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

210 Appendix
tified the relative duration of foliage decomposition depending on its initial C:N ratio. For
FORCLIM, the following classification was adapted: Foliage with a C:N ratio of ≤30
whose decay takes less than two years “in an average brown earth” Ellenberg (1986, p.
93) is assigned to group 1 (fast decay); foliage with 30 < C:N ratio ≤ 60 whose decay
takes 2 to 3 years is classified as group 2 (medium decay). The most recalcitrant foliage
type (group 3, slow decay) has a C:N ratio of more than 60 and takes more than 3 years
to decay (Tab. A-12).
The kLQ parameters of the species for which no data was available in Ellenberg (1986)
and Berg & Staaf (1981), i.e. Abies alba, Pinus cembra, P. montana, and Sorbus spp.,
were determined by evaluating the qualitative descriptions of leaf decomposition in
Dengler et al. (1992).
Summary of all species parameters
A table containing all the species-specific parameters of the 30 European tree species is
given in section 3.4.1 (Tab. 3.11).
III. Climatic input data sets for the European Alps
Tab. A-13 lists the general characteristics of the 12 sites used in the present study; the
monthly climatic data at the sites were extracted from the database of the Swiss Meteorological
Agency (1901-1990) according to Bantle (1989) and are given in Tab. A-14.
Tab. A-13: Characteristics of the European sites used in the present study. “Annual mean T” denotes the
long-term annual mean temperature. “Annual P sum” stands for the long-term mean annual precipitation
sum. “SMA no.” indicates the number of the climate station in the database of the Swiss Meteorological
Agency (SMA 1901-1990, Bantle 1989).
Site
Latitude
[°N]
Longitude
[°E]
Elevation
[m]
Annual
mean T
[°C]
Annual
P sum
[cm]
Observation period
SMA
no.
Grande Dixence 46.1 7.4 2166 1.3 101.7 Jan 1965 - Sep 1985 7440
Bever 46.6 9.9 1712 1.5 84.1 Jan 1901 - Dec 1982 9850
Davos 46.8 9.8 1590 3.0 100.7 Jan 1901 - Dec 1989 460
Montana 46.3 7.5 1495 5.8 92.9 Jan 1931 - Dec 1989 7380
Adelboden 46.5 7.6 1325 5.5 135.1 Jan 1966 - Dec 1989 5270
Huttwil 47.1 7.8 639 8.1 128.7 May 1971 - Dec 1989 6600
Bern-Liebefeld 46.9 7.4 570 8.4 100.6 Jan 1901 - Dec 1989 5520
Schaffhausen 47.7 8.6 457 8.6 88.2 Jan 1931 - Dec 1989 1300
Basel Binningen 47.5 7.6 317 9.2 78.4 Jan 1901 - Dec 1989 1940
Sion 46.2 7.4 542 9.7 59.7 Jan 1901 - Dec 1977 7500
Airolo 46.5 8.6 1149 6.1 161.6 Jan 1931 - Dec 1980 9030
Locarno-Monti 46.2 8.8 379 11.8 184.6 May 1935 - Dec 1989 9400