Show simple item record

AuthorAlatalo, Juha M.
AuthorFerrarini, Alessandro
Available date2020-11-26T11:21:10Z
Publication Date2017
Publication NameInternational Journal of Biometeorology
ResourceScopus
URIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1231-y
URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/10576/17112
AbstractForests are expected to expand into alpine areas due to global climate change. It has recently been shown that temperature alone cannot realistically explain this process and that upslope tree advance in a warmer scenario may depend on the availability of sites with adequate geomorphic/topographic characteristics. Here, we show that, besides topography (slope and aspect), climate itself can produce a braking effect on the upslope advance of subalpine forests and that tree limit is influenced by non-linear and non-monotonic contributions of the climate variables which act upon treeline upslope advance with varying relative strengths. Our results suggest that global climate change impact on the upslope advance of subalpine forests should be interpreted in a more complex way where climate can both speed up and slow down the process depending on complex patterns of contribution from each climate and non-climate variable.
SponsorJMA thanks Carl Tryggers Stiftelse for financial support. The authors declare no conflict of interests. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments that improved this manuscript.
Languageen
PublisherSpringer New York LLC
SubjectAlpine areas
Climate change
Flex points
Response curves
Subalpine vegetation
Treeline rise
Treeline shift model
TitleBraking effect of climate and topography on global change-induced upslope forest expansion
TypeArticle
Pagination541-548
Issue Number3
Volume Number61
dc.accessType Abstract Only


Files in this item

FilesSizeFormatView

There are no files associated with this item.

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record