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On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...

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168 Chapter 6<br />

Step climatic change<br />

Ramp climatic change<br />

Biomass (t/ha)<br />

400<br />

200<br />

400<br />

200<br />

0<br />

700<br />

900 1100<br />

Year<br />

1300<br />

0<br />

700<br />

900 1100<br />

Year<br />

1300<br />

Biomass (t/ha)<br />

400<br />

200<br />

0<br />

700<br />

Sigmoid climatic change<br />

900 1100<br />

Year<br />

1300<br />

Ulmus scabra<br />

Quercus robur<br />

Populus nigra<br />

Frax<strong>in</strong>us excelsior<br />

Acer pseudoplatanus<br />

Acer platanoides<br />

P<strong>in</strong>us silvestris<br />

P<strong>in</strong>us cembra<br />

Picea excelsa<br />

Larix decidua<br />

Abies alba<br />

Fig. 6.8: Effect <strong>of</strong> various assumptions about <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> transient climatic change between<br />

<strong>the</strong> simulation years 800 and 900 on <strong>the</strong> transient behaviour <strong>of</strong> FORCLIM-E/P at <strong>the</strong><br />

site Bever (cf. Fig. 6.7).<br />

changes are not important because such a climatic change proceeds very fast compared to<br />

successional dynamics. <strong>On</strong>ly <strong>the</strong> assumptions about <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> a hypo<strong>the</strong>sized future<br />

constant climate are crucial (cf. Fig. 6.8).<br />

6.2.3 Conclusion<br />

Several conclusions can be drawn from <strong>the</strong> simulation studies with various forest models<br />

under various climate scenarios developed to represent a hypo<strong>the</strong>tical constant climate at<br />

<strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 21st century:<br />

First, <strong>the</strong> species composition simulated by FORCLIM-E/P under various scenarios <strong>of</strong> climatic<br />

change at sites close to <strong>the</strong> alp<strong>in</strong>e and <strong>the</strong> dry timberl<strong>in</strong>e differs markedly from <strong>the</strong><br />

one simulated under current climatic conditions. This pattern is <strong>in</strong>dependent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> climate

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