3,116
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon & ORCID Icon show all
Pages 368-385 | Received 30 Jun 2021, Accepted 15 Jul 2022, Published online: 23 Aug 2022

References

  • Adair, E. C., and I. C. Burke. 2010. Plant phenology and life span influence soil pool dynamics: Bromus tectorum invasion of perennial C3–C4 grass communities. Plant and Soil 335 (1–2):255–69. doi:10.1007/s11104-010-0413-3.
  • Aerts, R., and F. S. ChapinsIII. 2000. The mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: A re-evaluation of processes and patterns. Advances in Ecological Research 30:1–67.
  • Aeschimann, D., K. Lauber, and D. André Michel. 2004. Flora alpina: Atlante delle 4500 piante vascolari delle Alpi. Bologna: Zanichelli.
  • Balestrini, R., C. A. Delconte, A. Buffagni, A. Fumagalli, M. Freppaz, I. Buzzetti, and E. Calvo. 2019. Dynamic of nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon in an alpine forested catchment: Atmospheric deposition and soil solution trends. Nature Conservation 34:41–66. doi:10.3897/natureconservation.34.30738.
  • Bender, E., M. Lehning, and J. Fiddes. 2020. Changes in climatology, snow cover, and ground temperatures at high alpine locations. Frontiers in Earth Science. doi:10.3389/feart.2020.00100.
  • Beniston, M. 2006. Mountain weather and climate: A general overview and a focus on climatic change in the Alps. Hydrobiologia 562:3–16. doi:10.1007/s10750-005-1802-0.
  • Beniston, M., F. Keller, B. Koffi, and S. Goyette. 2003. Estimates of snow accumulation and volume in the Swiss Alps under changing climatic conditions. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 76 (3–4):125–40. doi:10.1007/s00704-003-0016-5.
  • Berdanier, A. B., and J. A. Klein. 2011. Growing season length and soil moisture interactively constrain high elevation aboveground net primary production. Ecosystems 14 (6):963–74. doi:10.1007/s10021-011-9459-1.
  • Billings, W. D., and L. C. Bliss. 1959. An alpine snowbank environment and its effects on vegetation, plant development, and productivity. Ecology 40:388–97. doi:10.2307/1929755.
  • Bing, H., Y. Wu, J. Zhou, H. Sun, J. Luo, J. Wang, and D. Yu. 2016. Stoichiometric variation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils and its implication for nutrient limitation in alpine ecosystem of Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Soils and Sediments 16:405–16. doi:10.1007/s11368-015-1200-9.
  • Björk, R. G., L. Klemedtsson, U. Molau, J. Harndorf, A. Ödman, and R. Giesler. 2007. Linkages between N turnover and plant community structure in a tundra landscape. Plant and Soil 294 (1):247–61. doi:10.1007/s11104-007-9250-4.
  • Björk, R. G., and U. Molau. 2007. Ecology of Alpine snowbeds and the impact of global change. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 39:34–43. doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2007)39[34:EOASAT]2.0.CO;2
  • Black, C. A. 1965. Methods of soil analysis: Part I physical and mineralogical properties. Second ed. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: American Society of Agronomy.
  • Blankinship, J. C., M. W. Meadows, R. G. Lucas, and S. C. Hart. 2014. Snowmelt timing alters shallow but not deep soil moisture in the Sierra Nevada. Water Resources Research 50 (2):1448–56. doi:10.1002/2013WR014541.
  • Bliss, L. C. 1963. Alpine plant communities of the Presidential Range, New Hampshire. Ecology 44:678–97. doi:10.2307/1933014.
  • Bowman, W. D. 1992. Inputs and storage of nitrogen in winter snowpack in an alpine ecosystem. Arctic and Alpine Research 24:211–15.
  • Braun-Blanquet, J. 1932. Plant sociology. The study of plant communities. First ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
  • Braun-Blanquet, J., and J. Jenny. 1926. Vegetationsentwicklung und Bodenbildung in der alpinen Stufe der Zentralalpen. Denkschriften der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 63:183–349.
  • Broadbent, A. A. D., H. S. K. Snell, A. Michas, W. J. Pritchard, L. Newbold, I. Cordero, T. Goodall, et al. 2021. Climate change alters temporal dynamics of alpine soil microbial functioning and biogeochemical cycling via earlier snowmelt. ISME Journal 15:2264–75. doi:10.1038/s41396-021-00922-0.
