On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...
On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...
On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...
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Acknowledgements<br />
I would like to express my gratitude to<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>. Dr. Hannes Flühler for his support and <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> my work and for <strong>the</strong> careful<br />
review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> manuscript.<br />
Dr. Andreas Fischl<strong>in</strong>, <strong>the</strong> director <strong>of</strong> Systems <strong>Ecology</strong> at ETHZ, for provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> work<br />
<strong>in</strong>frastructure dur<strong>in</strong>g four years, for <strong>the</strong> supervision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>sis, <strong>the</strong> freedom he<br />
gave me to carry out <strong>the</strong> study, and for <strong>the</strong> detailed review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> manuscript.<br />
<strong>the</strong> members <strong>of</strong> Systems <strong>Ecology</strong> at ETHZ, who provided a relaxed and stimulat<strong>in</strong>g work<br />
environment. I owe special thanks to Dr. Heike Lischke for many <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
discussions and <strong>the</strong> careful review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> manuscript, to Dimitrios Gyalistras for<br />
<strong>the</strong> collaboration concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> derivation <strong>of</strong> climate scenarios and wea<strong>the</strong>r generator<br />
algorithms, and to Daniel Perruchoud for <strong>the</strong> fruitful discussions about<br />
soil organic matter dynamics.<br />
Dr. Felix Kienast for <strong>the</strong> access to <strong>the</strong> source code <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> FORECE model, for <strong>the</strong> review<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> manuscript, and for his support and stimulat<strong>in</strong>g discussions.<br />
Dr. Allen M. Solomon for his will<strong>in</strong>gness to collaborate with a “virtual” Ph.D. student.<br />
His support and encouragement were essential for writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> chapter on forest<br />
dynamics <strong>in</strong> eastern North America.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>. Dr. Wolfgang Cramer, Dr. Felicitas Suckow, Petra Lasch, and Marcus L<strong>in</strong>dner,<br />
who helped to shape my thoughts about <strong>the</strong> behaviour <strong>of</strong> forest gap models<br />
along drought gradients dur<strong>in</strong>g numerous <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g discussions.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>. Dr. Christian Pfister for <strong>the</strong> access to <strong>the</strong> CLIMINDEX database and <strong>the</strong> fruitful discussion<br />
about its applicability <strong>in</strong> ecological research.<br />
Daniel Stadler for provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> references to <strong>the</strong> soil moisture data and <strong>the</strong> subsequent<br />
discussions about <strong>the</strong> simulation results.<br />
<strong>the</strong> “veterans” <strong>of</strong> Systems <strong>Ecology</strong>, Dr. Olivier Roth and Dr. Thomas Nemecek, who<br />
shared with me <strong>the</strong>ir experience on ecological modell<strong>in</strong>g and provided valuable<br />
advice <strong>in</strong> many <strong>in</strong>stances.<br />
my parents, who made my studies possible.<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ally, <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>ancial support <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Swiss Federal Institute <strong>of</strong> Technology Zürich<br />
(ETHZ) is gratefully acknowledged.