Climatological reference data of a newly established long-term monitoring program in the central Alps
Christian Newesely, University of Innsbruck (AT)
As part of the long-term monitoring program in alpine ecosystems in the Hohe Tauern region (with additional sites in South Tyrol and Switzerland), permanent plots have been installed in 2016. We selected steep snow-melt gradients along which different plant species find their range limit in five different regions of the Alps. Here we explain the study design and present results from the first assessment in 2017, including soil temperatures, snow cover and plant biomass production. The terrestrial works further include soil physics and soil chemistry, and will be coordinated with zoological and microbial soil studies.