Swiss National Park

Julia Richesson, Adia Johnson, Seth Nagle, Mac Scott, Azul Cook

Location Overview:

Swiss National Park is located in the Western Rhaetian alps, in Eastern Switzerland. It is the one and only national park in Switzerland and it sits on about 170 square kilometers of alpine nature reservations. There are alpine forests, large rock formations, alpine meadows and many well maintained trails. This location is an essential part in Switzerland's tourism, the best time to visit being typically July- September for general mountain hiking. During the winter months hiking is limited to day hikes and short walks, due to weather or potential snow. (1)

Park Image

Temperature Ranges:

Temperatures are high during the summer months and can reach up to 77°F

They are low during the winter months with ranges from 14°F to 23°F

Average Temperature falls between 32°F to 50°F

(all temperatures vary depending on elevation within the park) (3)

Climate Image

Climate Types and Characteristics:

Described as a "moderately continental" climate, weather in the mountains is highly variable and depends on the nature of the air mass that affects a given area at a given time.

At higher altitudes (above 1,500 meters) during a cold spell it can sometimes even snow in June. Comparatively, sunny days can create mild weather even in the middle of winter. (4)

The area sees frequent daily changes in weather, as well. Many days will see early hours of sunshine, only to transition to a form of precipitation or overcast. The warm season (May-September) brings frequent afternoon thunderstorms.

Though the region does see many rainy days, it doesn't receive a staggering amount of rainfall, with most days of inclement weather seeing between 2-10mm of precipitation. (5)

Graphs Link

Wind and Air Characteristics

The park is affected by the westerlies, ("prevailing winds that blow from the west at midlatitudes")

These winds can bring weather conditions and moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, altering the weather each year

Also, because of the mountains, the terrain can create wind patterns within the park

Predominant Wind direction

The wind direction is greatly influenced by its location in the Alps.

Wind patterns change, but generally flow from west to east or northwest to southeast due to the range of topography

Air Masses

"A large volume of air in the atmosphere...is mostly uniform in temperature and moisture"

The park can be affected by maritime polar air masses from the Atlantic Ocean as well as from the polar air masses from the Eurasian landmass (7)

Annual Precipitation:

The precipitation level on a yearly basis amounts to 1435 mm (56.5 inch). The month with the least amount of precipitation is February - exhibiting a mere 78 mm (3.1 inch) of rainfall. With an average of 169 mm (6.7 inches), the most precipitation falls in June. (8)

The variety of wet weathers also provide a humidity of around 70-80% (depending on day and time of year). The month of May exhibits the highest relative humidity, with about 80%. While in January, on the other hand, there is an extremely low level of relative humidity at around 71%. The average annual percentage of humidity is about 73%. (9)

Top image shows yearly precipitation on a map in millimeters.

Precipitation Chart 1

Middle image shows average humidity levels over the year.

Humidity Chart

Bottom graph shows yearly precipitation by the month. Red line shows average pattern of yearly precipitation.

Precipitation Chart 2

Weather Systems and Severe Weather

Harsh thunderstorms commonly produce damaging hailstorms, particularly in the southern part of the country. Hail falls less frequently in the mountain regions. The worst hail storms occur in the summer months, where the number of hail days is tracked and graphed. (10)

Avalanches in the Alps are a common and dangerous occurrence. Avalanches are caused when there is an unbalance of the snow on the slope and can be upset by temperature, changes in snow cover, or objects fallen on the snow like a skier. Because of all the factors affecting a slope of snow, it is nearly impossible to predict when an avalanche will occur. (11)

Windstorms is the second largest cause of damage in Switzerland with flooding being the first. They are hard to predict and cause many accidental deaths and huge amounts of damage. (12)

Hail Image

Avalanche Image

Fauna and Their Adaptations

The majority of Switzerland's wildlife is categorized as "Alpine," but there are also animals found in Central and Southern Europe. Most animals are protected for the majority of the year, with the exception of a brief hunting season each year. Over the past few decades certain indigenous wildlife have died out in the region, though there has been mild success in the reintroduction of some of these species. The Round Ibex, which had previously completely died out in the Switzerland region, has been successfully reintroduced to multiple areas. (13)

Recently, however, the Alpine region has had a noticeable amount of animal migration higher and higher into the mountains. The Ibex, Chamois, and Red Deer have all been observed to move further and further into the mountainous area. Scientists have seen behaviors like this in lizards and insects but hadn't seen it before in warm-blooded animals.

