Analyzing rockfall activity (1600–2002) in a protection forest: A case study using dendrogeomorphology

For the first time, dendrogeomorphology has been used to investigate spatial and temporal variations of rockfall activity in a protection forest. We report results of 564 cores from 135 severely injured Larix decidua Mill. trees on the west-facing Ta¨schgufer slope, Swiss Alps. While trees sampled reached an age of 297 years on average, the oldest one attained breast height in AD 1318. For reasons of sample depth, the analysis was limited to the period 1600–2002. In total, we reconstructed 741 growth disturbances (GD) during the last four centuries. Impacts were most commonly found in trees..