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AOBPreview originally published online on June 18, 2003
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Annals of Botany 92: 273-280, 2003
© 2003 Annals of Botany Company

Changes in the High-mountain Vegetation of the Central Iberian Peninsula as a Probable Sign of Global Warming

MARIO SANZ-ELORZA*,1, ELÍAS D. DANA2, ALBERTO GONZÁLEZ3 and EDUARDO SOBRINO1

1 Departamento de Producción Vegetal: Botánica, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, E-28040 Madrid, Spain, 2 Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada, E-04120 Almería, Spain, and 3 Departamento de Mejora Genética y Biotecnología, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Edificio de Celulosa, Crta. de La Coruña km 7·5, E-28040 Madrid, Spain

* For correspondence. E-mail msanzelorza{at}segovia.catastro.minhac.es

Received: 28 February 2003; Returned for revision: 20 March 2003; Accepted: 30 April 2003    Published electronically: 18 June 2003

Aerial images of the high summits of the Spanish Central Range reveal significant changes in vegetation over the period 1957 to 1991. These changes include the replacement of high-mountain grassland communities dominated by Festuca aragonensis, typical of the Cryoro-Mediterranean belt, by shrub patches of Juniperus communis ssp. alpina and Cytisus oromediterraneus from lower altitudes (Oro-Mediterranean belt). Climatic data indicate a shift towards warmer conditions in this mountainous region since the 1940s, with the shift being particularly marked from 1960. Changes include significantly higher minimum and maximum temperatures, fewer days with snow cover and a redistribution of monthly rainfall. Total yearly precipitation showed no significant variation. There were no marked changes in land use during the time frame considered, although there were minor changes in grazing species in the 19th century. It is hypothesized that the advance of woody species into higher altitudes is probably related to climate change, which could have acted in conjunction with discrete variations in landscape management. The pronounced changes observed in the plant communities of the area reflect the susceptibility of high-mountain Mediterranean species to environmental change.

Key words: Climate change, high mountain vegetation, Spanish Central Range.


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