It is largely accepted that this behavior is a response to climate change, but the long-term effects aren't known yet. (14)

red deer - Bing images

chamois - Bing images

round ibex - Bing images

Biomes and Ecoregions

There are two major biomes in Switzerland, broadleaf and mixed forests as well as coniferous forests. These are considered temperate biomes. The ecoregions of Switzerland are connected to the Alps. They include the Northern PreAlps, Northern Intemediate Alps, Continental Central Alps, and Southern Intermediate Alps. West of the Alps, the ecoregions are Plateau and Jura, a sub-alpine mountain range. Additionally, there are hundreds of lakes and rivers scattered all over the country, fed by the mountain snows. (15)

The Swiss National Park is located in the Continental Central Alps ecoregion contained in the coniferous forests biome. Here, mountain lakes and rivers are abundant as well. The snow from the mountains feed the rivers down the mountains into the lakes and valleys below. (16)

Ecoregions Image

Biomes Image

Topography Influencing the Distribution of Plants and Animals

Switzerland has a pretty varied topography but is, for the most part, mountainous with the Alps mountain range. In Switzerland, there is also a central plateau, plains and many large lakes like Lake Geneva; a 345.31 km2 lake running through France and Switzerland. In addition, Monte Rosa is Switzerland's highest point, reaching a height of 15,203 feet. Switzerland is, however, full of many peaks and heights that stand at high elevations too, like the Matterhorn and Jungfrau.

Topography such as different elevations and slopes influence plant and animal distribution by creating a variety of environmental conditions like temperature, moisture, and soil fertility, which limit species diversity and distribution. The larch tree and the Arolla pine are two of the most extremely popular trees at higher elevations due to their ability to resist the cold, high winds, and lack of moisture. On the lower valley levels, oak, beech, and Norway maple are just a few of the tree species that grow best on lower elevations. Areas that rest above the tree line and below the snow line are Alpine meadows fields, which are home to sheep and cows that graze and feed during their short summertime period. In doing so, these animals help lower the upper limits of the natural forest. These mountain fields, or alpages, are located above the main valleys and are limited by the growth of invasive weeds, animal waste pollution, and erosion. There are a number of species of animals as well have adapted to the cold, mountainous Alpine region such as the wild goat, or ibex, that has developed a very special talent for climbing steep mountainsides and rocky landscapes. Additionally, the marmot is a large ground rodent that is found at higher altitudes and hibernate in underground galleries. The Swiss National Park has a law that protects these creatures from any harm and keeps them native to the land. (17)

Factors influencing vegetation and wildlife

There are four major factors which influence the nature and growth of vegetation . These include soils, climate, nature of the surface and man. Vegetation consists of green plants. For example: shrubs, trees, grass and herbs that cover the earth are considered vegetation. Vegetation can be natural, or man-made. When the factors of vegetation are favorable, there will be growth of vegetation in these areas. Where they are not, there will be less growth. The climate of factors is very important in determining how much growth will come from these areas. For example, the most critical factors are temperature and rainfall. These two have to be in proper balance for vegetation to grow well. Similar to how plants experience more growth in the summer times compared to Winter seasons where they shed their leaves and remain dominant and stagnant.

Other factors that play apart in influencing vegetation are factors of landforms. Also, known as geomorphic factors effect plant growth in three ways. First, steep slopes undergo lots of run-off, which makes vegetation less dense than more time to set into the soil. Next, we see the different affects that precipitation, we can understand how there will be differences in the way that vegetation grows because some areas are experiencing more and is a wetter climate. Lastly, very high mountains have many different arrangements of vegetation. Warmer slopes with deeper soils are normally forested. The middle slopes have shrubs and grasslands. compared to the top, which is typically colder climate, and the soils are thin are sometimes covered in snow.

Based on the differences in vegetation with locations, there will be a difference in wildlife in these areas as well. The regions where more plant life and vegetation reside, the more wildlife will inhabit those places and benefit from the land. For example, pollination and seed dispersal are both based on animals and birds for plants. This reminds me of how animals leverage trees in nature and sometimes even use the vegetation as a living area. (18)

Vegetation Image

Wildlife Image

Environmental Threats

Swiss National Park faces environmental threats such as climate change, air pollution, tourism impact, invasive species, natural disasters, human activities, and grazing pressure. These challenges can disrupt ecosystems, impact wildlife, and threaten the park's pristine environment. To protect this unique natural area, park management and the Swiss government implement strict regulations, research and monitoring programs, and sustainability initiatives to maintain a balance between conservation and traditional land use, while raising public awareness about the park's importance for biodiversity and ecological research. (19)

