Der Klimawandel in den Alpen: Was erwartet uns in Zukunft?

Kotlarski, Sven; Gobiet, Andreas; Morin, Samuel; Olefs, Marc; Rajczak, Jan; Samacoïts, Raphaëlle

doi:10.5194/dach2022-12

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The climate data presented in this study depict a concerning trend of increasing summer temperatures, temperature humidity index (THI), and heat wave (HW) frequency and intensity, particularly over the last three decades; most notably, we propose a definition of heatwaves that incorporates THI, a widely recognized index for assessing livestock heat stress (Herbut et al, 2018;Wijffels et al, 2021). Our findings are in accordance with the literature about climate changes occurring and foreseen in Europe and Italy (Brunetti et al, 2004;Toreti and Desiato, 2008;Christensen et al, 2015;Twardosz et al, 2021;Kotlarski et al, 2022). The regions most affected by these changes are situated in centralnorthern Italy, including the Po Valley and the Alpine Arch, thus interesting breeds such as Rosset and Brogne sheep, and Lariana and Frisa Valtellinese goats.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

70 years of heat waves and summer climate change affecting Italian small ruminant populations

Bionda,

Cortellari,

Negro

et al. 2024

Pastor. res. policy pract.

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Climate change and heat stress pose significant challenges to livestock. Local breeds, particularly small ruminants, are gaining importance due to their adaptability to harsh climates. However, the extensive system they are commonly reared in leaves them exposed to the effects of climate change. This study aims to describe the distribution and climate-related challenges faced by registered Italian sheep and goat breeds over the past seven decades. Geolocalized data from all registered small ruminant farms were combined with climatic information retrieved from the “ERA-5-Land hourly data from 1950 to present” dataset. These data were used to calculate average daily temperature, temperature humidity index (THI), and total precipitation during summer. Additionally, THI-based heat waves (HWs) were examined, including the yearly number of HW days and mean THI during HW days. These data were analysed through linear regression models including region or breed, year, and their interaction as fixed factors. The climate data indicate a concerning trend of rising summer temperatures, THI, and HW frequency and intensity, particularly over the past three decades. Central-northern Italy, including the Po Valley and the Alpine Arch, is the most affected region, impacting breeds like Rosset and Brogne sheep, and Lariana and Frisa Valtellinese goats. This is of particular concern because these populations have not been selected for hot climates, and their already small population size exacerbates the problem. Conversely, southern Italy, characterized by hotter and drier temperatures, remained relatively stable. Breeds from this region, such as Girgentana and Nicastrese goats and Nera di Arbus sheep, might represent excellent case studies for climatic adaptation and potential resources for selection for resilience in the face of ongoing climate changes. The findings presented here are essential for the development of monitoring and intervention strategies for breeds facing future vulnerabilities, as well as for designing experiments to explore environmental adaptability in small ruminants.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

70 years of heat waves and summer climate change affecting Italian small ruminant populations

Bionda,

Cortellari,

Negro

et al. 2024

Pastor. res. policy pract.

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“…Further expanding the eco-model and safeguarding the practice of alpine pasture farming across international boundaries throughout the Alpine region seems desirable to maintain biodiversity and resilience in fragile mountain landscapes. In the Alps, these are under increasing pressure not just from tourism and forest encroachment but also due to global climate change (Kotlarski et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating value from intangible cultural heritage—the role of innovation for sustainable tourism and regional rural development

