08.09.2014 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Model applications 169<br />

scenario chosen. However, <strong>the</strong> exact species composition simulated by FORCLIM-E/P at<br />

<strong>the</strong>se sites and under climatic change depends strongly on <strong>the</strong> scenario used. <strong>On</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

hand, sites at mid altitudes show smaller and more uniform changes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir species composition<br />

across <strong>the</strong> various climate scenarios.<br />

Second, similar effects are visible when evaluat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> response <strong>of</strong> various forest models<br />

to one specific scenario <strong>of</strong> climatic change: The species composition simulated close to<br />

<strong>the</strong> alp<strong>in</strong>e timberl<strong>in</strong>e varies considerably depend<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> forest model used, i.e. on <strong>the</strong><br />

number <strong>of</strong> factors <strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong> a model and <strong>the</strong>ir formulation. It is surmised that <strong>the</strong><br />

same is valid also for sites close to <strong>the</strong> dry timberl<strong>in</strong>e, but this was not <strong>in</strong>vestigated <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

present study. Sites at mid altitudes appear to be less sensitive to <strong>the</strong> choice <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> forest<br />

model.<br />

Third, <strong>the</strong> uncerta<strong>in</strong>ty <strong>in</strong>herent <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> regionalized scenario <strong>of</strong> climatic change leads to a<br />

wide array <strong>of</strong> possible future forest compositions. Thus, even if one climate scenario<br />

could be identified as <strong>the</strong> “best estimate”, its uncerta<strong>in</strong>ty would preclude precise statements<br />

about future forest composition and aboveground carbon storage, especially at<br />

subalp<strong>in</strong>e sites.<br />

F<strong>in</strong>ally, <strong>the</strong> comparison <strong>of</strong> step, l<strong>in</strong>ear (ramp), and sigmoid climatic changes dur<strong>in</strong>g 100<br />

years show that <strong>the</strong> choice <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> transient scenario is not important because <strong>the</strong> change <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> abiotic conditions proceeds fast compared to <strong>the</strong> successional dynamics. However, if<br />

climatic change cont<strong>in</strong>ues for several centuries, i.e. when <strong>the</strong> time scale <strong>of</strong> climatic<br />

change approaches <strong>the</strong> time scale <strong>of</strong> forest succession (Bugmann & Fischl<strong>in</strong> 1994), <strong>the</strong><br />

differences between <strong>the</strong> various scenarios <strong>of</strong> transient climatic change certa<strong>in</strong>ly would be<br />

more pronounced; as mentioned <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduction to this section, <strong>the</strong>re is no evidence<br />

that climatic change would come to a halt by <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> next century. Moreover, <strong>the</strong>se<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs may not hold for changes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> variance <strong>of</strong> climatic parameters, which have not<br />

been <strong>in</strong>vestigated here.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!