Rock Formations Image

Rock Types and Geologic History

At one time, Switzerland was covered in water, depositing sediments at the bottom. This formed the sedimentary rocks, predominantly limestone, found in the park. The south-eastern Alps contain mostly crystalline and metamorphic rock. The crystalline rock consists of granite and gneisses formed from ancient magma. The Alps were formed from the collisions between the Adriatic and the Eurasian tectonic plates, pushing the rocks both upward and downward. This has caused the continental crust to be thicker in the Alps than in the lower regions. As the Alps erode over time due to weathering from water and wind, the resulting matter, molasse, settles in the plains. Molasse consists of bits of rocks, silt, and other lose materials. It can be found everywhere but is predominately found north of the park. The Jura Mountains are also found in the northern part of the country and consist of folded and tabular formations containing of limestone, clay, anhydrite, and gypsum. (20)

Internal Processes and Plate Boundaries Responsible for Landforms

The most common landform Switzerland is known for is its vast mountain range known as the Alps. This mountain range spreads from France to Austria and covers the entirety of Switzerland. The Alps mountain range was formed from the slow collision of the African and European tectonic plates over hundreds of millions of years ago. As a result of this collision, large amounts of underwater African land started pushing together and folding on top underwater European land - creating new limestone and granite rock along the floor of the sea. All of that newly formed rock was eventually pushed upward and created what are now known as the European Alps. During the ice age, glaciers formed and cut through mountains, forming valleys along their path. (21)

Alps Image

Weathering and Erosion on Landforms

The main impact on weathering and erosion comes from its glaciers during the last ice age. Glaciers carved out deep valleys throughout switerlands alps and mountain ranges. Moving on from glaciers is a similar instance which is frost weathering. When water seeps into cracks and freezes it expands which leads to fractures within the rock. The last main factor that contributes to erosion is mass wasting. The two main types are landslides and rockfalls which are often triggered by heavy rainfall and other forms of precipitation. (22)

Liquid Water Impacts

Water has many impacts on creating landforms that may seem permeant but are constantly changing by the force of water. Water can cause erosion and it breaks down rock and dirt and carries the particles away. This then changes the shape landscape, for example, the ocean is a great way to see the impacts of water. As the waves crash along the surface and the shoreline it breaks up rocks, and over time this can cause cliffs or even beaches. This process has also been known to make sea stacks, which are rock forms that stick up in the middle of the water, and other landforms that Swiss has, like mountains.

Over 1,500 lakes in Switzerland are known as "Europe's Reservoir", because the country is mostly defined by water. Fun Fact: most of the drinking water in Swiss comes from underground water reserves and natural springs, which they prioritize so that their lakes and rivers remain clean and abundant.

It is important to note that water does not have to be liquid to cause erosion. Ice can do it too and glaciers are often called, "rivers of ice", because they are huge forms of ice and snow that move slowly across the surface. When they move, they break off rock and pieces of the land. However, water is an important reason as to why we have many landforms today and they will continue to develop. (23)

Impacts of Glaciers

Glaciers have a strong presence in Switzerland, with about 1,000 km being covered in the ice formations. For years Switzerland has relied on these glaciers, and other bodies of water, as a backbone of the country's infrastructure. Notably, about 10% of all the power in Switzerland is hydroelectric.

A major impact of climate change is the effect on Switzerland's glaciers. Between the years 2022 and 2023 Swiss Glaciers lost about 10% of their total volume - the same amount lost between 1960 and 1990. (24)

With such drastic reductions in volume, Switzerland could see severe infrastructure repercussions affecting agriculture, transportation, as well as power production. Additionally, there is a significantly increased risk of flooding and landslides without the Glaciers acting as a sort of natural roadblock for water and dirt. (25)

The Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation has been observing these changes for years, and experts believe that it may be too late to halt the damage - even if global climate targets are met. As of 2023 over 1,000 glaciers in Switzerland have already been completely lost. (26)

SITES

Location Overview:

(1) www.worldatlas.com/articles/swiss-national-park-switzerland-unique-places-around-the-world.html

(2) https://www.graubuenden.ch/en/attractions/parks/swiss-national-park

Temperature Ranges:

(3) https://seasonsyear.com/Switzerland

Climate Types and Characteristics:

(4) Switzerland climate: average weather, temperature, rain - Climates to Travel

(5) Climate Zernez (Grisons), averages - Weather and Climate (weather-and-climate.com)

(6) https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/historyclimate/climatemodelled/zernez_switzerland_2657926

Wind and Air Characteristics:

(7) https://www.swisseduc.ch/immersion/geo/meteo/weather/docs/weather_situations.pdf