Rapid vegetation responses over the last seven decades revealed by an alpine ice core and land-cover patterns

Abstract

Abstract Context Syntheses of vegetation responses over the last century are rare for the Alps, and limited in chronological and taxonomical resolution. We propose that pollen records from glaciers can be used to fill this gap. Objectives Our aim is to evaluate the reliability of glacier pollen records as historical archives of biodiversity to obtain plant diversity data and landscape changes. In detail, we aim at reconstructing taxa and vegetation trends in central sector of the Italian Alps over the last century integrating pollen-inferred vegetation trends with drifts in spatially explicit land-cover. Methods Our study area is the Lombardy region (Italy). We performed pollen analyses of Adamello glacier cores, and reconstructed trends of single taxa and main vegetation types since the 1950s. Pollen-inferred vegetation trends were calculated using pollen indicators obtained from a database of vegetation-plot observations. The reliability of these trends is evaluated by comparison with spatially explicit tendencies reconstructed with a time-series of land-cover maps. Results Pollen records well represent the natural vegetation types as the temperate and the riverine forests, and the anthropic vegetation as crops and alien species. From the 1980s a thermophilisation took place, and warm-demanding native and alien species expanded. The contraction of cultivated land since the 1970s, and the decline of the riverine forest appear driven by socio-economic factors. Conclusions We conclude that pollen-inferred vegetation trends from glaciers can be used to obtain large scale biodiversity information. This is relevant also for areas where biodiversity data are scarce but needed for landscape management planning.