  • Brookes, P. C., A. Landman, G. Pruden, and D. S. Jenkinson. 1985. Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: A rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 17:837–42. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(85)90144-0.
  • Brooks, P. D., P. Grogan, P. H. Templer, P. Groffman, M. G. Öquist, and J. Schimel. 2011. Carbon and nitrogen cycling in snow-covered environments. Geography Compass 5:682–99. doi:10.1111/j.1749-8198.2011.00420.x.
  • Brooks, M. E., K. Kristensen, K. J. van Benthem, A. Magnusson, C. W. Berg, A. Nielsen, H. J. Skaug, M. Mächler, and B. M. Bolker. 2017. glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. R Journal 9:378–400. doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000240890.
  • Brooks, P. D., and M. W. Williams. 1999. Snowpack controls on nitrogen cycling and export in seasonally snow-covered catchments. Hydrologcal Processes 13:2177–90. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199910)13:14/15<2177::AID-HYP850>3.0.CO;2-V.
  • Carbognani, M., A. Petraglia, and M. Tomaselli. 2012. Influence of snowmelt time on species richness, density and production in a late snowbed community. Acta Oecologica 43:113–20. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2012.06.003.
  • Carbognani, M., M. Tomaselli, and A. Petraglia. 2014. Current vegetation changes in an alpine late snowbed community in the south-eastern Alps (N-Italy). Alpine Botany 124:105–13. doi:10.1007/s00035-014-0135-x.
  • Cebon, P., U. Dahinde, H. Davies, D. Imboden, and C. C. Jaeger. 1998. View from the Alps: Regional perspectives on climate change. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
  • Chapin, F. S., III, and G. R. Shaver. 1989. Differences in growth and nutrient use among Arctic plant growth forms. Functional Ecology 3:73–80.
  • Cooper, E. J., S. Dullinger, and P. Semenchuk. 2011. Late snowmelt delays plant development and results in lower reproductive success in the High Arctic. Plant Science 180:157–67. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.09.005.
  • Crooke, W. M., and W. E. Simpson. 1971. Determination of ammonium in Kjeldahl digests of crops by an automated procedure. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 22:9–10. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740220104.
  • Cucu, M. A., D. Said-Pullicino, V. Maurino, E. Bonifacio, M. R. E, and L. Celi. 2014. Influence of redox conditions and rice straw incorporation on nitrogen availability in fertilized paddy soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils 50:755–64. doi:10.1007/s00374-013-0893-4.
  • Daget, P., and J. Poissonet. 1971. A method of plant analysis of pastures. Annales Agronomiques 22:5–41.
  • Danby, R. K., and D. S. Hik. 2007. Responses of white spruce (Picea glauca) to experimental warming at a subarctic alpine treeline. Global Change Biology 13:437–51.
  • Delgado, V., and A. Ederra. 2013. Long-term changes (1982–2010) in the biodiversity of Spanish beech forests assessed by means of Ellenberg indicator values of temperature, nitrogen, light and pH. Biological Conservation 157:99–107. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.06.022.
  • Diekmann, M. 2003. Species indicator values as an important tool in applied plant ecology–a review. Basic and Applied Ecology 4 (6):493–506.
  • Eckstein, R. L., and P. S. Karlsson. 2001. Variation in nitrogen-use efficiency among and within subarctic graminoids and herbs. New Phytologist 150:641–51.
  • Edwards, A. C., R. Scalenghe, and M. Freppaz. 2007. Changes in the seasonal snow cover of alpine regions and its effect on soil processes: A review. Quaternary International 162–163:172–81. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2006.10.027.
  • Egli, M., A. Mirabella, and G. Sartori. 2008. The role of climate and vegetation in weathering and clay mineral formation in late Quaternary soils of the Swiss and Italian Alps. Geomorphology 102:307–24. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.04.001.
  • Ellenberg, H., H. E. Weber, R. Dull, V. Wirth, W. Werner, D. Paulisen. 1991. Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa [Indicator values of plants in Central Europe]. In Scripta Geobotanics. – V. 18, ed. H. Ellenberg, E. Weber, R. Dull, V. Wirth, W. Werner, and D. Paulisen, 248. Göttingen: Verlag Erich Goltze KG.
