Management Strategies to Adapt Alpine Space Forests to Climate Change Risks : An Introduction to the Manfred Project

Rijeka

InTech

2013

Artikel aus einer ZeitschriftUnselbständiges Werk

16961

200179378

The challenges posed by climate change for forests in the Alpine Space are considerable. Climatologists have identified mountains as types of ecosystems that are facing an above-average warming trend. However, it is not entirely clear why mountains are warming up quicker than other landscapes, and whether the the past trend will continue in the future [1]. The currently expected warming is at least 3 to 4.C in the next century and thus far above the warming that is considered to be controlable by mankind [2, 3]. Despite the uncertainty of the future development several consequences of climate change on mountains are well understood. The duration of snow cover is expected to decrease, the water discharge regime will be altered, and the frequency of rock falls may increase, the distribution of plant species will change, and invasive species, such as pests and pathogens, will change the environmental setting of forestry. Trees are especially vulnerable when they are growing at the margins or even outside of their natural range [4, 5].