Evidence of response of vegetation to environmental change on high-elevation sites in the Swiss Alps |
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Authors: | F Keller F Kienast M Beniston |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Geography, University of Fribourg, Pérolles, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland e-mail: franziska.keller@unifr.ch Tel.: +41-26-3009021; Fax: +41-26-3009746, CH;(2) Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland, CH |
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Abstract: | Climate change has in the past led to shifts in vegetation patterns; in a future, warmer climate due to enhanced greenhouse-gas
concentrations, vegetation is also likely to be highly responsive to such warming. Mountain regions are considered to be particularly
sensitive to such changes. In this paper we present an approach to assess the impact of climate change on long-term vegetation
plots at the high-elevation site of the Schynige Platte, 2000 m above sea level, in the Bernese Alps (Switzerland). Records
of vegetation spanning the period from 1928 to today at two different sites, each with several plots, were considered. The
observed change in the species composition was then related to changes in land use and climate. We used daily values of temperature,
snow and precipitation from several high-elevation weather stations to conduct these analyses. The correlation between climate
and vegetation patterns revealed that species that prefer low thermal conditions move out of the plots, i.e., their frequency
of occurrence is negatively correlated with the average number of degree-days over the last six decades. On the other hand,
species with higher thermal demands are seen to be invading the plots, i.e., their frequency of occurrence is positively correlated
to the average number of degree-days. Nutrient changes – though independent from climate – also play an important role in
the observed shifts in species.
Received: 20 June 1999 · Accepted: 14 January 2000 |
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Keywords: | Mountain vegetation Climate change Schynige Platte Switzerland |
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