  • Ernakovich, J. G., K. A. Hopping, A. B. Berdanier, R. T. Simpson, E. J. Kachergis, H. Steltzer, and M. D. Wallenstein. 2014. Predicted responses of Arctic and alpine ecosystems to altered seasonality under climate change. Global Change Biology 20 (10):3256–69.
  • Filippa, G., M. Freppaz, M. W. Williams, D. Helmig, D. Liptzin, B. Seok, B. Hall, and K. Chowanski. 2009. Winter and summer nitrous oxide and nitrogen oxides fluxes from a seasonally snow-covered subalpine meadow at Niwot Ridge, Colorado. Biogeochemistry 95:131–49. doi:10.1007/s10533-009-9304-1.
  • Filippa, G., M. Freppaz, M. W. Williams, and E. Zanini. 2010. Major element chemistry in inner alpine snowpacks (Aosta Valley Region, NW Italy). Cold Region Science and Technology 64:158–66. doi:10.1016/J.COLDREGIONS.2010.07.005.
  • Fisk, M. C., S. K. Schmidt, and T. R. Seastedt. 1998. Topographic patterns of above-and belowground production and nitrogen cycling in alpine tundra. Ecology 79:2253–66.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization. 2006. Guidelines for soil description, 4th ed. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 92-5-105521-1.
  • Freppaz, M., E. Pintaldi, A. Magnani, D. Viglietti, and M. W. Williams. 2018. Topsoil and snow: A continuum system. Applied Soil Ecology 123:435–40. doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2017.06.029.
  • Freppaz, M., D. Viglietti, R. Balestrini, M. Lonati, and N. Colombo. 2019. Climatic and pedoclimatic factors driving C and N dynamics in soil and surface water in the alpine tundra (NW-Italian Alps). Nature Conservation 34:67–90. doi:10.3897/natureconservation.34.30737.
  • Gjaerevoll, O. 1956. The plant communities of the Scandinavian alpine snow-beds. Det Konglige Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Skrifter 1:405.
  • Groffman, P. M., C. T. Driscoll, T. J. Fahey, J. P. Hardy, R. D. Fitzhugh, and G. L. Tierney. 2001. Colder soils in a warmer world: A snow manipulation study in a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 56:135–50. doi:10.1023/A:1013039830323.
  • Groffman, P. M., J. P. Hardy, S. Fashu-Kanu, C. T. Driscoll, N. L. Cleavitt, T. J. Fahey, and M. C. Fisk. 2011. Snow depth, soil freezing and nitrogen cycling in a northern hardwood forest landscape. Biogeochemistry 102:223–38. doi:10.1007/s10533-010-9436-3.
  • Grogan, P., A. Michelsen, P. Ambus, and S. Jonasson. 2004. Freeze–thaw regime effects on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in sub-Arctic heath tundra mesocosms. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 36:641–54. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2003.12.007.
  • Güsewell, S. 2004. N: P ratios in terrestrial plants: Variation and functional significance. New Phytologist 164:243–66. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01192.x.
  • Güsewell, S., M. Peter, and S. Birrer. 2012. Altitude modifies species richness–nutrient indicator value relationships in a country-wide survey of grassland vegetation. Ecological Indicators 20:134–42.
  • Hack, H., H. Bleiholder, L. Buhr, U. Meier, U. Schnock-Fricke, E. Weber, and A. Witzenberger. 1992. Einheitliche Codierung der phänologischen Entwicklungsstadien mono- und dikotyler Pflanzen - Erweiterte BBCH-Skala, Allgemein. Nachrichtenbl. Deut. Pflanzenschutzd. 44:265–70.
  • Hammond, J. C., F. A. Saavadra, and S. K. Kampf. 2018. Global snow zone maps and trends in snow persistence 2001-2016. International Journal of Climatology 38 (12):4369–83. doi:10.1002/joc.5674.
  • Hartig, F. 2020. DHARMa: Residual diagnostics for hierarchical (multi-level/mixed) regression models. R package version 0.2.7
  • Haynes, R. J. 1986. Nitrification. In Mineral nitrogen in the plant-soil system, ed. R. J. Haynes, 127–65. New York: Academic Press. 9780323148160.
