Vegetation pattern of mountains in West Greenland - a baseline for long-term surveillance of global warming impacts

Jedrzejek B., Drees B., Daniels F.J.A., Hölzel N.

Research article (journal) | Peer reviewed

Abstract

Background: Steep environmental gradients, coupled with predicted high temperature rises in the Arctic make arctic mountain vegetation highly suitable for surveillance of changes related to global warming. However, guidelines and baselines for such a purpose are widely lacking since arctic mountain vegetation has been little explored. Aims: We explore options for long-term surveillance on the basis of a detailed analysis of extant plant community patterns and their underlying environmental conditions in the mountainous inland of West Greenland. Methods: Distribution, abundance and site conditions of vegetation types were analysed, using 664 vegetation samples and detailed vegetation maps in four altitudinal belts. Results: Most plant communities had a restricted elevation distribution and were confined to special habitats predominantly defined by mesotopography and soil moisture. Conclusions: Based on the strong linkage to habitat conditions, horizontal and vertical changes of species distribution and vegetation pattern are excellent indicators for inferring underlying environmental changes on three different scales. The recommendations given concerning climate sensitive species and plant communities, ecotones for setting up observation sites as well as stratification of analysis by habitats can be the basis for establishing long-term surveillance programmes on arctic mountain vegetation. © 2013 Copyright 2013 Botanical Society of Scotland and Taylor & Francis.

Details about the publication

JournalPlant Ecology and Diversity
Volume6
Page range405-422
StatusPublished
Release year2013
Language in which the publication is writtenEnglish
DOI10.1080/17550874.2013.802049
Link to the full texthttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84885044714
Keywordsaltitudinal gradient; Arctic; climate change; syntaxon; toposequence; vegetation mapping

Authors from the University of Münster

Hölzel, Norbert
Professorship for Ecosystem Research (Prof. Hölzel)
Sieg, Birgit
Institute of Landscape Ecology (ILÖK)