Among the numerous environmental factors affecting plant communities in alpine ecosystems, the influence of geomorphic processes and landforms has been minimally investigated. Subjected to persistent climate warming, it is vital to understand how these factors affect vegetation properties. Here, we studied 72 vegetation plots across three sites located in the Western Swiss Alps, characterized by high geomorphological variability and plant diversity. For each plot, vascular plant species were inventoried and ground surface temperature, soil moisture, topographic variables, earth surface processes (ESPs) and landform morphodynamics were assessed. The relationships between plant communities and environmental variables were analysed using non‐metric multi‐dimensional scaling (NMDS) and multivariate regression techniques (generalized linear model, GLM, and generalized additive model, GAM). Landform morphodynamics, growing degree days (sum of degree days above 5°C) and mean ground surface temperature were the most important explanatory variables of plant community composition. Furthermore, the regression models for species cover and species richness were significantly improved by adding a morphodynamics variable. This study provides complementary support that landform morphodynamics is a key factor, combined with growing degree days, to explain alpine plant distribution and community composition. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
El principal objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la variación de los parámetros climáticos (temperatura, lluvia y nieve) medidos en dos estaciones meteorológicas (Formazza y Sabbione) que nunca antes se habían analizado, ubicadas en un ambiente glaciar (la cuenca del Sabbione en los Alpes occidentales italianos). El estudio se centra en la evolución climática de la cuenca alpina durante los últimos 60 años : el cambio climático ha causado una declinación glaciar pronunciada cuyo origen es el aumento de la ablación debido principalmente al incremento de la temperatura del aire y la reducción de la alimentación, a su vez ocasionada periglaciares y ligadas al permafrost (p. ej., suelos estructurados y glaciares de roca) en depósitos de glaciares provenientes de la Pequeña Edad de Hielo (PEH), lo cual evidencia la transición de un ambiente glaciar/ la cuenca, se ha elaborado un mapa de la temperatura media anual del aire a partir de los análisis climáticos. ABSTRACTThe main objective of this study is to evaluate the variations of climatic parameters (temperature, rain and snow) measured by two weather stations (Formazza and Sabbione) that have never been analyzed before, located in a high glacial catchment (the Sabbione basin in the Italian Western Alps). The study highlights the climatic evolution of the Alpine basin during the last 60 years : climate change has caused a pronounced glacial decline originated by ablation augmentation, due mainly to increasing air temperatures and to reduced alimentation caused by a fresh snow decrease. The cross-correlation test shows that temperatures affect the glacial retreat dynamics more than snowfall. Periglacial and permafrost landforms (e.g., patterned the ongoing transition from glacial/proglacial to periglacial environments. Furthermore, in order to better identify the periglacial domain in the basin, a map of mean annual air temperature (MAAT) was produced based on climatic analysis.
El principal objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la variación de los parámetros climáticos (temperatura, lluvia y nieve) medidos en dos estaciones meteorológicas (Formazza y Sabbione) que nunca antes se habían analizado, ubicadas en un ambiente glaciar (la cuenca del Sabbione en los Alpes occidentales italianos). El estudio se centra en la evolución climática de la cuenca alpina durante los últimos 60 años : el cambio climático ha causado una declinación glaciar pronunciada cuyo origen es el aumento de la ablación debido principalmente al incremento de la temperatura del aire y la reducción de la alimentación, a su vez ocasionada periglaciares y ligadas al permafrost (p. ej., suelos estructurados y glaciares de roca) en depósitos de glaciares provenientes de la Pequeña Edad de Hielo (PEH), lo cual evidencia la transición de un ambiente glaciar/ la cuenca, se ha elaborado un mapa de la temperatura media anual del aire a partir de los análisis climáticos. ABSTRACTThe main objective of this study is to evaluate the variations of climatic parameters (temperature, rain and snow) measured by two weather stations (Formazza and Sabbione) that have never been analyzed before, located in a high glacial catchment (the Sabbione basin in the Italian Western Alps). The study highlights the climatic evolution of the Alpine basin during the last 60 years : climate change has caused a pronounced glacial decline originated by ablation augmentation, due mainly to increasing air temperatures and to reduced alimentation caused by a fresh snow decrease. The cross-correlation test shows that temperatures affect the glacial retreat dynamics more than snowfall. Periglacial and permafrost landforms (e.g., patterned the ongoing transition from glacial/proglacial to periglacial environments. Furthermore, in order to better identify the periglacial domain in the basin, a map of mean annual air temperature (MAAT) was produced based on climatic analysis.
In this paper, we compare the performance of two data-driven algorithms to deal with an automatic classification problem in geomorphology: Direct Sampling (DS) and Random Forest (RF). The main goal is to provide a semi-automated procedure for the geomorphological mapping of alpine environments, using a manually mapped zone as training dataset and predictor variables to infer the classification of a target zone. The applicability of DS to geomorphological classification was never investigated before. Instead, RF based classification has already been applied in few studies, but only with a limited number of geomorphological classes. The outcomes of both approaches are validated by comparing the eight detected classes with a geomorphological map elaborated on the field and considered as ground truth. Both DS and RF give satisfactory results and provide similar performances in term of accuracy and Cohen’s Kappa values. The map obtained with RF presents a noisier spatial distribution of classes than when using DS, because DS takes into account the spatial dependence of the different classes. Results suggest that DS and RF are both suitable techniques for the semi-automated geomorphological mapping in alpine environments at regional scale, opening the way for further improvements.
Abstract. Geoheritage is a component of geodiversity constituted by all the elements of geodiversity recognized by society for their particular values. The definition of these values, including the importance of geoheritage for biodiversity, plays a key role in the process of heritage recognition and geoconservation policymaking. In mountain environments, dynamic geomorphosites have a strong influence on plant diversity because the active geomorphological processes responsible for their formation act as renovators for habitats of pioneer species. In this paper, we propose criteria to assess the ecological value of dynamic mountain geomorphosites. We show that the interest of plant communities (species richness and presence of rare or protected species) and the influence of geomorphological processes on plant communities (disturbances, surface movement and soil) are fundamental criteria for assessing the ecological value in an exhaustive and objective way and that the question of the scale (local and national scales) is also a crucial parameter. We then illustrate this methodological proposal by evaluating the ecological value of three dynamic geomorphosites and a talus slope in the western Swiss Alps.
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