  • Hiller, B., A. Nuebel, G. Broll, and F. K. Holtmeier. 2005. Snowbeds on silicate rocks in the Upper Engadine (Central Alps, Switzerland)—pedogenesis and interactions among soil, vegetation, and snow cover. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 37:465–76. doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2005)037[0465:SOSRIT2.0.CO;2.
  • Hiltbrunner, E., M. Schwikowski, and C. Körner. 2005. Inorganic nitrogen storage in alpine snow pack in the Central Alps (Switzerland). Atmospheric Environment 39:2249–59. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.12.037.
  • Hock, R., G. Rasul, C. Adler, B. Caceres, S. Gruber, Y. Hirabayashi, M. Jackson, A. Kääb, S. Kang, S. Kutuzov, et al. 2019. High mountain areas. In IPCC special report onthe ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate. Genf, Switzerland: IPCC.
  • Holtmeier, F. K., and G. Broll. 1992. The influence of tree islands and microtopography on pedoecological conditions in the forest-alpine tundra ecotone on Niwot Ridge, Colorado Front Range, USA. Arctic and Alpine Research 24:216–28. doi:10.2307/1551660.
  • Huelber, K., M. Gottfried, H. Pauli, K. Reiter, M. Winkler, and G. Grabherr. 2006. Phenological responses of snowbed species to snow removal dates in the Central Alps: Implications for climate warming. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 38:99–103. doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2006)038[0099:PROSST]2.0.CO;2
  • Hütsch, B. W., J. Augustin, and W. Merbach. 2002. Plant rhizodeposition—an important source for carbon turnover in soils. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 165:397–407. doi:10.1002/1522-2624(200208)165:4<397::AID-JPLN397>3.0.CO;2-C
  • IPCC. 2021. Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009157896
  • IUSS Working Group WRB. 2015. World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil Resources Reports No. 106. FAO, Rome.
  • Johnson, P. L., and W. D. Billings. 1962. The alpine vegetation of the Beartooth Plateau in relation to cryopedogenic processes and patterns. Ecological Monographs 32:105–35. doi:10.2307/1942382.
  • Kalbitz, K., S. Solinger, J. H. Park, B. Michalzik, and E. Matzner. 2000. Controls on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter in soils: A review. Soil Science 165:277–304. doi:10.1097/00010694-200004000-00001.
  • Khorsand Rosa, R., S. F. Oberbauer, G. Starr, I. Parker La Puma, E. Pop, L. A. E, and T. Baldwin. 2015. Plant phenological responses to a long-term experimental extension of growing season and soil warming in the tussock tundra of Alaska. Global Change Biology 21:4520–32. doi:10.1111/gcb.13040.
  • Knowles, J. F., P. D. Blanken, and M. W. Williams. 2015. Soil respiration variability across a soil moisture and vegetation community gradient within a snow-scoured alpine meadow. Biogeochemistry 125:185–202. doi:10.1007/s10533-015-0122-3.
  • Körner, C. 2003. Alpine Plant Life. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18970-8.
  • Kuhn, M. 2001. The nutrient cycle through snow and ice, a review. Aquatic Sciences 63 (2):150–67. doi:10.1007/pl00001348.
  • Kværnø, S. H., and L. Øygarden. 2006. The influence of freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture on aggregate stability of three soils in Norway. Catena 67:175–82.
  • Landolt, E., B. Bäumler, A. Erhardt, O. Hegg, F. Klötzli, W. Lämmler, E. Urmi, M. Nobis, et al. 2010. Ecological indicator values and biological attributes of the flora of Switzerland and the Alps. Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna: Editions des Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève & Haupt Verlag.
  • Larsen, K. S., S. Jonasson, and A. Michelsen. 2002. Repeated freeze–thaw cycles and their effects on biological processes in two Arctic ecosystem types. Applied Soil Ecology 21:187–95. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2006.03.011.
  • Legay, N., F. Grassein, T. M. Robson, E. Personeni, M. P. Bataillé, S. Lavorel, and J. C. Clément. 2013. Comparison of inorganic nitrogen uptake dynamics following snowmelt and at peak biomass in subalpine grasslands. Biogeoscience 10:7631–45. doi:10.5194/bg-10-7631-2013.
