity recovery in tropical forest restoration across multiple landscapes'
This dataset contains code and data to reproduce the figures and analyses in the article 'Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals biodiversity recovery in tropical forest restoration across multiple landscapes' in Ecosphere journal. In this study, we analysed environmental DNA data from water and soil samples collected across gradients of forest regrowth at six sites in Colombia to assess the recovery of mammal and soil biodiversity associated with forest restoration.
Photos of vegetative and reproductive parts of 560 vascular plant species taken in all biogeographic regions of Switzerland
This data set contains roughly 5600 photographs of plants and plant parts from 153 sites recorded in all major biogeographic regions of Switzerland using smartphone cameras. Image names contain a letter referring to depicted plant parts: b = bark, i = inflorescence, f = infructescense, s = several parts, v = vegetative parts. Photos are grouped in folders by observation (individual or population), i.e., photos in the same folder are of the same species, observed at the same time and sampling plot. At a higher organisational level, these folders are grouped by sampling plot (usually 3×3 m in open areas and 10×10 m in forests). The main folder contains metadata including taxon name, sampling time and location, as well as the TypoCH habitat type encoded as integers. This data set accompanies the following publication: Popp, M. R., Zimmermann, N. E. & Brun, P. Evaluating the use of automated plant identification tools in biodiversity monitoring—a case study in Switzerland. _Ecological Informatics_ **103316** (2025) doi:[10.1016/j.ecoinf.2025.103316](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2025.103316).
Lens, Switzerland: Long-term forest meteorological data from the Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research Programme (LWF), from 1997 onwards
High quality meteorological data are needed for long-term forest ecosystem research, particularly in the light of global change. The long-term data series published here comprises almost 20 years of measurements for one meteorological station in Lens in Switzerland which is located within a natural coniferous forest with Scots pine (_Pinus sylvestris_; 150-170 yrs)) as dominant tree species. The meteorological time series are presented in hourly time resolution of air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and wind speed. Lens is part of the Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research Programme (LWF) established and maintained by the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.
Modified TypoCH reference list of diagnostic species for the classification of vegetation types in Switzerland
The TypoCH scoring system (Eggenberg & Bornand 2023), which is widely used in Switzerland, provides good results as classification method for vegetation types based on Delarze et al. (2015). However, the reference list contained species with no diagnostic value and important character species were missing. We therefore made a first attempt to modify the list based on numerical methods and expert knowledge to improve the classification success, at least for vegetation types of the open land (i.e. grasslands, fens, bogs).