Shakya,

Vagnarelli

2024

Eur. j. cult. manag. policy

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Based on evidence from two exploratory case studies, the article examines how intangible cultural heritage can promote sustainable rural development by creating value for rural communities. The studied communities in Bavaria, Germany, and Le Marche, Italy, are closely tied to traditional agricultural practices and their historical legacies. In the German case study, alpine pasture farming has sustained its cultural landscape and tourism for generations, while in the Italian case, the rural sharecropping legacy evolved into a culinary heritage project. Bad Hindelang (Germany) stands out as a mature destination with a long history of sustainable tourism, achieved through collaboration between farmers, conservationists, and the local community. The region balances tourism, conservation, and ecological farming through community participation and collective action. In contrast, Le Marche region (Italy) has only recently experienced increasing numbers of international tourists, but seems well-situated to exploit opportunities for cultural and culinary tourism development. The Marche Food and Wine Memories project has preserved the oral memories and the culinary heritage of former sharecroppers, yet economic value for the region has so far been limited. Post-COVID-19, the region may benefit from increased demand for tourism in culturally appealing, authentic and less crowded destinations. The article emphasises that intangible cultural heritage can enrich the quality of life of local residents and enhance visitors’ experiential value. Innovative approaches like storytelling and participatory engagement make these cultural expressions accessible to wider audiences, including tourists, thus benefiting heritage communities in various ways. Both cases highlight the role of innovation, with Bad Hindelang’s eco-model promoting ecological farming and Le Marche’s project preserving sharecroppers’ heritage through corporate heritage marketing. Collaboration among various stakeholders has been a key to success in both cases. The article also illustrates the range of functions fulfilled by intangible cultural heritage, from restoring social dignity to maintaining landscape aesthetics and ecological integrity.

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“…Climate change is expected to rapidly alter the key processes driving tree and forest dynamics in the Alps (Maroschek et al, 2009). Mountain areas such as the Alps are particularly vulnerable to climate change, where temperatures have been increasing faster than the global average (Leonelli et al, 2011;Pepin et al, 2015) and with a further acceleration observed over the recent decades (Kotlarski et al, 2023). With a rapidly warming climate, these ecosystems will likely experience an acceleration of their dynamics (Albrich et al, 2022;Thom and Seidl, 2022), such as changes in their regeneration, growth, and mortality processes (Allen et al, 2010;Morán-Ordóñez et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting impacts of climate change on protection forests of the Italian Alps

Hillebrand,

Marzini,

Crespi

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Protection forests play a key role in protecting settlements, people, and infrastructures from gravitational hazards such as rockfalls and avalanches in mountain areas. Rapid climate change is challenging the role of protection forests by altering their dynamics, structure, and composition. Information on local- and regional-scale impacts of climate change on protection forests is critical for planning adaptations in forest management. We used a model of forest dynamics (ForClim) to assess the succession of mountain forests in the Eastern Alps and their protective effects under future climate change scenarios. We investigated eleven representative forest sites along an elevational gradient across multiple locations within an administrative region, covering wide differences in tree species structure, composition, altitude, and exposition. We evaluated protective performance against rockfall and avalanches using numerical indices (i.e., linker functions) quantifying the degree of protection from metrics of simulated forest structure and composition. Our findings reveal that climate warming has a contrasting impact on protective effects in mountain forests of the Eastern Alps. Climate change is likely to not affect negatively all protection forest stands but its impact depends on site and stand conditions. Impacts were highly contingent to the magnitude of climate warming, with increasing criticality under the most severe climate projections. Forests in lower-montane elevations and those located in dry continental valleys showed drastic changes in forest structure and composition due to drought-induced mortality while subalpine forests mostly profited from rising temperatures and a longer vegetation period. Overall, avalanche protection will likely be negatively affected by climate change, while the ability of forests to maintain rockfall protection depends on the severity of expected climate change and their vulnerability due to elevation and topography, with most subalpine forests less prone to loosing protective effects. Proactive measures in management should be taken in the near future to avoid losses of protective effects in the case of severe climate change in the Alps. Given the heterogeneous impact of climate warming, such adaptations can be aided by model-based projections and high local resolution studies to identify forest stand types that might require management priority for maintaining protective effects in the future.

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Der Klimawandel in den Alpen: Was erwartet uns in Zukunft?

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

70 years of heat waves and summer climate change affecting Italian small ruminant populations

70 years of heat waves and summer climate change affecting Italian small ruminant populations

Creating value from intangible cultural heritage—the role of innovation for sustainable tourism and regional rural development

Contrasting impacts of climate change on protection forests of the Italian Alps

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