  • Lipson, D. A., S. K. Schmidt, and R. K. Monson. 1999. Links between microbial population dynamics and nitrogen availability in an alpine ecosystem. Ecology 80:1623–31. doi:10.1890/0012-9658.
  • Lipson, D. A., S. K. Schmidt, and R. K. Monson. 2000. Carbon availability and temperature control the post-snowmelt decline in alpine soil microbial biomass. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32:441–48. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00068-1.
  • Magnani, A., D. Viglietti, D. Godone, M. W. Williams, R. Balestrini, and M. Freppaz. 2017. Interannual variability of soil N and C forms in response to snow—cover duration and pedoclimatic conditions in alpine tundra, northwest Italy. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 49:227–42. doi:10.1657/AAAR0016-037.
  • Makarov, M. I., N. A. Leoshkina, A. A. Ermak, and T. I. Malysheva. 2010. Seasonal dynamics of the mineral nitrogen forms in mountain-meadow alpine soils. Eurasian Soil Science 43:905–13. doi:10.1134/S1064229310080077.
  • Matteodo, M., K. Ammann, E. P. Verrecchia, and P. Vittoz. 2016. Snowbeds are more affected than other subalpine-alpine plant communities by climate change in the Swiss Alps. Ecological Evolution 6:6969–82. doi:10.1002/ece3.2354.
  • Mikan, C. J., J. P. Schimel, and A. P. Doyle. 2002. Temperature controls of microbial respiration in Arctic tundra soils above and below freezing. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 34:1785–95. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00168-2.
  • Mullen, R. B., S. K. Schmidt, and C. H. Jaegers III. 1998. Nitrogen uptake during snowmelt by the snow buttercup, Ranunculus adoneus. Arctic and Alpine Research 30:121. doi:10.2307/1552126.
  • Mulvaney, R. L. 1996. Nitrogen—inorganic forms. In Methods of soil analysis: Part 3 Chemical methods, eds. D.L. Sparks, A.L. Page, P.A. Helmke, R.H. Loeppert, P. N. Soltanpour, M. A. Tabatabai, C. T. Johnston, and M. E. Sumner, 1123-1184. Madison, WI: Soil Science of America.
  • Nord, E. A., and J. P. Lynch. 2009. Plant phenology: A critical controller of soil resource acquisition. Journal of Experimental Botany 60 (7):1927–37. doi:10.1093/jxb/erp018.
  • Notarnicola, C. 2020. Hotspots of snow cover changes in global mountain regions over 2000–2018. Remote Sensing of Environment 243:111781. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2020.111781.
  • Pauli, H., M. Gottfried, and S. Dullinger. 2012. Recent plant diversity changes on Europe's mountain summits. Science 336:353–55. doi:10.1126/science.1219033.
  • Perotti, E., M. Probo, M. Pittarello, M. Lonati, and G. Lombardi. 2018. A 5-year rotational grazing changes the botanical composition of sub-alpine and alpine grasslands. Applied Vegetation Science 21:647–57. doi:10.1111/avsc.12389.
  • Petraglia, A., M. Tomaselli, M. Petit Bon, N. Delnevo, G. Chiari, and M. Carbognani. 2014. Responses of flowering phenology of snowbed plants to an experimentally imposed extreme advanced snowmelt. Plant Ecology 215 (7):759–68. doi:10.1007/s11258-014-0368-1.
  • Petrone, K., I. Buffam, and H. Laudon. 2007. Hydrologic and biotic control of nitrogen export during snowmelt: A combined conservative and reactive tracer approach. Water Resources Research 43 (6). doi: 10.1029/2006WR005286.
  • Phillips, A. J., and N. K. Newlands. 2011. Spatial and temporal variability of soil freeze-thaw cycling across Southern Alberta, Canada. Agricultural Science 2 (4):392–405. https://doi.org/10.4236/as.2011.24051.
  • Pignatti, S., P. Menegoni, and S. Pietrosanti. 2005. Biondicazione attraverso le piante vascolari. Valori di indicazione secondo Ellenberg (Zeigerwerte) per le specie della Flora d’Italia. Camerino: Braun-Blanquetia.
