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FS 3.163

Macro-scale microclimate changes in global mountains

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Full Title
FS 3.163: Changing microclimates on a macro-scale and their ecological impact in global mountains
Scheduled
TBA
Location
TBA
Convener
Jonathan Von Oppen
Co-Conveners
Pekka Niittynen, Jonas Lembrechts, Kryštof Chytrý,
Assigned to Synthesis Workshop
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Thematic Focus
Atmosphere, Cryo- & Hydrosphere, Ecosystems, Monitoring, Multi-scale Modeling
Keywords
microclimate, macroecology, interdisciplinary, climate change

Description

Macro-scale climatic changes are strongly affecting mountain ecosystems worldwide. Yet, most records and predictions beyond a local extent rely on sparse, standardised measurements or coarse spatial interpolations that do not reflect the high environmental variability in mountains, nor the fact that life in mountains mostly happens close to or underneath the ground surface. We are therefore largely lacking empirical knowledge how mountain biota, on a macro-ecological scale, have experienced recent climate change locally, and how further climate change will affect valuable mountain biodiversity at large through in-situ microclimatic changes. For this session, we invite contributions

advancing our ability to monitor or predict microclimate change, from regional to large-scale extents;
illustrating the magnitude and variability of microclimatic changes in mountain systems; and
demonstrating how they have affected, or are projected to affect, populations of mountain organisms, communities or ecological interactions.

Besides ecological aspects of microclimate change, we aim to facilitate interdisciplinary understanding in microclimate science by also welcoming input from adjacent fields such as meteorology, hydrology or technology. We expect to gather valuable and diverse perspectives on the state-of-the-art of this emerging topic, and to share experiences and inspiration for advancing the field of macro-scale microclimate change research.

Submitted Abstracts

ID: 3.9737

Population response of mountain species to past climate change is independent from their elevational zone

Jalil Noroozi
Larsson, Dennis; Schneeweiss, Gerald M

Abstract/Description

Understanding population genetic structures and demographic responses of species to past climate changes is important for predicting their response to current and future climate change. This study assesses the demographic history of nine endemic mountain plant species from the Iranian Plateau to Pleistocene climatic oscillations. We hypothesized that mid-elevation species (montane) experienced post-glacial expansion, while cold-adapted species (alpine) experienced post-glacial contraction. We selected four montane and five alpine plant species endemic but widely distributed in the Iranian Plateau. Population Genetic data from RAD Sequencing were analysed using coalescent demographic simulator FastSimCoal2 2.7 models. Results showed post-glacial expansion in six species and contraction in three species. Contrary to our hypothesis, four out five alpine species showed post-glacial expansion, and only one contraction. These four alpine species with post-glacial expansion are associated with habitats characterized by short snow cover. More likely this is due to the role of the microhabitats of the species in the response of the species to climate change. Consequently, we conclude that the elevation does not play a clear role in the interglacial Expansion-Contraction of species, but the microhabitats play a significant role in this phenomenon.

ID: 3.9863

A drier maternal environment increases the water stress tolerance of alpine seeds and seedlings

Jeronimo Vazquez-Ramirez

Abstract/Description

The environmental conditions (including mirco-climate conditions) experienced by a mother plant during seed development can significantly influence the traits of its offspring. Maternal environmental effects are crucial for understanding how plant species cope with climate variability and how plants can adapt in rapidly changing environments such as alpine ecosystems. To date, most studies on this topic in alpine environments have focused on the effects of a warmer maternal environment, while other climatic factors, such as reduced precipitation, remain underexplored. Here we investigated the effects of a drier maternal environment on seed morphology, germination and seedling water stress tolerance in three Australian alpine species. We used rain-out shelters to impose a 60% reduction in precipitation (i.e. modify microclimatic conditions) on maternal plants over one year. Seeds were then collected from plants grown under rain-out shelters and control conditions, measured for size and mass, and subjected to germination tests under a gradient of water potential solutions (0 to -1 MPa, PEG6000). Seedlings were also grown and subjected to a gradient of watering treatments (100%, 80% and 60% pot capacity) in a climate chamber experiment. Overall, our results showed that a drier maternal environment affected seed morphological traits with contrasting species-specific responses and increased seed and seedling tolerance to water stress. Seed mass and size decreased significantly in two of the species studied, while seeds of another species were heavier than controls under drier maternal conditions. The germination capacity of seeds from drier maternal environments was higher than that of control seeds under low water availability in all three species. Seedlings from a drier maternal environment had a greater total leaf area and experienced less stress (as indicated by relative water content and chlorophyll fluorescence) under low water availability than control seedlings. Finally, we discuss the relevance of maternal environmental effects for potential conservation and management activities of alpine ecosystems in a changing climate.

