Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2007.tb02585.x
Title (Primary) Upward shift of alpine plants increases floristic similarity of mountain summits
Author Jurasinski, G.; Kreyling, J.
Source Titel Journal of Vegetation Science
Year 2007
Department NSF
Volume 18
Issue 5
Page From 711
Page To 718
Language englisch
Keywords bernina; beta-diversity; climate change; heterogeneity; long-term monitoring; climate change; heterogeneity; long-term monitoring
Abstract Question: Does the upward shift of species and accompanied increase in species richness, induced by climate change, lead to homogenization of Alpine summit vegetation? Location: Bernina region of the Swiss Alps. Methods: Based on a data set from previous literature we expand the analysis from species richness to beta-diversity and spatial heterogeneity. Species compositions of mountain summits are compared using a two-component heterogeneity concept including the mean and the variance of Sorensen similarities calculated between the summits. Non-metric multidimensional scaling is applied to explore developments of single summits in detail. Results: Both heterogeneity components (mean dissimilarity and variance) decrease over time, indicating a trend towards more homogeneous vegetation among Alpine summits. However, the development on single summits is not strictly unidirectional. Conclusions: The upward shift of plant species leads to homogenization of alpine summit regions. Thus, increasing alpha-diversity is accompanied by decreasing beta-diversity. Beta-diversity demands higher recognition by scientists as well as nature conservationists as it detects changes which cannot be described using species richness alone
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=1911
Jurasinski, G., Kreyling, J. (2007):
Upward shift of alpine plants increases floristic similarity of mountain summits
J. Veg. Sci. 18 (5), 711 - 718 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2007.tb02585.x