The Biology of Alpine Habitats

This book is unique in providing a global overview of alpine (high mountain) habitats that occur above the natural (cold-limited) tree line, describing the factors that have shaped them over both ecological and evolutionary timescales. The broad geographic coverage helps synthesize common features whilst revealing differences in the world's major alpine systems from the Arctic to the Tropics. The words "barren" and "wasteland" have often been applied to describe landscapes beyond the tree line. However, a closer look reveals a large diversity of habitats, assemblages and individual taxa in the alpine zone, largely connected to topographic diversity within individual alpine regions. The book considers habitat-forming factors (landforms, energy and climate, hydrology, soils, and vegetation) individually, as well as their composite impacts on habitat characteristics. Evolution and population processes are examined in the context of the responsiveness/resilience of alpine habitats to global change. Finally, a critical assessment fo the potential impacts of climate change, atmospheric pollutants and land use is made and related to the management and conservation options available for these unique habitats. Interest in mountains continues to grow as their resource importance is increasingly recognized. This accessible text is suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in ecology and environmental sciences as well as the many professional ecologists and conservation biologists requiring a concise, authoritative overview of the topic.

Laszlo Nagy obtained his first degree in Hungary before moving to the University of Stirling, Scotland, where he obtained his Ph.D. and went on to work as a Post-doctoral research fellow. He is currently an independent researcher at EcoScience Scotland and is affilliated with the Department of Conservation Biology, University of Vienna. He is editor of Plant Ecology and Diversity, the journal of the Botanical Society of Scotland.
Georg Grabherr studied at the University of Innsbruck where he stayed on to become assistant professor. In 1986 he moved to the University of Vienna as a Professor of Vegetation Ecology and Conservation Biology. He has over 150 publications and sits on numerous Advisory Boards and Committees.
Books by the same author:
Alpine Biodiversity in Europe |a L. Nagy, G. Grabherr, C. Korner and D. B. A. Thompson

Preface	p. v
Acknowledgements	p. vii
Introduction: What is alpine?	p. 1
High mountains in latitude life zones: a worldwide perspective	p. 6
Introduction	p. 6
Arctic mountains	p. 7
Boreal mountain regions	p. 7
Temperate regions	p. 14
Subtropical mountains	p. 17
Tropical regions	p. 19
Elevation gradients	p. 21
Introduction	p. 21
Climate and elevation	p. 22
Elevation pattern in weathering and soils	p. 28
Elevation and vegetation zonation	p. 28
Species richness in relation to elevation	p. 36
Invertebrates	p. 43
Vertebrates	p. 44
Geography and vegetation altitude boundary shifts	p. 47
Conclusions	p. 49
The alpine environment: energy and climate	p. 52
Introduction	p. 52
The atmosphere-surface system	p. 53
Other atmospheric physical and chemical factors related to climate	p. 59
Relief energy in alpine landscapes	p. 64
Alpine zone climates	p. 67
Conclusions	p. 74
Habitat creating factors: landforms, hydrology, and soils	p. 76
Introduction	p. 76
Landforms	p. 76
Hydrological characteristics of alpine landscapes	p. 85
Soils	p. 91
Nutrient budgets: the atmosphere-plant-soil system	p. 105
Climatic seasonality and plant available soil nutrients	p. 112
Nutrient limitation in alpine ecosystems?	p. 114
Conclusions	p. 116
Alpine terrestrial habitats and community types/assemblages	p. 117
Introduction	p. 117
Arctic alpine habitats and community types	p. 120
Boreal zone mountains: dwarf-shrub heaths	p. 126
Temperate mountains: sedge heaths	p. 141
The interface between temperate and subtropical mountains: the Himalayas	p. 156
Subtropical sclerophyllous forest zone	p. 159
Aseasonal tropical alpine habitats	p. 164
Seasonal tropical alpine environments	p. 169
Conclusions	p. 171
Biogeography, adaptation, and evolution of alpine organisms	p. 173
Introduction	p. 173
The backdrop: orogenesis and past climatic changes	p. 174
The biogeography of regions	p. 180
Species richness and the applicability of the theory of island biogeography to the alpine zone mountains	p. 192
Adaptation, survival, and evolution of alpine organisms	p. 199
Conclusions	p. 222
Temporal and spatial dynamics	p. 224
Introduction	p. 224
Alpine primary succession	p. 224
The case of glacier forelands	p. 231
Secondary succession	p. 239
Post-succession vascular plant establishment, growth, and dynamics	p. 240
The role of extraneous drivers	p. 255
Conclusions	p. 263
Global change impacts on alpine habitats: climate and nitrogen deposition	p. 265
Introduction	p. 265
The environment and its change in space and time	p. 265
Climatic drivers: forecasts and scenarios of future climate changes	p. 271
Land use and conservation of alpine landscapes, ecosystems, and species	p. 289
Introduction	p. 289
Land use from a brief historic perspective	p. 289
Conservation of alpine landscapes and habitats	p. 302
Conclusions	p. 312
Concluding remarks	p. 313
References	p. 319
Index	p. 365
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The Biology of Alpine Habitats

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Author Biography

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