The Future of Mountain Forests

Mountains play an essential role in global biogeochemical cycles, are extraordinarily rich in biological and socio-cultural diversity and fulfil many ecological and socio-economic functions. Climatic changes, which are especially pronounced in mountain regions, are expected to affect mountain forests particularly strongly through extreme climatic events, such as droughts, heatwaves and storms. Extreme climatic events may threaten the vitality of mountain forests and their protective functions and interrelate with further risks, such as forest fires. This session aims at analysing if and how more extreme climatic conditions, and in particular drought, influence the carbon and water balances of trees and forests, change plant stress responses and interactions with microbial communities, and affect ecosystem services. It will especially consider tree growth and water relations, phloem physiology, stress responses, plant-microbe and plant-animal interactions, forest fire, forest carbon cycling, biogenic volatile organic compounds, forest ecosystem services and related topics.