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“The changes are so rapid that plants like
fireweed (rose bay) and rowan have even taken
root in the gravel upon melting glaciers. Even
wood anemones are appearing higher up the
mountain,” says Leif Kullman.
“More and more plants are migrating to the high
mountains since the warmer climate is conducive
to them, including contorta pine and cembra pine,
which are not native to Scandinavia.”
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<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516121650.htm>
Climate Changes Creating Green And Flowering Mountains
ScienceDaily (May 16, 2008) – Our mountains are
growing greener. At the border between woods and
bare mountain, trees that require warm
temperatures, such as oak, elm, maple, and black
alder, have become established for the first time
in 8,000 years. This is shown in current studies
led by Leif Kullman, professor of physical
geography at Umeå University in Sweden.
Over the last century, the temperature has risen
by more than one degree. The cooling trend over
several thousand years is broken, and this has
triggered changes in flora, fauna, and
landscapes. In important respects, the present
state is similar to what occurred directly after
the latest ice age.
“Most noticeable, alongside the melting of
glaciers, is an elevating of the timberline by
200 meters. Bare alpine areas are shrinking, and
typical Nordic mountain birch forests are losing
ground to spruce and pine, which are more
competitive in a warmer and drier climate,” says
Leif Kullman.
The alpine landscape is becoming generally
greener and more inviting. Many mountain plants
have produced profuse blossoms as well as
prodigious amounts of seeds and fruits in the
last few years.
Plants that were previously limited to the
borderline between woods and bare mountain are
now rapidly climbing alpine slopes.
“The changes are so rapid that plants like
fireweed (rose bay) and rowan have even taken
root in the gravel up on melting glaciers. Even
wood anemones are appearing higher up the
mountain,” says Leif Kullman.
The alpine flora and biodiversity are thus
burgeoning dramatically. More and more plants are
migrating to the high mountains since the warmer
climate is conducive to them, including contorta
pine and cembra pine, which are not native to
Scandinavia.
The distribution of the mountain landscape’s
various plant communities is in flux. Certain
plants, such as mosses and low-growing herbs, are
adapted to a short growing period after the snow
melts. As the snow thaws earlier and earlier,
these plants have been replaced by brush and
grass heaths, which has lent the mountain slopes
a steppe-like appearance. Mountain fens are
drying up, which means that sedge and grass
vegetation is growing denser, new species are
migrating in, and in some places glorious alpine
meadows are appearing. At the highest elevations,
formerly the domain of sterile gravel and
boulders, fens are occurring.
Changes in flora impact the conditions for the
mountain fauna. Leif Kullman has observed new
bird and butterfly species, such as wrens and
admirals, at ever higher elevations.
The knowledge generated by the current monitoring
system is a precondition for models that describe
the development of a possibly warmer future.
“The alpine world is evincing truly major changes
despite the modest increase in temperature.
Present prognoses of a temperature increase of
three degrees by 2100 will entail considerably
more sweeping changes. We can expect fewer bare
mountain areas, even more lush vegetation, and a
richer flora,” says Leif Kullman.
The studies were carried out primarily in
Sweden’s southern mountain regions in the
provinces of Jämtland, Härjedalen, and Dalarna.
Data from more than 200 sites have been recorded
at various times since 1915. There is no other
series of this scope in the world.
Adapted from materials provided by Umeå University, via AlphaGalileo.
Umeå University (2008, May 16). Climate Changes
Creating Green And Flowering Mountains.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 16, 2008, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com?
/releases/2008/05/080516121650.htm
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