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The Alpine vegetation of the Pyrenees, a contrasting assemblage of plant communities, life strategies, and biogeographic sources
Abstract
The alpine vegetation is frequently characterized as landscape mosaics where contrasting plant
communities in terms of species composition and functional structure are set responding to abrupt changes through
rough physiography. In this paper, we analyse the vegetation of the alpine belt of the Catalan and Andorran
Pyrenees combining its phytosociological description with the assessment of functional plant traits. Our aim is to
build a comprehensive framework for analysing the relationship between plant cover and environment, and thus for
understanding plant diversity through the varying alpine landscapes. For this purpose we used 800 releves gathered
in a vegetation databank which have been classified into 46 community-types (associations). Then we have
characterized the associations assessing the most frequent plant species by means of a wide scope of traits,
summarized at the releve level, and then at the association level. Most of the community-types assessed reflect the
distinct stressing conditions found in alpine environments. In dense grassland types, however, better ecological
conditions (fair soils, gentle reliefs) are evidenced by higher competitive ability and above-ground turnover of the
dominant species. These community-types show moderate diversity in terms of plant functional types and particular
species. More stressing conditions give way to poorer community-types, because only a few specialized plants can
thrive in one or another distinct habitat. However, this vegetation includes more singular species in the
biogeographic aspect (i.e., endemics) and also as plant functional types (e.g., succulents, small cushions,
semelparous). A particular vegetation group, the alpine heaths, reflect the local fitness of a few woody species able
to drive the rest of plant community and the ecosystem functioning. There is still a lack of knowledge on the actual
effect of grazing on the relative role played in contemporary landscapes by alpine heaths and grasslands.
... We evaluated the relationships between plant associations on the basis of their adaptive traits through Principal Component Analyses, one for the whole vegetation, and other for the main core group of associations (for more details, see Ninot et al., 2018). ...
Alpine landscapes include strong abiotic gradients, which promote the coexistence along short distances of varying plant communities. Here, we analyse the vegetation of the alpine belt of the Catalan and Andorran Pyrenees through functional plant traits, to better understand plant diversity as coupled with the varying alpine landscapes. For this purpose, we used 800 phytosociological relevés to characterize the associations in terms of plant traits, and to relate them to species diversity and functional properties. Most of the community-types assessed reflect the distinct stressing conditions found in alpine environments, and are species-poor at the plot level. This is more evident in particularly limiting environments, such as scree, rocky areas or snowbeds which, however, host many singular species in the biogeographic and functional aspects. Most grassland vegetation reflects better ecological conditions; community-types are species-richer, and include great regional and ecological variation. Alpine heaths respond to the local fitness of a few woody species able to exert dominance through persistence. There is still a lack of knowledge on the actual effect of grazing on the relative role played in contemporary landscapes by alpine heaths and grasslands.
Resumen. Los paisajes alpinos incluyen notables gradientes ambientales, que conllevan la coexistencia de variadas comunidades vegetales en áreas relativamente reducidas. En este trabajo analizamos la vegetación del piso alpino de los Pirineos catalanes y andorranos a través de rasgos funcionales de plantas, con el fin de comprender mejor la interrelación entre diversidad vegetal y la variabilidad del paisaje alpino. Para ello, partimos de 800 inventarios fitosociológicos para caracterizar las asociaciones en base a rasgos funcionales, y para relacionarlas con diversidad específica y aspectos funcionales. La mayoría de las comunidades reflejan algún tipo de condiciones de estrés, comunes en ambientes alpinos, y resultan pobres en especies a escala de parcela. Esto se hace más evidente en los ambientes más limitantes, como son roquedos, pedrizas o neveros, donde en cambio habitan muchas especies singulares tanto en el aspecto biogeográfico como en el funcional. Los pastos densos traducen en general condiciones más favorables; incluyen asociaciones más ricas en especies, que muestran una gran variabilidad regional y ecológica. Los matorrales alpinos reflejan adaptaciones locales de unas pocas especies leñosas, capaces de ejercer dominancia por el hecho de ser persistentes. Un aspecto todavía poco conocido es hasta qué punto los efectos del pastoreo han condicionado la extensión y el rol que pastos y landas juegan actualmente en los paisajes alpinos.
... We evaluated the relationships between plant associations on the basis of their adaptive traits through Principal Component Analyses, one for the whole vegetation, and other for the main core group of associations (for more details, see Ninot et al., 2018). ...
Aquest llibre conté els articles i resums derivats de les comunicacions i pòsters presentats al XII Col·loqui Internacional de Botànica Pirenaica‐Cantàbrica celebrat a Girona del 3 al 5 de juliol de 2019. L’ordre seguit en els articles, és el de presentació durant el congres. També s’han afegit la conferencia inaugural del Dr. Pèlachs, titulada “El papel de la geografía histórica ambiental en la conservación del paisaje de alta montaña” i el guió de la sortida que es va realitzar als Pirineus orientals.
https://www.udg.edu/ca/viu/Serveis-Universitaris/Llibres-i-revistes-UdG/cataleg/detall?ID=2227
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