Silvia Piccinelli

Franklin University Switzerland · Environmental Science

Introduction Mean xylem vessel or tracheid area have been demonstrated to represent powerful proxies to better understand the response of woody plants to changing climatic conditions. Yet, to date, this approach has rarely been applied to shrubs. Methods Here, we developed a multidecadal, annually-resolved chronology of vessel sizes for Rhododendr...

Rock glaciers are periglacial landforms sensitive to climate change, and a harsh environment for vegetation colonization due to the potential occurrence of surface instability. Changes of rock glacier vegetation would provide evidence of the importance of climate change impacts, as the limitation provided by physical disturbance could be overcome b...

During the past decades, the montane and subalpine belts of many European mountains experienced agricultural land abandonment followed by spontaneous recolonization of trees and shrubs on semi-natural mountain grasslands, potentially leading to severe losses in biodiversity. Here we analyse the spatial and temporal patterns of forest encroachment o...