BACKGROUND The distribution and abundance of plants is controlled by the availability of seeds and of sites suitable for establishment. The relative importance of these two constraints is still contentious and possibly varies among species and ecosystems. In alpine landscapes, the role of seed limitation has traditionally been neglected, and the role of abiotic gradients emphasized. METHODOLO...

Microbial communities in alpine environments are exposed to several environmental factors related to elevation and local site conditions and to extreme seasonal variations. However, little is known on the combined impact of such factors on microbial community structure. We assessed the effects of seasonal variations on soil fungal and bacterial communities along an elevational gradient (from al...

In low nutrient alpine lakes, the littoral zone is the most productive part of the ecosystem, and it is a biodiversity hotspot. It is not entirely clear how the scale and physical heterogeneity of surrounding catchment, its ecological composition, and larger landscape gradients work together to sustain littoral communities. A total of 113 alpine lakes from the central Pyrenees were surveyed to ...

The Tibetan Plateau is an essential area to study the potential feedback effects of soils to climate change due to the rapid rise in its air temperature in the past several decades and the large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, particularly in the permafrost. Yet it is one of the most under-investigated regions in soil respiration (Rs) studies. Here, Rs rates were measured at 42 sit...

We have expanded our knowledge of the localities, sites and distribution Amelanchiero ovalis-Pinetum mugo association in Slovenian Alps. Based on phytocenological analyses, shrub belonging to forest vegetation type Alpine mountain pine scrub was divided into two subassociations: peucedanetosum oreoselini hylocomiadelphetosum triquetri. also described four variants within latter association.

In Taiwan, intensive forest fires frequently cause serious degradation, soil erosion and impacts on alpine vegetation. Post-fire succession often induces the substitution of by grassland. Alpine silver grass (Miscanthus transmorrisonensis Hay.) Yushan cane (Yushania niitakayamensis (Hay.) Keng f.) are two main endemic species emerging post-fire These play a major role in recovery vegetation con...

We have developed and tested a model to assess the hydrologic and biogeochemical responses of seasonally snow covered alpine areas to changes in inputs of water, chemicals, and energy. This alpine hydrochemical model (AHM) is capable of incorporating a detailed understanding of watershed processes in order to simulate events critical to biota such as the ionic pulse associated with spring snowm...

Pleistocene mammalian communities display unique features which differ from present-day faunas. The paleocommunities were characterized by the extraordinarily large body size of herbivores and predators and by their unique structure consisting of species now inhabiting geographically and ecologically distinct natural zones. These features were probably the result of the unique environmental con...

The endangered Ethiopian wolf is considered the rarest canid in Africa. The species faces many threats and is particularly vulnerable to diseases such as rabies. A simple, low-technology means to monitor populations would greatly facilitate conservation efforts, through early detection of population changes and behavior, and signaling a need for intervention. We tested a passive tracking index ...

This study analyzes the impact of droughts, compared with average climatic conditions, on the supporting ecosystem service water provision in sub-watersheds in managed alpine grasslands in two climatically different regions of the Alps, Lautaret (French Alps) and Stubai (Austrian Alps). Soil moisture was modelled in the range of 0-0.3 m. At both sites, current patterns showed that the mean seas...