Plant succession and soil development on the foreland of the Morteratsch glacier (Pontresina, Switzerland): Straight forward or chaotic?

Burga, Conradin A.; Krüsi, Bertil; Egli, Markus; Wernli, Michael; Elsener, Stefan; Ziefle, Michael; Fischer, Thomas; Mavris, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.flora.2009.10.001

Cited by 186 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Glacial transportation led to a relatively homogeneous distribution of parent material in the proglacial area. According to Burga et al (2010), primary plant succession of the proglacial area started about 7 yr after deglaciation with the Epilobietum fleischeri plant community which includes the species Epilobium fleischeri, Oxyria digyna (only in initial stages), Linaria alpina, Saxifraga aizoides, and Rumex scutatus, and which covered larger areas after about 27 yr. First larch trees, willow and green alder shrubs and the first dwarf shrubs (e.g. the rust-leaved alpenrose) appeared on areas which had been ice-free for about 12-15 yr. LarchSwiss stone pine stands (Larici-Pinetum cembrae) needed more than 150 yr to establish.…”

Section: Investigation Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Retreating glaciers often expose barren substrates that become colonised by organisms, beginning the process of primary plant succession which affects the evolution of organic matter in the developing topsoils (Burga et al, 2010). However, not only autochthonous but also distant (allochthonous) sources may contribute to the accumulation of soil organic carbon (C org ) in young soils and surfaces of glacier forefields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Black carbon contributes to organic matter in young soils in the Morteratsch proglacial area (Switzerland)

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Most glacier forefields of the European Alps are being progressively exposed since the glaciers reached their maximum expansion in the 1850s. Global warming and climate changes additionally promote the exposure of sediments in previously glaciated areas. In these proglacial areas, initial soils have started to develop so that they may offer a continuous chronosequence from 0 to 150-yr-old soils. The build-up of organic matter is an important factor of soil formation, and not only autochthonous but also distant sources might contribute to its accumulation in young soils and surfaces of glacier forefields. Only little is known about black carbon in soils that develop in glacier forefields, although charred organic matter could be an important component of organic carbon in Alpine soils. The aim of our study was to examine whether black carbon (BC) is present in the initial soils of a proglacial area, and to estimate its relative contribution to soil organic matter. We investigated soil samples from 35 sites distributed over the whole proglacial area of Morteratsch (Upper Engadine, Switzerland), covering a chronosequence from 0 to 150 yr. BC concentrations were determined in fine earth using the benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) marker method. We found that charred organic matter occurred in the whole area, and that it was a main compound of soil organic matter in the youngest soils, where total Corg concentrations were very low. The absolute concentrations of BC in fine earth were generally low but increased in soils that had been exposed for more than 40 yr. Specific initial microbial communities may profit from this additional C source during the first years of soil evolution and potentially promote soil development in its early stage.

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Section: Investigation Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black carbon contributes to organic matter in young soils in the Morteratsch proglacial area (Switzerland)

et al. 2013

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“…Along a chronosequence of glacier retreat, early-successional species assemblages are progressively replaced by mid-and late-successional ones 30 (Kaufmann 2001;Raffl et al 2006). Time since deglaciation is the chief factor driving such processes, although the role of local ecological conditions at small scale is not negligible (Burga et al 2010;Schlegel and Riesen 2012). Plant succession and soil development along glacier 35 forelands have been analysed in depth since the beginning of the twentieth century and summarised in several reviews (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Plant and arthropod colonisation of a glacier foreland in a peripheral mountain range

et al. 2015

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“…Ecological responses of plant species and communities to climate change show a range filling processes with downward shifts of the persisting species (Cannone, Pignatti 2014). Rydgren et al (2011) and Valese et al (2014) highlighted the role of human disturbances in the alpine environments for a direction in vegetation succession and reinforced the role of soil properties (Burga et al 2010), soil texture in particular.…”

Section: The Periglacial Environmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

Climate change impacts on the Alpine ecosystem: an overview with focus on the soil

Chersich¹,

Rejšek²,

Vranová³

et al. 2015

J. For. Sci.

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ABSTRACT:The Alpine ecosystem is very sensitive to climatic changes, which have an influence on glaciers, snow, vegetation and soils. The aim of this review is to illustrate the effects of global change on the Alpine soil ecosystem, which is an optimal marker to record them. The manuscript enhances our understanding of the global change effect on the Alpine environment: on morphology, on ice, on vegetation and points out how the cycles of soil nutrients equilibrium have been changed with a direct effect on soils that support plant species. The changes in cryosphere, glacier reduction and periglacial environment as glaciers retreat, decrease in the snow cover extent and earlier snowmelt, determine an effect on soils (on the structure, organic matter and humus forms, soil processes and soil types) from the top of the Alpine horizon to the bottom. The processes induced by climate change (such as erosion and tree line shifting) have a direct effect on water balance that can be observed on soil profile characters with an effect on upward migration, change in phenology, extensive losses of species. The equilibrium of the biogeochemical cycles has been changed and this has a direct effect on soils that support plant species.

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Plant succession and soil development on the foreland of the Morteratsch glacier (Pontresina, Switzerland): Straight forward or chaotic?

Cited by 186 publications

References 38 publications

Black carbon contributes to organic matter in young soils in the Morteratsch proglacial area (Switzerland)

Black carbon contributes to organic matter in young soils in the Morteratsch proglacial area (Switzerland)

Plant and arthropod colonisation of a glacier foreland in a peripheral mountain range

Climate change impacts on the Alpine ecosystem: an overview with focus on the soil

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