Nutrient addition experiment at the Alpine treeline site Stillberg, Switzerland

This project aimed to determine whether the growth stimulation documented in previous short‐term fertilisation trials persisted in a longer‐term study (12 years) in the treeline ecotone, and whether possible negative effects of nutrient addition offset the benefits of any growth stimulation.

Over the course of the 12 study years, NPK fertiliser corresponding to 15 or 30 kg N ha−1 a−1 was added annually to plots containing 30‐year‐old *Larix decidua* or 32‐year-old *Pinus uncinata* individuals with an understorey of mainly ericaceous dwarf shrubs. To quantify growth, annual shoot increments of trees and dwarf shrubs as well as radial growth increments of trees were measured. Nutrient concentrations in the soil were also measured and the foliar nutritional status of trees and dwarf shrubs was assessed. # Experimental design Over an elevation gradient of 140 m across the treeline afforestation site Stillberg, 22 locations were chosen that covered the whole range of microenvironmental conditions (*see* Nutrient addition experimental design.png).