ID: 3.9939

Four decades of soil temperatures to map microhabitats across the European Alps

Jonathan Von Oppen
Klinges, David; Gravey, Mathieu; Rumpf, Sabine

Abstract/Description

Temperatures in high-mountain areas have increased rapidly during recent decades. However, how this overall warming trend has translated into microclimatic conditions that the specialised alpine organisms experience remains largely unknown due to the lack of microclimatic data across large spatial and temporal scales. Here, we present a reconstruction of local-scale topsoil temperatures for the alpine zone of the European Alps. We employ a mechanistic microclimate model to calculate hourly topsoil temperatures across four decades, based on extensive macroclimate reanalysis, edaphic, topographic, and vegetation data. These microclimatic data will allow us to identify microhabitats thermally distinct from the surrounding landscapes, as well as their specific temperature trends, and to assess the existence of potential microrefugia that might safeguard cold-adapted alpine biodiversity in the course of ongoing climate change.

ID: 3.10425

Plant strategies in a warming world: unveiling the dynamics of six novel proglacial ecosystems

Anais Zimmer
Vallée, Sophie; Rabatel, Antoine; Anthelme, Fabien

Abstract/Description

As glaciers retreat globally at an accelerating rate, the formation of novel proglacial ecosystems has become a critical research focus. Recent projections estimate that between 49% and 83% of glaciers (excluding ice sheets) will disappear by 2100, exposing approximately 227,000 km² of new land. Understanding plant colonization dynamics in proglacial areas is essential for predicting future ecosystem trajectories. Traditional ecological succession models depict a linear progression from pioneer species (lichens, mosses) to vascular plants (annual, forbs, graminoids, shrubs, and trees). However, functional trait-based approaches provide a more nuanced perspective. Our study, based on six short (120-year) chronosequences in the European Alps, examines the functional responses of vascular plants to glacier retreat. We assess dispersal modes, CSR strategies, and growth forms to test three key hypotheses: (i) under accelerated climate change, ecological succession patterns are shaped by site-specific stochasticity, potentially deviating from the classic model of primary succession, (ii) in early succession, multiple strategies coexist (CSR, dispersal, pollination), and (iii) after 30 years, there is a decline in specialist species and an increase in cosmopolitan taxa. While plant cover and richness generally increase over time, RLQ analysis highlight the role of site-specific factors—such as geomorphology, climate, and disturbance regimes—in driving divergent successional trajectories, challenging the classical framework of primary succession. These findings suggest that redefining primary succession in the context of climate change is necessary to improve conservation and management strategies for these fragile ecosystems.

ID: 3.11022

Microclimate gradients after natural forest expansion have the potential to contribute to climate buffering in mountain ecosystems

Nicolò Anselmetto
Marengo, Giacomo; Domanico, Matteo; Filippa, Gianluca; Galvagno, Marta; Ravetto Enri, Simone; Mauri, Luca; Stellin, Daniele; Mainetti, Andrea; Garbarino, Matteo

