European Dendroecological Fieldweek (EDF) 2021 in Val Müstair, Switzerland: International education and research during the pandemic

The European Dendroecological Fieldweek (EDF) is a one-week course that takes place every year at varying locations in Europe according to the principle “Bring tree-ring research to the people”. The EDF welcomes early-career to advanced researchers, but also forest service and other federal agency employees and private people interested in tree-ring sciences from all over the world. It encompasses a large spectrum of dendrochronological field, laboratory and data analysis methods and scientific fields including climatology, ecology, physiology, geomorphology and archaeology. Multiple scales of observations from the individual cell to the ecosystem level and from seasonal to multi-centennial periods are covered. Work on mini research projects in topic groups alternates with keynote lectures and individual participants’ presentations. As one of the first in-person tree-ring meetings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the 31st EDF was held in summer 2021 in Val Müstair, Switzerland. Topics included i) Tree age and climate sensitivity of a relict, old-growth Scots pine stand, ii) Blue intensity-based climate sensitivity of Norway spruce growth, iii) Tree rings as indicators of grey larch budmoth outbreaks, iv) Growth of larch trees along an abandoned irrigation channel, v) Wood anatomical characteristics of two alpine creeping shrub species, and vi) Historical dating of a stable and a residential house. Alongside with their educational value these projects allowed novel insight into the age structure and growth dynamics of the sub-alpine forests and beyond in the valley and provided valuable outcome to the local stakeholders such as the Nature Park Biosfera Val Müstair, the local forest service and the public of Val Müstair. Under hindered conditions due to the pandemic, the 31st EDF still demonstrated its strength as an international educational and interdisciplinary scientific field and lab course, combining teaching with the application of cutting-edge technologies.