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dc.contributor.authorPickering, Catherine
dc.contributor.authorGreen, Ken
dc.contributor.authorBarros, Ana Agustina
dc.contributor.authorVenn, Susanna
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-25T01:18:43Z
dc.date.available2018-07-25T01:18:43Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.identifier.issn1664-2201
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00035-014-0140-0
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/67649
dc.description.abstractAlpine snowpatches are areas that, due to topographical and climatic factors, retain snow long after the thaw in the surrounding landscape. Within snowpatches there are often reliable patterns of snowmelt resulting in differences in plant composition, with snowpatch specialists limited to areas of late snowmelt. In 2013, we resurveyed vegetation in early, mid and late snowmelt zones across seven alpine snowpatches in the Snowy Mountains, Australia, 6 years after the initial 2007 survey. In both surveys, there were differences in vegetation cover and species composition among snowmelt zones; in particular, the cover of graminoids was higher in areas of earlier thaw. Differences in functional composition between survey periods were determined using functional traits (plant height, percent leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area) to calculate community trait-weighted means. In both surveys, early and mid snowmelt zones were dominated by taller species with larger leaves, mostly graminoids. Notably, by 2013 there was an increase in species richness in the late snowmelt zone and an increase in the cover of the tall tussock grass Poa costiniana across all snowmelt zones, driving changes in the community trait-weighted means for plant height and specific leaf area in the late snowmelt zone. The results highlight that snowpatch vegetation can change within relatively short time periods and that snowpatch plant communities may not remain as discrete units in the near future due to the encroachment of more competitive and productive species from the surrounding landscape.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer Basel AG
dc.publisher.placeSwitzerland
dc.relation.ispartofstudentpublicationN
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom93
dc.relation.ispartofpageto103
dc.relation.ispartofissue2
dc.relation.ispartofjournalAlpine Botany
dc.relation.ispartofvolume124
dc.rights.retentionY
dc.subject.fieldofresearchConservation and biodiversity
dc.subject.fieldofresearchTerrestrial ecology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchPlant biology not elsewhere classified
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode410401
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode310308
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode310899
dc.titleA resurvey of late-lying snowpatches reveals changes in both species and functional composition across snowmelt zones
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.facultyGriffith Sciences, Griffith School of Environment
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorPickering, Catherine M.


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