Changes in composition, ecology and structure of high-mountain vegetation: a re-visitation study over 42 years

Evangelista, Alberto; Frate, Ludovico; Carranza, María Laura; Attorre, Fabio; Pelino, Giovanni; Stanisci, Angela

doi:10.1093/aobpla/plw004

Cited by 76 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Such altered climatic regimes would undoubtedly lead to changes in the distribution of individual species and plant species assemblages (Mitchell et al 1990;Pellissier et al 2013;Gibson-Reinemer et al 2015). In particular, subalpine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by climate change, causing biodiversity loss, habitat degradation and landscape modification (Evangelista et al 2016). Subalpine ecosystems such as Mt.…”

Section: Future Of the Korean Fir Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subalpine ecosystems such as Mt. Halla, which functioned as the major refuge of plant species during the ice age of the Pleistocene, exist in an isolated state because they are restricted to mountain peaks (Stanisci et al 2011;Evangelista et al 2016). In these places, altered habitat conditions may induce the local extinctions of some species and thereby change the species composition unless they are able to persist in refuges, because dispersal and migration to other high-elevation sites are limited (Whitlock 1992;Zolbrod and Peterson 1999).…”

Section: Future Of the Korean Fir Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Allogenic succession of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wils.) forests in different climate condition

Lim

Jung

et al. 2018

Ecological Research

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This study was conducted to clarify the changes in vegetation that occurred due to changing environmental factors, especially climate, at Korean fir (Abies koreana) stands with different climatic conditions established on Mt. Halla, which is located on a southern island of South Korea. The difference of species composition between sites was large and depended on elevation and slope aspect at lower elevations, whereas not as much among stands or between sites at the highest elevations of each slope aspect. It was interpreted that differences and similarities among sites were dominated by the microclimate determined by the topographic conditions of each site. The result of vegetation dynamics analysis predicted that the Korean fir forests would be replaced by temperate forests such as Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) forests or shade intolerant forests composed of early successional species such as Korean cherry (Prunus maximowiczii) and Spreading yew (Taxus cuspidata) at lower elevations, while would continuously persist at the highest elevations. We interpreted the vegetation changes appeared at the lower elevations as an allogenic succession, as the recent rapid climate changes directly and indirectly dominated the change. The species distribution modeling predicted that the distributional range of Korean fir would decrease to 13.4 and 10.1% of the current distribution in 2050 and 2070, respectively. Further, the distribution modeling showed that the sites located at lower elevations would no longer be within the distributional range of Korean fir forest, and those at the highest elevations would be sparsely scattered in fragmented states.

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Section: Future Of the Korean Fir Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Of the Korean Fir Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Allogenic succession of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wils.) forests in different climate condition

Lim

Jung

et al. 2018

Ecological Research

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“…The upper elevational boundary of alpine plants is strongly determined by abiotic conditions, such as temperature (Körner, 2003(Körner, , 2011MacArthur, 1972); thus, any warming is expected to have strong effects on the ranges of alpine plants. There is clear evidence that alpine plant species have extended their range upwards in recent decades (Chen, Hill, Ohlemüller, Roy, & Thomas, 2011;Grabherr, Pauli, & Gottfried, 1994;Grytnes et al, 2014;Klanderud & Birks, 2003;Parmesan, 2006;Stöckli, Wipf, Nilsson, & Rixen, 2011;Walther, Beissner, & Burga, 2005), causing changes in the composition of alpine plant communities (Evangelista et al, 2016;Gottfried et al, 2012;Matteodo, Wipf, Stöckli, Rixen, & Vittoz, 2013;Pauli et al, 2012;Venn, Pickering, & Green, 2014). The newly available area for colonization declines with increasing elevation, thus especially restricting the possibility of upward migration for alpine species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enough space in a warmer world? Microhabitat diversity and small‐scale distribution of alpine plants on mountain summits

Kulonen

Imboden

Rixen³

et al. 2017

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim Global warming is predicted to shift distributions of mountain species upwards, driven by a release from climatic restrictions at their upper distribution limit and increased biotic pressure at their lower distribution limit. In alpine ecosystems, which are characterized by large microclimatic diversity and sparse vegetation cover, the relative importance of abiotic and biotic drivers for species distribution is poorly understood. To disentangle abiotic and biotic mechanisms affecting distributions of alpine species, we investigated how alpine plant species with differing elevational ranges and frequency trends over the past century differ in their microhabitat distribution, and how they respond to neighbouring vegetation. Location A total of 11 summits (2635—3410 m a.s.l.) in SE‐Switzerland. Methods We quantified the microscale abundance of 12 species in relation to biogeographic (frequency trend, i.e., change in occurrences over the past century, and elevational range on summits) and local microhabitat characteristics (temperature, substrate type). We assessed species size traits in relation to neighbouring vegetation characteristics to investigate possible neighbour interactions. Results Species with increasing frequency on summits over the past century were most abundant on scree and warmer slopes. Species with negative or stable frequency trends on summits were more abundant on organic soil and colder slopes. The preferred microhabitats of the latter were rarest overall, decreased with increasing elevation, and had the most competitive neighbours. Size of one high‐alpine specialist, Ranunculus glacialis was negatively related to cover of neighbouring vegetation, whereas other species showed no response to neighbours. Main conclusions Long‐term frequency trends of species correlate with their microhabitat association. Species with most negative frequency trends show preferences for the rarest microhabitat conditions, where they likely experience higher competitive pressure in a warming climate. This finding emphasizes the importance of characterizing microhabitat associations and microclimatic diversity to assess present and future distributions of alpine plant species.

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“…High mountain habitats are vulnerable because of human impacts, such as global change (e.g., rising temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and nitrogen deposition) and land abandonment, which influence biodiversity and ecosystem functioning [1][2][3][4]. Consistent changes in biodiversity have been observed in numerous central European mountains using short-term [5][6][7] and long-term vegetation analyses [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], and upward migration of alpine species toward mountain summits, shrub displacement, changes in community composition, and local extinctions have also been documented [17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, the responses within each community may be idiosyncratic [23], Diversity 2018, 10, 70 2 of 15 and upward migration is often difficult to recognize as the vegetation may "lean" upslope within existing ranges [24][25][26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, additional research efforts aimed at better understanding the long-term effects of the shrub encroachment process on plant community composition and structure are still necessary [45][46][47]. One of the few possibilities for carrying out long-term ecological studies in areas where permanent plot data are unavailable is the utilization of historical vegetation data [16,48,49]. In this context, new long-term re-visitation studies of historical plots have recently been carried out in Mediterranean high-mountain vegetation (e.g., [16,45,50]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Changes in the Composition, Ecology, and Structure of Pinus mugo Scrubs in the Apennines (Italy)

et al. 2018

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Mountain ecosystems are vulnerable because of land-use and climate change. In this study, we performed a re-visitation study using historical and newly collected vegetation plots to explore the primary trends in the floristic, ecological, and structural features of Mediterranean Pinus mugo krummholz over past decades. The plant community composition over time (1992 vs. 2016-17) was analyzed by a detrended correspondence analysis followed by a statistical comparison of time steps and an analysis of the contribution of each species to temporal differences. Ecological and structural changes were analyzed by a permutational multivariate analysis of variance followed by a post hoc comparison. We observed relevant changes in the floristic composition, structure, and ecological characteristics of Pinus mugo scrub. Some subalpine and treeline species that characterize the early stages of Pinus mugo succession declined as several warm-adapted species increased. Furthermore, these changes were most likely due to the natural evolution of high-mountain krummholz combined with a thermophilization process occurring in alpine habitats. In contrast, a small group of cold-adapted species also increased, probably because the patchy spatial pattern of Pinus mugo scrubs gives rise to "mesic patches" in a matrix of arid grasslands. The re-visitation approach adopted for long-term analysis in this study can potentially be applied to other mountainous regions to better understand long-term ecological changes in high alpine vegetation.

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Changes in composition, ecology and structure of high-mountain vegetation: a re-visitation study over 42 years

Cited by 76 publications

References 71 publications

Allogenic succession of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wils.) forests in different climate condition

Allogenic succession of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wils.) forests in different climate condition

Enough space in a warmer world? Microhabitat diversity and small‐scale distribution of alpine plants on mountain summits

Long-Term Changes in the Composition, Ecology, and Structure of Pinus mugo Scrubs in the Apennines (Italy)

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