Sanz-Elorza Mario, Dana Elías D, González Alberto, Sobrino Eduardo
Departamento de Producción Vegetal: Botánica, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, E-28040 Madrid, Spain.
Ann Bot. 2003 Aug;92(2):273-80. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcg130. Epub 2003 Jun 18.
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.
西班牙中部山脉高峰的航拍图像显示，在1957年至1991年期间植被发生了显著变化。这些变化包括，典型的低温地中海带以阿拉贡羊茅为主的高山草原群落，被来自较低海拔（奥罗地中海带）的高山刺柏和地中海金雀花的灌木斑块所取代。气候数据表明，自20世纪40年代以来，该山区气候已转向更温暖的状态，这种转变在1960年以后尤为明显。变化包括最低和最高气温显著升高、积雪天数减少以及月降雨量重新分布。年总降水量没有显著变化。在所考虑的时间段内，土地利用没有明显变化，尽管在19世纪放牧物种有微小变化。据推测，木本物种向更高海拔的推进可能与气候变化有关，气候变化可能与景观管理的离散变化共同起作用。该地区植物群落中观察到的显著变化反映了高山地中海物种对环境变化的敏感性。