Abstract/Description

The complex biophysical template of mountain forest ecosystems generates strong microclimatic gradients that are heterogeneous in time and space. An important concurrent factor – especially in the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere – is represented by the natural forest expansion, favored by the abandonment of traditional agro-pastoral activities. While the effects of canopy cover, forest structure and topography on microclimate have been well studied, the role of post-abandonment forest succession in driving microclimate gradients and buffering effects remains poorly understood.
This study presents a replicable framework to assess these dynamics across two watersheds in the northwestern Italian Alps (Chalamy and Valsavaranche), mainly dominated by conifers and located in two Protected Areas (i.e., Mont Avic Natural Park and Gran Paradiso National Park). Using five historical aerial photographs spanning 1950s–2020s, we identified six successional stages following land abandonment. Transects with varying topographic and vegetation characteristics were established in each watershed, including five plots representing successional stages and one open-area reference plot. Temperature data are being collected within each plot using loggers at multiple heights. Topographic and vegetation attributes were derived from field surveys and Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data, while macroclimate data were sourced from a gridded temperature dataset having 100-m spatial and 6-hour temporal resolution.
Preliminary results from the Chalamy watershed reveal microclimate gradients, with increased buffering in later successional stages. However, recent forest expansion limits landscape-scale heterogeneity and microclimatic conditions typical of advanced successional stages. This framework is now being applied to the Valsavarache watershed to assess differences in successional dynamics, influenced by distinct topographic and vegetation features, and to test the methodology and protocol to new conditions.
Our findings highlight the importance of forest successional dynamics in shaping microclimatic conditions in post-abandonment mountain landscapes and demonstrate the replicability of this approach for broader applications in mountainous ecosystems.

ID: 3.12382

Understanding community assemblage using species and functional diversity across elevational gradients from the tropics to the arctic

Aud Helen Halbritter
Chacón‐Labella, Julia; Enquist, Brian; Klanderud, Kari; Maitner, Brian S.; Michaletz, Sean; Telford, Richard J.; Vandvik, Vigdis

Abstract/Description

Species and functional diversity are different metrics describing biodiversity and ecosystem function and they are affected by both abiotic and biotic filtering as well as the regional species pool. Species richness and functional diversity are expected to decrease towards high elevation and the arctic, due to stronger environmental filtering and fewer species in the species pool. These metrics can be used to understand how plant communities respond to different filters and how communities’ assembly along broad environmental gradients. We assessed plant species diversity (i.e. species richness, evenness) and functional diversity (i.e. community weighted means and variance in leaf functional traits) along six elevational gradients from the arctic in Svalbard, temperate mountains in Norway and Colorado to (sub)tropical mountains in China, Peru, and South Africa. Specifically, we ask how plant communities respond to environmental drivers along elevational gradients in terms of species and functional diversity? And how consistent these patterns are across a broad latitudinal gradient from the tropics to the arctic? We find that richness relative to the regional species pool varied with elevation but increased with latitude. Plant communities from warmer regions showed more resource aquisitative traits compared to plant communities from colder regions. This was largely reflected within and across regions. Together, these results show that species and functional diversity vary differently across these environmental gradients, suggesting that other factors than environmental filtering are important for community assemblage across these gradients. Our results provide important insights into the responses of plant species and communities and their function to climate change. Understanding species and functional diversity across elevational gradients can help predict the potential of plant species to shift to higher elevation with climate change and invade alpine environments.

ID: 3.12636

Global change experiments in mountain ecosystems: A systematic review

Matteo Dainese
Crepaz, Harald; Bottarin, Roberta; Fontana, Veronika; Guariento, Elia; Hilpold, Andreas; Obojes, Nikolaus; Paniccia, Chiara; Scotti, Alberto; Seeber, Julia; Steinwandter, Michael; Tappeiner, Ulrike; Niedrist, Georg

Abstract/Description

Mountains are experiencing climate warming at a faster pace than other terrestrial ecosystems, with temperature increases of up to twice the global average. These rapid changes, combined with shifts in precipitation patterns and increased nitrogen deposition, make mountain ecosystems particularly vulnerable and critical as early warning systems for vegetation responses to global change. To strengthen our mechanistic understanding of how environmental drivers affect mountain vegetation and associated ecosystem processes, we systematically reviewed three decades of manipulation experiments. Among the seven major global change drivers examined (temperature, water availability, nutrient addition, snow manipulation, radiation, atmospheric gases, and disturbance), temperature was most frequently manipulated (45% of studies), followed by nutrient addition (15%) and water availability (14%). Our analysis of 767 studies reveals that temperature manipulation consistently affected plant life history, functional traits, and phenology, with experimental warming generally accelerating phenological events and altering species composition. The review showed strong evidence that changes in water and nutrient availability directly impact plant life history and ecosystem functioning. Water limitation has particularly severe effects on plant production, leading to annual yield losses of up to 40%. We found that soil microbial communities respond rapidly to warming, with implications for nutrient cycling and decomposition processes. Long-term datasets demonstrate complex interactions between climate warming and soil processes, where changes in plant functional traits and community composition influence carbon and nutrient cycling. Notably, experiments combining temperature with water manipulation showed that soil moisture often mediates warming effects on plant productivity and biogeochemical cycles. While biotic interactions were understudied (only 2% of responses), evidence suggests that warming can disrupt plant-pollinator relationships and alter competitive dynamics between species. Despite these important findings, there are several gaps that require urgent attention. A broader approach that integrates experimental data with field observations and relies on international collaboration through coordinated experiments could help address these gaps and provide a more consistent and robust picture of the impacts of global change on mountain ecosystems.

