Using land change studies to inform alpine grassland assessment:
two examples from the southern Alps
Tommaso Sitzia [email protected] University of Padova, Italy
Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process Alpine Grassland Monitoring and Assessment Workshop 20 -‐ 22 May 2015, Feltre (Belluno) – Italy
Land change studies
• ARempt to explain (1) where change is occurring, (2) what land cover types are changing, (3) the types of transforma-on occurring, (4) the rates or amounts of land change, and (5) the driving forces and proximate causes of change
• We are accumulaUng many land cover change studies at different spaUal and temporal scales
• Area: 1,318 ha • Piccole DolomiU
A Umberline dwarf shrub -‐ grass mosaic habitat of Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) in the outer Alps
Data analysis • A 200 m buffer around 49 breeding site (current or past) • Within the buffer: a grid formed by 15x15 m cells • Land cover type photointerpretaUon of each cell (1970 and 2012)
Case study 1
Balasso 2014
Land cover change • Grasslands: 6170 Alpine and subalpine calcareous grasslands • Shrublands: 4070 Bushes with Pinus mugo and Rhododendron hirsutum (Mugo-‐Rhododendretum hirsu5) • Forests: 91K0 Illyrian Fagus sylva5ca forests (Aremonio-‐Fagion)
1%
39%
40%
19%
1% Land cover in 1973
28%
37%
23%
11%
1% Land cover in 2012
foresta
arbusU
prateria
roccia
arUficiale
Case study 1
forests shrublands
grasslands rocks / screes seRlements
R² = 0.962p < 0.001
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Numero di presenze totali
Anno
No.
bre
edin
g si
tes
year
Temporal change in the no. of Black grouse breeding sites (source: Bosa 2011)
Case study 1
A mosaic of mountain hay meadow patches in the inner Alps
• About 50 km northwest of Trento (Northern Italy)
• 6520 Mountain hay meadows
• 6230* Species-‐rich Nardus grasslands, on siliceous substrates in mountain areas (and submountain areas, in ConUnental Europe)
Which component of patch configuration influences species richness?
Area
Shape
Connectivity
Case study 2
• Many studies have shown that current and historical landscape configuration are important factors structuring local plant species composition in grasslands
• Because they exert a selective pressure on specific life-traits (e.g. plant longevity) which, in turn, influences the proportion of species which dominate plant communities
Case study 2