Subalpine vegetation changes in the Eastern Sudetes (1973–2021): Effects of abandonment, conservation management and avalanches

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985939%3A_____%2F23%3A00574094" target="_blank" >RIV/67985939:_____/23:00574094 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216224:14310/23:00134092

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12711" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12711</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12711" target="_blank" >10.1111/avsc.12711</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Subalpine vegetation changes in the Eastern Sudetes (1973–2021): Effects of abandonment, conservation management and avalanches

Original language description

The summit grasslands of many European mountain ranges were historically used for summer grazing, which ceased in the 20th century. These grasslands are changing, partly through succession after abandonment and partly due to environmental changes. Subalpine vegetation is also affected by artificially reduced avalanche frequency. Recent conservation efforts have attempted to reverse the negative trends of change. We ask: (1) How has subalpine vegetation changed following the abandonment and avalanche control? (2) Was conservation management able to reverse the post‐abandonment trend of vegetation change? (3) Did avalanche disturbance have a positive effect on plant species diversity? Summit area of the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains (1,491 m a.s.l.), Eastern Sudetes, Czech Republic. Vegetation plots sampled in the 1970s were resurveyed in the 2000s and again in 2021. Subalpine vegetation was classified into six types, and transitions between these types over time were quantified. Vascular plant species richness and the proportion of threatened species were compared between time periods, between areas with and without conservation management, and between areas affected vs unaffected by a large avalanche from 2019. Species composition was analyzed using principal component analysis and distance‐based redundancy analysis. Vegetation types remained relatively stable except for species‐rich grasslands, some of which changed to heathlands or tall‐forb vegetation. Some competitive species have increased, and threatened habitat‐specialized species declined. Conservation management systematically implemented after 2010 slowed the decline of habitat‐specialized species but did not reverse it. Disturbance by an avalanche positively affected species richness but not the number of threatened species. Subalpine vegetation is slowly losing its plant diversity due to grazing cessation and possibly acidification from past atmospheric deposition. Recently implemented conservation management and restoration of avalanche activity are essential to stop this trend, but future monitoring is needed to evaluate the success of management actions.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GX19-28491X" target="_blank" >GX19-28491X: Centre for European Vegetation Syntheses (CEVS)</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Applied vegetation science

ISSN

1402-2001

e-ISSN

1654-109X

Volume of the periodical

26

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

19

Pages from-to

e12711

UT code for WoS article

000937128000001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85152687633