Alpine scree, a distinctive plateau ecosystem, serves as habitat for numerous rare and endangered species. However, current research does not differentiate it from desert in terms of spatial boundary, hindering biodiversity conservation and ecologica...
Glacial relicts, especially those with very narrow habitat requirements, are particularly affected by global warming. We considered Papaver occidentale, a glacial relict endemic to the Western Prealps, belonging to the alpine poppy complex (P. alpinu...
The high-elevation calcareous screes of the Southern Carpathians are ecologically important habitats characterised by extreme environmental conditions. These habitats support specialised plant communities, including endemic and relict species, shaped...
Stabilization of slopes subject to landslide by measures with low impact, such as those of bioengineering, is a topic of interest. The use of scarcely studied alpine pioneer plants could contribute to innovation in soil bioengineering and restoration...
Human-induced environmental alterations in the Alps may importantly affect small mammal species, but evidence in this sense is limited. We live-trapped small rodents in the Central-Eastern Italian Alps in three close-by habitat types (rocky scree, al...
Climate change is exerting significant impacts on ecosystems worldwide, with alpine regions being particularly vulnerable. Alpine fauna is relatively poorly understood, particularly in terrain which is difficult for humans to survey. Knowledge of alp...
Population trends in rare alpine plant species in the high-mountain zone of the Ukrainian Carpathians are described with regard to the types of habitats where they occur. Populations of cold-adapted species confined to snowbeds, alpine screes, poorly...
The Dolomites (European Alps) are a UNESCO World Heritage Site known to harbor distinctive communities of carabid beetles adapted to high-altitude environments, whose composition is shaped mainly by landform and habitat type. We aimed to assess the c...
Leaf functional traits (LFTs) have become a popular topic in ecological research in recent years. Here, we measured eight LFTs, namely leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf thickness (LT), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf carbon content...
Common cyclamen (Cyclamen purpurascens Mill.) is the only representative of its genus in Slovenia where it is a widespread species, growing from sea level to high mountainous areas. It thrives in all four major phytogeographic regions: Alpine, Dinari...
Alpine topography is formed by a complex series of geomorphological processes that result in a vast number of different landforms. The youngest and most diverse landforms are various Quaternary sedimentary bodies, each characterised by its unique lan...
Aerial photographs of the European Alps usually only reach back to the middle of the 20th century, which limits the time span of corresponding studies that quantitatively analyse long-term surface changes of proglacial areas using georeferenced ortho...
Mountain watersheds play a crucial role in sustaining freshwater resources, yet they are highly vulnerable to climate change. In this study, we investigated the summer water temperature of 35 alpine springs in the highest part of the Retezat Mountain...
The present work is a phytosociological synthesis and syntaxonomic overview of the vegetation of the highest subnival parts (superpuna) of the open alpine vegetation of the high plateaus (puna) of the Andes of Moquegua, South West Peru, as related to...
Climate change is significantly affecting mountain plant communities, causing dynamic alterations in species composition as well as spatial distribution. This raises the need for constant monitoring. The Tatra Mountains are the highest range of the C...
The steep northern slopes of Giona Mt in central continental Greece are the result of an E-W normal fault dipping 35–45° to the north, extending from the Mornos River in the west to the village of Gravia in the east. This fault creates a si...
Climate change and anthropopression significantly impact plant communities by leading to the spread of expansive and alien invasive plants, thus reducing their biodiversity. Due to significant elevation gradients, high-mountain plant communities in a...