Auswirkungen der globalen Klimaerwärmung auf die Nivalvegetation der Alpen : Pflanzengesellschaften im Alpenraum und ihre Bedeutung für die Bewirtschaftung

1997

S. 35-39

15 Lit. Ang.

Unselbständiges Werk

200056556

The vegetation at temperature-limited ecosystems of the high Alps is thought to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Evidence of upward shifting of vascular plants in high mountains of the Eastern Alps was recently empirically determined. A comparison of the recent investigations with historical records from the same peaks indicated a distinct increase of species richness at 21 of 30 summits investigated. A stagnation or a slight decrease of species richness was recorded at 9 summits, but one of them showed an increase in species abundance. The change of species richness is correlated with the geomorphological situation. Approximate moving rates for common alpine plants were calculated to be between zero and 4 meters per decade. Saxifraga oppositifolia and Potentilla frigida, with a center of distribution within the upper alpine and subnival level, were observed most frequently as new species at the summits. But also species based in the alpine level and with a trend to a ruderal dispersal and growth-strategy (e.g. Poa alpina) were among the newcomers repeatedly. This evidence of upward movement of high mountain plants may already be a "measurable" result of global warming since the 19th century.