ID: 3.12831

Snow detection: A test of the capture capabilities of near ground temperature time series

Patrick Saccone
Macek, Martin; Man, Matěj; Kopecký, Martin; Wild, Jan; Brůna, Josef

Abstract/Description

Snow cover is a primary agent of the diversity of microclimates in alpine and cold ecosystems, and also of the offset between macro and microclimate. Nonetheless, from the available instrumentation, an accurate computation of snow presence relevant at the scale of biotic communities can be a challenge by itself. Moreover, the snowpack insulating properties during the deep winter and water and nutrient release during the snowmelt are major ecological implications of the snow cover which are even more challenging to grasp from snow presence/absence data. In mild cold ecosystems, the macroclimate is less extreme than in high latitude and altitude areas and the snow cover is more susceptible to variability in space and time. They are then likely to be appropriate systems to explore the possibility of snow cover derivates from microclimate time series and associate winter parameters relevant for larger scale modeling. Here, we used a microclimate monitoring design installed during three consecutive winters in a tree wells system of the natural coniferous forests in the Šumava Mts., Czech Republic, to test the capture capabilities of simple temperature time series. Tree wells are voids of loose snow around the trunk of trees, especially spruce, which exhibit specific winter microclimate on the forest floor. The design included TMS dataloggers that measured temperature at 15, 0 and -8 cm and soil moisture at different distances from a tree, one out of the tree canopy influence, and one at 200 cm height as well as camera traps to record the snowpack features. First, with the visual inspection of images, we tested the accuracy of the snow detection function proposed in myClim package. Second, by comparing the patterns recorded by the different sensors for three interannually variable snow regimes on contrasted microhabitats, we explored to what extent slighter changes in the snowpack features than presence/absence can be captured in near ground temperature time series.

ID: 3.12899

How stable are microclimate offsets from macroclimate in Himalayas? A decadal perspective.

Martin Macek
Kopecký, Martin; Wild, Jan; Prošek, Jiří; Doležal, Jiří

Abstract/Description

Microclimatic conditions near the ground surface, which are crucial for the growth and survival of alpine vegetation, differ from the macroclimate. The extent to which this deviation remains stable over time is the subject of research. While the effect of topography is relatively stable over time, changes in snow cover or vegetation can influence the microclimatic offsets over time significantly. Therefore, decreasing snow cover linked to climate warming or with natural annual variability may have significant consequences for near-ground microclimates and vegetation growth. Here, we present the results of a ten-year monitoring of microclimatic conditions in the cold desert environment of the Western Himalayas, Ladakh. We assessed the degree of decoupling between macroclimate represented by ERA5-Land products and microclimate from instrumental measurement using TOMST TMS loggers and HOBO loggers from a network spanning broad elevation range ~ 3000 to 6000 m asl. We related this stability of microclimate offsets to topographic context and snow cover.

