Relative influence of timing and accumulation of snow on alpine land surface phenology
| Autor: | Irene Garonna, Rogier de Jong, Michael E. Schaepman, Mathias Kneubühler, Jing Xie, Claudia Notarnicola, Ludovica De Gregorio |
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| Přispěvatelé: | University of Zurich, Xie, Jing |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Atmospheric Science 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences UFSP13-8 Global Change and Biodiversity 1904 Earth-Surface Processes Soil Science Growing season 1107 Forestry Aquatic Science Spatial distribution 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Grassland 2312 Water Science and Technology 1912 Space and Planetary Science 1910 Oceanography 1902 Atmospheric Science Ecosystem 910 Geography & travel 1908 Geophysics 1111 Soil Science 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Water Science and Technology geography geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology 1104 Aquatic Science Phenology 1901 Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Paleontology Forestry Snow 1911 Paleontology 10122 Institute of Geography Period (geology) 1906 Geochemistry and Petrology Environmental science Physical geography 2303 Ecology Snow cover |
| Popis: | Timing and accumulation of snow are among the most important phenomena influencing land surface phenology in mountainous ecosystems. However, our knowledge on their influence on alpine land surface phenology is still limited, and much remains unclear as to which snow metrics are most relevant for studying this interaction. In this study, we analyzed five snow and phenology metrics, namely, timing (snow cover duration (SCD) and last snow day), accumulation of snow (mean snow water equivalent, SWEm), and mountain land surface phenology (start of season and length of season) in the Swiss Alps during the period 2003–2014. We examined elevational and regional variations in the relationships between snow and alpine land surface phenology metrics using multiple linear regression and relative weight analyses and subsequently identified the snow metrics that showed strongest associations with variations in alpine land surface phenology of natural vegetation types.We found that the relationships between snow and phenology metrics were pronounced in high-elevational regions and alpine natural grassland and sparsely vegetated areas. Start of season was influenced primarily by SCD, secondarily by SWEm, while length of season was equally affected by SCD and SWEm across different elevational bands. We conclude that SCD plays the most significant role compared to other snow metrics. Future variations of snow cover and accumulation are likely to influence alpine ecosystems, for instance, their species composition due to changes in the potential growing season. Also, their spatial distribution may change as a response to the new environmental conditions if these prove persistent. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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