Database Report

Permanent.Plot.ch -- a database for Swiss permanent vegetation plots

Pascal Vittoz

GIVD Database ID: EU-CH-001	Last update: 2018-11-08
Permanent.Plot.ch	Web address: http://www.unil.ch/ppch
Database manager(s): Pascal Vittoz (pascal.vittoz@unil.ch)
Owner: Pascal Vittoz, University of Lausanne
Scope: The aim of the project is the conservation of historical data about permanent plots in Switzerland and the monitoring of vegetation in a context of environmental changes. Data are stored with as many information as possible: location, date of inventories, complete relevés, ... New relevés and new permanent plots are regularly added to the database. The efficiency of the database will depend of the number of plots that will be gathered. Hence, contact me if you know any Swiss permanent plots.
Abstract: The aim of the Permanent.Plot.ch project is the conservation of historical data about permanent plots in Switzerland and the monitoring of vegetation in a context of environmental changes (mainly climate and land use). Permanent plots are currently being recognized as valuable tools to monitor long-term effects of environmental changes on vegetation. Often used in short studies (3 to 5 years), they are generally abandoned at the end of projects. However, their full potential might only be revealed after 10 or more years, once the location is lost. For instance, some of the oldest permanent plots in Switzerland (first half of the 20th century) were nearly lost, although they are now very valuable data. The Permanent.Plot.ch national database, by storing historical and recent data, will allow to ensuring future access to data from permanent vegetation plots. As the database contains some private data, it is not directly available on internet but an overview of the data can be downloaded from internet (www.unil.ch/ppch) and precise data are available on request.
Availability: according to a specific agreement	Online upload: no	Online search: no
Database format(s): MS Access	Export format(s): MS Access, Excel, CSV file, plain text file
Plot type(s): time series	Plot-size range (m²): 1 to 10000
Non-overlapping plots: 919	Estimate of existing plots: 1500	Completeness: 61%	Status: completed and continuing
Total no. of plot observations: 3757	Number of sources (biblioreferences, data collectors): 100	Valid taxa: 0
Countries (%): CH: 100
Formations: Forest: 9% = Terrestrial: 9% // Non Forest: 91% = Aquatic: 0% (Fresh water: 0%); Semi-aquatic: 28% (Fresh water: 28%); Terrestrial: 63% (Arctic-alpin: 31%; Non arctic-alpin: 32% [Semi-natural: 30%; Anthropogenic: 2%])
Guilds: all vascular plants: 100%; bryophytes (terricolous or aquatic): 12%
Plot size categories (%): < 1 m2: 0%; 1-10 m2: 54.5%; 10-100 m2: 32.6%; 100-1000 m2: 8.8%; 1000-10000 m2: 3.2%; unknowmn: 0.9000000000000057%;
Environmental data (%): altitude: 100; slope aspect: 50; slope inclination: 67; microrelief: 0; surface cover other than plants (open soil, litter, bare rock etc.): 13; other soil attributes: 0; soil pH: 0; land use categories: 28; soil depth: 0
Performance measure(s): presence/absence only: 7.9%; cover: 83.5%; number of individuals: 0.0%; measurements like diameter or height of trees: 6.3%; biomass: 0.0%; other: 8.6%
Geographic localisation: GPS coordinates (precision 25 m or less): 100%; point coordinates less precise than GPS, up to 1 km: 0%; small grid (not coarser than 10 km): 0%; political units or only on a coarser scale ( above 10 km): 0%
Sampling periods: before 1920: 1.1%; 1920-1929: 0.5%; 1930-1939: 3.6%; 1940-1949: 3.1%; 1950-1959: 0.1%; 1960-1969: 0.1%; 1970-1979: 8.0%; 1980-1989: 37.8%; 1990-1999: 34.4%; 2000-2009: 10.8%; 2010-2019: 0.5%; unknown: 0%
Information as of 2026-04-15; further details and future updates available from http://www.givd.info/ID/EU-CH-001

Pascal Vittoz* (pascal.vittoz@unil.ch)
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Bâtiment Biophore, 1015 Lausanne, SWITZERLAND
* corresponding author