Rosbakh, Sergey and Porro, Francesco and Abeli, Thomas and Di Cecco, Valter and Erschbamer, Brigitta and Fernandez-Calzado, Rosa and Jimenez-Alfaro, Borja and Lodetti, Silvano and Lorite, Juan and Moser, Dietmar and Orsenigo, Simone and Pauli, Harald and Petraglia, Alessandro and Rossi, Graziano and Saccone, Patrick and Stanisci, Angela and White, Fiona J. and Winkler, Manuela and Mondoni, Andrea (2025) Understanding Long-Term Abundance Shifts in European Alpine Plants Through the Lenses of Functional Seed Trait Ecology. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, 31 (7): e70047. ISSN 1366-9516, 1472-4642
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
AimUnderstanding the resilience and adaptability of alpine flora under climate change is crucial for biodiversity conservation. While functional traits are key to predicting alpine plants' responses to climate change, the role of regeneration traits remains underexplored. We hypothesised that alpine species thriving under climate change produce seeds with higher dispersal ability, longer soil persistence, lower dormancy requirements, and faster germination, while declining species would show opposite traits.LocationTwenty-three summits across six mountain ranges in Central and Southern Europe: Sierra Nevada, Northern and Central Apennines, and Northeastern, Central, and Southern Alps.MethodsWe analysed long-term data on frequency and abundance changes and eight seed traits related to dispersal, establishment, and soil persistence for 177 alpine species using linear mixed-effect models.ResultsOver two decades, alpine plant populations remained stable, with nearly 90% of species showing minimal frequency change and 70% showing minimal abundance change. However, abundance shifts varied by region: 16%-25% of species declined in Sierra Nevada, the Central Apennines, and the Southern Alps, while the Northeastern Alps and the Northern Apennines showed the largest increases (27% and 17%, respectively). Significant but limited relationships between seed traits and population dynamics were captured, primarily in the Central and Northern Apennines. Species with lower potential for epizoochory or anemochory were more likely to increase in abundance, while smaller seeds were linked to 'winners' in some regions. Germination traits, such as broader temperature requirements and slower germination, characterised species with increased abundance in the Northern Apennines.Main ConclusionsSeed traits had limited predictive power in distinguishing 'losers' and 'winners' of climate change among European alpine plants. This likely reflects the longevity of alpine plants, short observation periods, and potential mismatches between seed-level microenvironmental conditions and broader climatic trends.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | HIGH-MOUNTAIN PLANTS; CLIMATE-CHANGE; GERMINATION TRAITS; SPECIES RICHNESS; ALPS; VEGETATION; DIVERSITY; REGENERATION; COMMUNITIES; IMPACTS; biodiversity; elevation; global change; GLORIA; monitoring; seeds; trait |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 570 Life sciences 500 Science > 580 Botanical sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften > Lehrstuhl für Ökologie und Naturschutzbiologie (Prof. Dr. Peter Poschlod) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 06 May 2026 09:06 |
| Last Modified: | 06 May 2026 09:06 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/67229 |
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