ID: 3.13306

Skin temperature trends in Alps: assesing the performance of MODIS thermal products

Andrés Lo Vecchio
Gravey, Mathieu; Fernando, Ruiz-Peyré; Oliver, Bender; Villalba, Ricardo

Abstract/Description

Land Surface Temperature (ST), also known as skin temperature, represents the radiometric temperature of the Earth’s surface, typically measured in the thermal infrared spectrum. ST plays a crucial role in various research fields, including climate variability, land cover change, cryosphere studies, and urban heat analysis. Due to its sensitivity to factors like soil moisture, geology, and topography, ST exhibits significant spatial and temporal variations, requiring high-resolution observations. Satellites provide the only feasible means of obtaining ST measurements with extensive spatial coverage and high temporal resolution. Since the 1970s, researchers have used satellite-derived ST for climatology, meteorology, hydrology, and ecology, particularly in regions with limited ground-based data. Modern satellite sensors, such as MODIS, enable frequent ST observations at sub-daily to weekly intervals, contributing to improved environmental monitoring. However, accurately estimating ST from satellite thermal infrared data is challenging due to atmospheric effects, surface emissivity variations, and land cover influences. This study evaluates the performance of satellite-derived ST in estimating daily temperature trends in the Alps. It utilizes MODIS sub-daily ST products and compares them with trends from 78 ground-based radiometric stations of the Intercantonal Measurement and Information System (IMIS). The assessment relies on three statistical metrics: temporal correlation, bias, and root mean square error (RMSE). Additionally, the study examines potential biases related to land cover and direct shortwave radiation effects on satellite-derived ST trends.

ID: 3.14200

Snow-driven microclimate variability and climate change impacts in alpine and polar regions

Pekka Niittynen
Kemppinen, Julia

Abstract/Description

Snow plays a crucial role in shaping near-ground and soil microclimates at high altitudes and latitudes. A thick snowpack effectively insulates the ground from atmospheric fluctuations but can significantly shorten the growing season in areas with substantial snow accumulation. Alpine and polar regions, characterized by variable terrain, exhibit heterogeneous snow cover depth and duration. This spatial heterogeneity suggests that local manifestations of climate warming may differ depending on snow conditions and their evolution over time.

Here, I present preliminary results from a two-part investigation. First, I analyse a multi-year microclimate logger timeseries from nearly 800 measurement locations in Finland, Norway and Sweden to quantify the interannual variation in microclimates attributable to varying snow conditions. Second, I utilize downscaled climate reanalysis data with remotely-sensed annual estimates of local snow cover duration across 600 alpine and polar regions to determine where and to what extent snow limits the growing season length and potential thermal sums.

Overall, I provide both theoretical and empirical insights into how snow modulates local climate warming rates in alpine and polar environments both during winter and summer. These findings highlight the potential for highly heterogeneous microclimatic responses to climate change, not only across regions but also within landscapes of snowy ecosystems. Consequently, snow conditions may introduce significant uncertainty into predictions of future biodiversity and ecosystem productivity in mountainous and polar regions.

ID: 3.18021

The acceleration of microclimate warming and its implications for species redistributions.

Jonas Lembrechts

Abstract/Description

Climate change research has traditionally relied on macroclimatic data from weather stations, which are situated in open landscapes to ensure comparability. However, local microclimates – shaped by vegetation, topography, soil properties, and land use – can differ significantly from macroclimate, often buffering or amplifying warming trends. These localized conditions are crucial for organisms, particularly in mountainous environments, where steep gradients and diverse habitats create complex thermal landscapes. While microclimates have been considered refugia against climate change, recent evidence suggests that microclimatic warming may exceed macroclimatic warming in certain contexts, posing an overlooked threat to biodiversity. In this talk, we’ll try to quantify and understand these dynamics by leveraging the world’s first global microclimate database, the Microclimate Database (MDB, formerly SoilTemp). We will see how modelling historical trends of microclimate change, assessing the impact of accelerated warming on species redistributions, and exploring conservation strategies tailored to microclimatic dynamics are all needed to tackle this problem.

A particular focus will be given to mountain ecosystems, where microclimate shifts are expected to be highly heterogeneous and strongly influenced by vegetation changes, topographic variation, and land use dynamics. By identifying hotspots of rapid microclimate change and evaluating their effects on species persistence, the talk will discuss critical insights for conservation planning in the face of climate change. Addressing these challenges is essential for predicting future biodiversity patterns and developing effective conservation strategies in a rapidly changing world.

FS 3.162: Glacier Monitoring in Real-time – Opportunities and Challenges for In-situ Networks

FS 3.164: Andean glaciers and their role in the high mountain water cycle

#IMC: September 14 - 18 2025

FS 3.163

Macro-scale microclimate changes in global mountains

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