Abstract
High mountain ecosystems are sensitive to climate change (Box 1). Historical records of the flora on high summits in the Alps provide an important baseline against which climate-induced effects on high mountain ecosystems can be assessed. Reinvestigations of these old “monitoring summits” have shown that mountain plants have migrated upwards during the 20th century. An increase of atmospheric temperatures since the late 19th century is the most likely cause of this upward shift (Gottfried et al. 1994; Grabherr et al. 1994; 1995; 2001a; Pauli et al. 1996; 2001a). This “summit study” underlined the importance of long-term monitoring for assessing climate change effects on mountain ecosystems and initiated the establishment of extensive monitoring networks in mountain environments.
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Pauli, H., Gottfried, M., Hohenwallner, D., Reiter, K., Grabherr, G. (2005). Ecological Climate Impact Research in High Mountain Environments: GLORIA (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments) — its Roots, Purpose and Long-term Perspectives. In: Huber, U.M., Bugmann, H.K.M., Reasoner, M.A. (eds) Global Change and Mountain Regions. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3508-X_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3508-X_38
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