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Snow cover dynamics, soil moisture variability and vegetation ecology in high mountain catchments of central Norway
Author(s) -
Löffler Jörg
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.5891
Subject(s) - vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , snow , physical geography , spatial distribution , range (aeronautics) , spatial ecology , ecology , hydrology (agriculture) , water content , ecosystem , vegetation cover , remote sensing , geography , geology , land use , geomorphology , medicine , materials science , geotechnical engineering , pathology , composite material , biology
The influence of water balance on vegetation was investigated by measurements of snow cover dynamics and soil moisture variability within small high mountain catchments of central Norway. The challenge of this study is to explain vegetation patterns by means of a functional ecosystem analysis as a basis for regionalization approaches. Results of a process‐oriented analysis of factors determining vegetation were based on spatial data from the low‐ and middle‐alpine altitudinal belts. Methods and techniques were combined for mappings and process measurements. Complex data were processed using a database, a geographical information system and multivariate statistics for spatio‐temporal analyses. The new outcome of this study is that soil moisture gradients do not primarily determine the distribution of vegetation. Snow cover is important for each catchment but does not explain differences between low‐ and middle‐alpine conditions. Similar snow conditions are correlated with different vegetation types along an altitudinal range. Near‐surface temperature conditions have secondary effects on plant species distribution. There is no single significant statistical factor that describes spatial ecological patterns. Only multiple factor groupings can explain the micro‐mosaicing of high‐mountain landscapes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.