  • Pintaldi, E., M. E. D’Amico, C. Siniscalco, E. Cremonese, L. Celi, G. Filippa, M. Prati, and M. Freppaz. 2016. Hummocks affect soil properties and soil-vegetation relationships in a subalpine grassland (North-Western Italian Alps). Catena 145:214–26. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2016.06.014.
  • Pintaldi, E., D. Viglietti, M. E. D’Amico, A. Magnani, and M. Freppaz. 2019. Abiotic parameters and pedogenesis as controlling factors for soil C and N cycling along an elevational gradient in a subalpine larch forest (NW Italy). Forests 10:614. doi:10.3390/f10080614.
  • Pittarello, M., M. Probo, M. Lonati, and G. Lombardi. 2016. Restoration of sub-alpine shrub-encroached grasslands through pastoral practices: Effects on vegetation structure and botanical composition. Applied Vegetation Science 19:381–90. doi:10.1111/avsc.12222.
  • Post, E., and C. Pedersen. 2008. Opposing plant community responses to warming with and without herbivores. PNAS 105 (34):12353–58. doi:10.1073/pnas.0802421105.
  • Prevéy, J. S., C. Rixen, N. Rüger, T. T. Høye, A. D. Bjorkman, I. H. Myers-Smith, and S. Wipf. 2019. Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3 (1):45–52.
  • Quaglia, E., S. Ravetto Enri, E. Perotti, M. Probo, G. Lombardi, and M. Lonati. 2020. Alpine tundra species phenology is mostly driven by climate-related variables rather than by photoperiod. Journal of Mountain Science 17:2081–96. doi:10.1007/s11629-020-6079-2.
  • R Core Team. 2019. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.r-project.org/
  • Robbins, J. A., and J. A. Matthews. 2014. Use of ecological indicator values to investigate successional change in boreal to high-alpine glacier-foreland chronosequences, southern Norway. The Holocene 24 (11):1453–64. doi:10.1177/0959683614544067.
  • Rui, Y., S. Wang, Z. Xu, Y. Wang, C. Chen, X. Zhou, X. Kang, S. Lu, Y. Hu, and Q. Lin. 2011. Warming and grazing affect soil labile carbon and nitrogen pools differently in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China. Journal of Soils and Sediments 11:903. doi:10.1007/s11368-011-0388-6.
  • Ryser, P., and P. Urbas. 2000. Ecological significance of leaf life span among Central European grass species. Oikos 91 (1):41–50. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.910104.x.
  • Schaffers, A. P., and K. V. Sýkora. 2000. Reliability of Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, nitrogen and soil reaction: A comparison with field measurements. Journal of Vegetation Science 11 (2):225–44. doi:10.2307/3236802.
  • Schöb, C., P. M. Kammer, P. M. Z. Kikvidze, P. Choler, and H. Veit. 2008. Changes in species composition in alpine snowbeds with climate change inferred from small-scale spatial patterns. Web Ecology 8:142–59. doi:10.5194/we-8-142-2008.
  • Schuur, E. A. G., J. Bockheim, J. C. Canadel, E. Euskirchen, C. B. Field, S. V. Goryachkin, S. Hagemann, et al. 2008. Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle. BioScience 58 (8):701–14. doi:10.1641/B580807.
  • Scott, D., and W. S. Billings. 1964. Effects of environmental factors on standing crop and productivity of an alpine tundra. Ecological Monographs 34:243–70.
  • Semenchuk, P. R., B. Elberling, C. Amtorp, J. Winkler, S. Rumpf, A. Michelsen, and E. J. Cooper. 2015. Deeper snow alters soil nutrient availability and leaf nutrient status in high Arctic tundra. Biogeochemistry 124 (1):81–94. doi:10.1007/s10533-015-0082-7.
  • Semenchuk, P. R., B. Elberling, and E. J. Cooper. 2013. Snow cover and extreme winter warming events control flower abundance of some, but not all species in high Arctic Svalbard. Ecology and Evolution 3 (8):2586–99. doi:10.1002/ece3.648.
  • Serquet, G., C. Marty, and M. Rebetez. 2013. Monthly trends and the corresponding altitudinal shift in the snowfall/precipitation day ratio. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 114:437–44. doi:10.1007/s00704-013-0847-7.
