A 700-year-old larch tells its story
For many human generations, a larch stood in the Goms valley, in Valais, until it had to be felled in 1987 for safety reasons. All that this tree lived through in 700 years is written down in its tree rings.
WSL tree-ring scientists have the tools and the know how to decipher the archived information and be the larch's interperters.
Timeline
1291 Foundation of Switzerland
1300 A giant in its infancy Even a big tree starts small
1313 Six years of catastrophic weather events in Central Europe
1325 The same yet different Proportions of earlywood and latewood vary
1337 First weather observations in Oxford
1342 July: Medieval deluge in Central and Eastern Europe
1347 The Plague in Europe kills 1/3 of the population in 4 years
1356 The Basel earthquake
1358 Massive growth reduction A fascinating puzzle
1374 Knocked off balance Locally wide tree rings
1433 A very hungry caterpillar Ups and downs
1454 The Gutenberg Bible
1469 A branch breaks off How the larch closes its wounds
1492 Discovery of America
1517 The Reformation
1523 Zwingli and the Reformation in Zurich
1543 Copernicus: Turning point in astronomy
1569 Mercator draws a large map of the world
1582 Pope Gregory XIII institutes a new calendar
1620 The Mayflower sets sail
1625 Hazel growth Wavelets in tree rings
1636 Harvard University built in Cambridge, MA
1717 A good year High in the mountains, warmer is better
1751 Diderot's Encyclopedia
1776 American Independence
1789 Storming of the Bastille
1793 Whimsical Some tree rings only grow partially
1800 A sticky weapon Resin doesn’t give pests a chance
1804 Napoleonic Code
1816 The year without a summer Consequences of a volcanic eruption
1848 "Communist Manifesto" published
1855 Founding of ETH Zurich
1863 International Committee of the Red Cross founded in Geneva
1865 The USA abolishes slavery
1880 Breakthrough in the Gotthard tunnel
1885 Founding of WSL
1905 Dormant buds Larch life insurance
1905 E=mc2
1917 October Revolution
1951 Ring of life Transport of water and nutrients
1966 The first weather satellites
1971 Women's suffrage in Switzerland
1973 Stained wood Blue stain fungi rob the tree of nutrients
1981 Switzerland adopts daylight saving time
1987 An abrupt end Making room for offspring
1989 World Wide Web
1992 First World Climate Conference in Rio de Janeiro
2019 More than counting From tree rings to calendar years
Timeline
1291
Foundation of Switzerland
1300
A giant in its infancy
Even a big tree starts small
1313
Six years of catastrophic weather events in Central Europe
1325
The same yet different
Proportions of earlywood and latewood vary
1337
First weather observations in Oxford
1342
July: Medieval deluge in Central and Eastern Europe
1347
The Plague in Europe kills 1/3 of the population in 4 years
1356
The Basel earthquake
1358
Massive growth reduction
A fascinating puzzle
1374
Knocked off balance
Locally wide tree rings
1433
A very hungry caterpillar
Ups and downs
1454
The Gutenberg Bible
1469
A branch breaks off
How the larch closes its wounds
1492
Discovery of America
1517
The Reformation
1523
Zwingli and the Reformation in Zurich
1543
Copernicus: Turning point in astronomy
1569
Mercator draws a large map of the world
1582
Pope Gregory XIII institutes a new calendar
1620
The Mayflower sets sail
1625
Hazel growth
Wavelets in tree rings
1636
Harvard University built in Cambridge, MA
1717
A good year
High in the mountains, warmer is better
1751
Diderot's Encyclopedia
1776
American Independence
1789
Storming of the Bastille
1793
Whimsical
Some tree rings only grow partially
1800
A sticky weapon
Resin doesn’t give pests a chance
1804
Napoleonic Code
1816
The year without a summer
Consequences of a volcanic eruption
1848
"Communist Manifesto" published
1855
Founding of ETH Zurich
1863
International Committee of the Red Cross founded in Geneva
1865
The USA abolishes slavery
1880
Breakthrough in the Gotthard tunnel
1885
Founding of WSL
1905
Dormant buds
Larch life insurance
1905
E=mc2
1917
October Revolution
1951
Ring of life
Transport of water and nutrients
1966
The first weather satellites
1971
Women's suffrage in Switzerland
1973
Stained wood
Blue stain fungi rob the tree of nutrients
1981
Switzerland adopts daylight saving time
1987
An abrupt end
Making room for offspring
1989
World Wide Web
1992
First World Climate Conference in Rio de Janeiro
2019
More than counting
From tree rings to calendar years