Changes in the high-mountain vegetation of the Central Iberian Peninsula as a probable sign of global warming.

ABSTRACT: Aerial images of the high summits of the Spanish Central Range reveal significant changes in vegetation over the period 1957 to 1991. These changes include the replacement of high-mountain grassland communities dominated by Festuca aragonensis, typical of the Cryoro-Mediterranean belt, by shrub patches of Juniperus communis ssp. alpina and Cytisus oromediterraneus from lower altitudes (Oro-Mediterranean belt). Climatic data indicate a shift towards warmer conditions in this mountainous region since the 1940s, with the shift being particularly marked from 1960. Changes include significantly higher minimum and maximum temperatures, fewer days with snow cover and a redistribution of monthly rainfall. Total yearly precipitation showed no significant variation. There were no marked changes in l

SUBMITTER: Sanz-Elorza M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4243652 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature