The Ecology of the Cairngorms: Part 1. The Environment and the Altitudinal Zonation of the Vegetation

Watt, Steve; Jones, E. W.

doi:10.2307/2256671

Cited by 66 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Solifluction lobes occur on the north-facing slope, but they are not well developed and there is no apparent genetic relationship with vegetation as may be possible on the southeast-and east-facing slopes (Watt andJones 1948, Wilson 1952). Their formation has been quite clearly due to rock dams, which have retarded the rate of mass movement and eventually built up a scarp.…”

Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation, Microtopography, and Depth of Active Layer on Different Exposures in Subarctic Alpine Tundra

Price¹

1971

Ecology

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Four slopes with different exposures (southeast-, southwest-, east-, and north-facing), but with similar gradients, elevations, and rock type, were studies in the Ruby Mountains of southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, Vegetation was best developed on the southeast facing slope, was successively less on east- and southwest-facing slopes, and least on the northfacing slope. Solifluction lobes were present in varying degrees, and their development largely followed that of vegetation in that they were best developed on the southeast-facing slope and least well developed on the north- and southwest-facing slopes. The vegetation occurred in sharply delineated communities across the lobes on the southeast-facing slope, and the communities repeated themselves in predictable patterns. The same communities were present on the east-facing slope, but were not as distinct. Plant cover was relatively impoverished on southwest- and north-facing slopes, where there fewer microhabitats and where soil, moisture, and temperature conditions were not found in favorable combinations. Depth of the active layer largely corresponded to the presence of vegetation and microtopography. The active layer was shallowest and most variable on the southeast-facing slope. Plant cover, in general, was more important than exposure in determining the depth of thaw.

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Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation, Microtopography, and Depth of Active Layer on Different Exposures in Subarctic Alpine Tundra

Price¹

1971

Ecology

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“…How ever, a direct causality is not immediately obvio us, since the snow conditions are intimately rela ted to other ecological factors , as mentioned above (cf. Watt & Jones 1948;Poore & McVean 1957 ;McVean & Ratcliffe 1962).…”

Section: Summary Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Scotti sh Highlands, too, former semi permanent snowbeds have gradually disappeared during the course of the climatic amelioration of the present century (Watt & Jones 1948) and gra dual changes in the vegetational composition of these areas have been recorded (McVean 1958) . An increased permanency of the snow beds in the same area has once more been noted since the mid-1960's (Spink 1969) .…”

Section: Summary Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of such species indicates that the vegetation of these areas has only relatively re cently changed from a type which was more adapted to a snow cover of longer duration than that experienced at the present-day. Watt & Jones (1948), fr om their studies of snowbed com munities in the Scottish Highlands, thought that changes in the relative dominance of fl!ardus stricta, Carex bigelowii and Deschampsia flex uosa were detectable, as a response to the recent periodic fluctuations in the duration of the � snow cover. McVean & Ratcliffe (1962), consider that the decline in Nardus stricta in Scotland is due rather to the decrease in soil moisture than to any of the other effects correlated with a shortening of the duration of the snow cover.…”

Section: Ground Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Change and Stability in the Altitude of the Birch Tree-Limit in the Southern Swedish Scandes 1915-75

Major¹,

Kullman²

1979

Arctic and Alpine Research

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“…Körner (2007) points to the power of elevational gradients in testing the response of systems to geophysical influences. It is long-established that edaphic characteristics play a strong role in defining the landscape-scale distribution of upland vegetation communities (Watt & Jones 1948). However, variation in edaphic characteristics, including differences in soil type, soil fertility, climate and productivity, across abiotic ecotones can also interact with management to drive changes in vegetation communities (Common et al 1998, Pakeman 2004, Vandvik et al 2005.…”

Section: G Matt Daviesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in vegetation diversity and composition following livestock removal along an upland elevational gradient

Davies¹,

Bodart²

2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionCalluna vulgaris-dominated heathlands are cultural landscapes, derived from previouslyforested ecosystems, which have been subject to human manipulation and management for several millennia. Heathlands are of international conservation importance (Thompson et al. 1995, García et al. 2013) and this is recognized in national and international legislation (Maddock 2011, EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC). They owe their open character to low-intensity traditional livestock grazing and managed burning (Webb 1998, Fernandes et al. 2013. Habitat degradation, associated with poorly-managed livestock grazing is, however, a global issue facing many tropical, semi-arid and temperate ecosystems (Moleele & Perkins 1998, D'Odorico et al. 2012, Fagúndez 2012. Significant potential exists for livestock grazing to induce dramatic changes in ecosystem state from which restoration can be difficult (Suding et al. 2004). Throughout Europe large areas of heathland habitat have become increasingly degraded over the last century (Fagúndez 2012). Calluna-dominated communities have been lost due to changes to managed fire regimes ; nutrient deposition associated with atmospheric pollution (Friedrich et al. 2011, Bobbink & Hettelingh 2011; acid deposition (Bakker & Berendse 1999); and land-use conversion (Hester et al. 1996). In the United Kingdom there are a growing number of agencies and organisations focused on landscape-scale ecosystem restoration in the uplands. Objectives are often focused on tree planting and the restoration of forest ecosystems (see Hobbs 2009 for an overview), but there is also recognition of the desirability of restoring forest ground flora and a diverse mosaic of habitat types that includes woodlands, heathlands and forest edge ecotone communities (Humphrey et al. 2003). Degraded heathlands are often dominated by competitive grass species such as Molinia caerulea (purple moor grass) and Nardus stricta (moor matgrass). Both of these can attain high levels of abundance, lead to communities with relatively low levels of diversity and can pose significant challenges for restoration practice (Grant et al. 1996, Marrs et al. 2004. A number of studies have examined the effects of grazing regimes on heathland communities, often concluding that restoration prescriptions need to be sitespecific. For example, whilst it has proved possible to facilitate heathland recovery by simply reducing grazing pressure (Anderson & Radford 1994, Hulme et al. 1999, Hulme et al. 2002, often it has taken additional interventions to allow Calluna establishment. Successful treatments have included soil disturbance by cattle trampling, rotavation, herbicide application and reseeding (Marrs et al. 2004, Mitchell et al. 2008) and, where nutrient enrichment is an issue, topsoil removal (Verhagen et al. 2001). Such intensive restoration actions may require managers to make difficult trade-offs as they may maximize Calluna cover but can also lead to the loss of other components of the community (L...

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The Ecology of the Cairngorms: Part 1. The Environment and the Altitudinal Zonation of the Vegetation

Cited by 66 publications

References 12 publications

Vegetation, Microtopography, and Depth of Active Layer on Different Exposures in Subarctic Alpine Tundra

Vegetation, Microtopography, and Depth of Active Layer on Different Exposures in Subarctic Alpine Tundra

Change and Stability in the Altitude of the Birch Tree-Limit in the Southern Swedish Scandes 1915-75

Changes in vegetation diversity and composition following livestock removal along an upland elevational gradient

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