  • Stanton, M. L., M. Rejmanek, and C. Galen. 1994. Changes in vegetation and soil fertility along a predictable snowmelt gradient in the Mosquito Range, Colorado, USA. Arctic and Alpine Research 26:364–74. doi:10.1080/00040851.1994.12003081.
  • Stark, J. M., and M. K. Firestone. 1995. Mechanisms for soil moisture effects on activity of nitrifying bacteria. Applied Environmental Microbiology 61 (1):218–21.
  • Szymura, T. H., M. Szymura, and A. Maciol. 2014. Bioindication with Ellenberg's indicator values: A comparison with measured parameters in Central European oak forests. Ecological Indicators 46:495–503. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.07.013.
  • Tasser, E., and U. Tappeiner. 2005. New model to predict rooting in diverse plant community compositions. Ecological Modelling 185:195–211. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.11.024.
  • Thornton, J. M., E. Palazzi, N. C. Pepin, P. Cristofanelli, R. Essery, S. Kotlarski, G. Giuliani, Y. Guigoz, A. Kulonen, D. Pritchard, et al. 2021. Toward a definition of essential mountain climate variables. One Earth 4 (6):805–27. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2021.05.005.
  • Tian, L., L. Zhao, X. Wu, H. Fang, Y. Zhao, G. Yue, and H. Chen. 2017. Vertical patterns and controls of soil nutrients in alpine grassland: Implications for nutrient uptake. Science of the Total Environment 607–608:855–64. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.080.
  • Tierney, G. L., T. J. Fahey, P. M. Grossman, J. P. Hardy, R. D. Fitzhugh, and C. T. Driscoll. 2001. Soil freezing alters fine root dynamics in a northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry 56:175–90. doi:10.1023/A:1013072519889
  • Vestgarden, L. S., and K. Austnes. 2009. Effects of freeze-thaw on C and N release from soils below different vegetation in a montane system: A laboratory experiment. Global Change Biology 15:876–87. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01722.x.
  • Viglietti, D., M. Freppaz, G. Filippa, and E. Zanini. 2014. Soil C and N response to changes in winter precipitation in a subalpine forest ecosystem, NW Italy. Hydrological Processes 28 (21):5309–21. doi:10.1002/hyp.10008.
  • Walker, D. A. 2000. Hierarchical subdivision of Arctic tundra based on vegetation response to climate, parent material and topography. Global Change Biology 6:19–34. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.06010.x.
  • Walker, D. A., J. C. Halfpenny, M. D. Walker, and C. A. Wessman. 1993. Long-term studies of snow-vegetation interactions. BioScience 43:287–301. doi:10.2307/1312061.
  • Walker, D. A., W. B. Krantz, E. T. Price, B. E. Lewis, and R. D. Tabler. 1994. Hierarchic studies of snow-ecosystem interactions: A 100 year snow alteration experiment. Proceedings of the 50th Eastern Snow Conference, 407–14.
  • Wang, X., S. Dong, Q. Gao, H. Zhou, S. Liu, X. Su, and Y. Li. 2014. Effects of short-term and long-term warming on soil nutrients, microbial biomass and enzyme activities in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 76:140–42. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.05.014.
  • Westergaard-Nielsen, A., T. Balstrøm, U. A. Treier, S. Normand, and B. Elberling. 2020. Estimating meltwater retention and associated nitrate redistribution during snowmelt in an Arctic tundra landscape. Environmental Research Letters 15 (3):034025.
  • Wijk, S. 1986. Performance of Salix herbacea in an alpine snow-bed gradient. Journal of Ecology 74 (3):675–84. doi:10.2307/2260390.
  • Wilson, G., M. Green, J. Brown, J. Campbell, P. Groffman, J. Durán, and J. Morse. 2020. Snowpack affects soil microclimate throughout the year. Climatic Change 163 (2):705–22. doi:10.1007/s10584-020-02943-8.
  • Wookey, P. A., R. Aerts, R. D. Bardgett, F. Baptist, K. A. Brathen, J. H. C. Cornelissen, L. Gough, et al. 2009. Ecosystem feedbacks and cascade processes: Understanding their role in the responses of Arctic and alpine ecosystems to environmental change. Global Change Biology 15(5):1153–72. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01801.x.
  • Zuur, A., E. N. Ieno, N. Walker, A. A. Saveliev, and G. M. Smith. 2009. Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R. New York: Springer.