Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate
In the current alteration of temperature and snow cover regimes, the impacts of winter climate have received considerably less attention than those of the vegetation period. In this study, we present the results demonstrating the influence of the winter climate conditions on the Mountain pine (<i...
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1788 |
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| author | Veronika Lukasová Tomáš Bucha Ľubica Mareková Anna Buchholcerová Svetlana Bičárová |
| author_facet | Veronika Lukasová Tomáš Bucha Ľubica Mareková Anna Buchholcerová Svetlana Bičárová |
| author_sort | Veronika Lukasová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the current alteration of temperature and snow cover regimes, the impacts of winter climate have received considerably less attention than those of the vegetation period. In this study, we present the results demonstrating the influence of the winter climate conditions on the Mountain pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) communities in High Tatra Mts (Western Carpathians). The changes in greenness in 2000–2020 were represented by the inter-annual differences of satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The winter climate conditions were characterized by climate indices calculated from the temperature and snow cover data measured at Skalnaté Pleso Observatory (1778 m a.s.l.) over the period between 1941–2020. Areas with <i>P. mugo</i> were classified into two density classes and five altitudinal zones of occurrence. The partial correlation analyses, which controlled the influence of summer climate, indicated that winter warm spells (WWS) caused a significant decrease in the greenness of the <i>P. mugo</i> thickets growing in the dense class D2 (R = −0.47) and in the altitudinal zones A2 (1600–1700 m a.s.l.) and A3 (1700–1800 m a.s.l.) with R = −0.54 for each zone. The changes in greenness were related to the average snow depth (ASD) as well, particularly in the dense class D2 (R = 0.45) and in the altitudinal zone A2 (R = 0.50). Here, in the summers following winters with the incidence of WWS or low ASD, we found decreased greenness following the injury of <i>P. mugo</i> shrubs, but NDVI after winters with higher ASD indicated more greenness. At lower altitudes, injuries may result in the loss of competition capacity of <i>P. mugo</i> near the timberline, where taller mountain tree species can utilize the conditions of warmer climate for expansion. We also found a significant positive effect of warmer winter seasons in the sparse <i>P. mugo</i> thickets (D1) with R = 0.50 and at higher altitudes (R = 0.49 in A4—1800–1900 m a.s.l.; R = 0.53 in A5—1900–2000 m a.s.l.). The increased temperatures in December correlated significantly with the increase of the greenness in all <i>P. mugo</i> pixels (R = 0.47), with the most pronounced effect in the sparse class D1 (R = 0.57) and in altitudinal zones A4 (R = 0.63) and A5 (R = 0.44), creating advantageous conditions for the thermophilisation of the alpine zone by <i>P. mugo</i>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:42:49Z |
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| id | doaj.art-df53461fef184415b5e1a782c3dc1a1c |
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| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:42:49Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-df53461fef184415b5e1a782c3dc1a1c2023-11-21T18:20:46ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-05-01139178810.3390/rs13091788Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter ClimateVeronika Lukasová0Tomáš Bucha1Ľubica Mareková2Anna Buchholcerová3Svetlana Bičárová4Earth Science Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Stará Lesná, 059 60 Tatranská Lomnica, SlovakiaNational Forest Centre—Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaEarth Science Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Ďumbierska 1, 974 11 Banská Bystrica, SlovakiaFaculty of Mathematics Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynská Dolina, 842 48 Bratislava, SlovakiaEarth Science Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Stará Lesná, 059 60 Tatranská Lomnica, SlovakiaIn the current alteration of temperature and snow cover regimes, the impacts of winter climate have received considerably less attention than those of the vegetation period. In this study, we present the results demonstrating the influence of the winter climate conditions on the Mountain pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) communities in High Tatra Mts (Western Carpathians). The changes in greenness in 2000–2020 were represented by the inter-annual differences of satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The winter climate conditions were characterized by climate indices calculated from the temperature and snow cover data measured at Skalnaté Pleso Observatory (1778 m a.s.l.) over the period between 1941–2020. Areas with <i>P. mugo</i> were classified into two density classes and five altitudinal zones of occurrence. The partial correlation analyses, which controlled the influence of summer climate, indicated that winter warm spells (WWS) caused a significant decrease in the greenness of the <i>P. mugo</i> thickets growing in the dense class D2 (R = −0.47) and in the altitudinal zones A2 (1600–1700 m a.s.l.) and A3 (1700–1800 m a.s.l.) with R = −0.54 for each zone. The changes in greenness were related to the average snow depth (ASD) as well, particularly in the dense class D2 (R = 0.45) and in the altitudinal zone A2 (R = 0.50). Here, in the summers following winters with the incidence of WWS or low ASD, we found decreased greenness following the injury of <i>P. mugo</i> shrubs, but NDVI after winters with higher ASD indicated more greenness. At lower altitudes, injuries may result in the loss of competition capacity of <i>P. mugo</i> near the timberline, where taller mountain tree species can utilize the conditions of warmer climate for expansion. We also found a significant positive effect of warmer winter seasons in the sparse <i>P. mugo</i> thickets (D1) with R = 0.50 and at higher altitudes (R = 0.49 in A4—1800–1900 m a.s.l.; R = 0.53 in A5—1900–2000 m a.s.l.). The increased temperatures in December correlated significantly with the increase of the greenness in all <i>P. mugo</i> pixels (R = 0.47), with the most pronounced effect in the sparse class D1 (R = 0.57) and in altitudinal zones A4 (R = 0.63) and A5 (R = 0.44), creating advantageous conditions for the thermophilisation of the alpine zone by <i>P. mugo</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1788vegetation indexNDVIclimate indicesclimate changesnow depthtemperature |
| spellingShingle | Veronika Lukasová Tomáš Bucha Ľubica Mareková Anna Buchholcerová Svetlana Bičárová Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate Remote Sensing vegetation index NDVI climate indices climate change snow depth temperature |
| title | Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate |
| title_full | Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate |
| title_fullStr | Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate |
| title_short | Changes in the Greenness of Mountain Pine (<i>Pinus mugo</i> Turra) in the Subalpine Zone Related to the Winter Climate |
| title_sort | changes in the greenness of mountain pine i pinus mugo i turra in the subalpine zone related to the winter climate |
| topic | vegetation index NDVI climate indices climate change snow depth temperature |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1788 |
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