Alps Conifer and Mixed Forests

• Category: Forest Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Western and west-central Europe.
• Summary: An extensive European mountain forest environment with high biodiversity and a rich, long-lived cultural history, this biome is threatened by climate change and other human impacts.

The Alps conifer and mixed forests are temperate forests also known as European-Mediterranean montane mixed forests. This type of ecosystem contains temperate coniferous and mixed forests, with a geography that can include deep valleys, Mediterranean characteristics, or alpine characteristics depending on specific location within the Alps. The watersheds of three rivers, the Po, the Danube, and the Rhine, are prominent in this conifer and mixed forest ecosystem.

The geology of the range is relatively young when compared to other mountains. For example, the Great Smoky Mountains in the United States are between 200 and 300 million years old. The Alps were formed by Pleistocene glaciation within the period from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. As a result of the glaciation, the Alps have a unique architecture, one that is responsible for much of the biological and ecological variation through the mountain range. The Alps mountain range runs from west to east through many of the countries in both western and eastern Europe, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, and the Principality of Monaco. The total length of the range is about 750 miles.

The existence of conifer and mixed forests in this alpine region is clearly demarcated by what is known as the tree line, or timberline. The timberline is the elevation above which trees do not grow. In the Alps the timberline is between 5,700 and 7,200 feet (1,737 to 2,195 meters), though the exact elevation differs widely throughout the range. Tree line elevation is known to shift by slope, aspect, latitude, rain shadow, and other additional factors; thus there is no single, commonly accepted figure. Those trees that grow nearest the timberline are often subject to the harshest of the elements, and become dense and twisted by the extreme variations in climate. Generally the trees at the timberline are coniferous. These types of trees are known as krummholz, meaning “crooked wood” or “twisted wood” in German. In the European Alps, such krummholz trees are not only formed by the elements, but are also genetically predisposed to this type of stunted physiology.

Treasured Flora

Below the timberline, vast amounts of mountainous land are densely blanketed by conifer and mixed forests. Alps forests are renowned for having a high biodiversity of plants and animals. For example, 39 percent of the plant species in all of Europe can be found in the Alps. All together there are about 13,000 different species of plants distributed throughout the European Alps. These consist of many vascular plants, as well as fungi, mosses, and lichens. Of the vascular plants, 400 native species have been identified. This array of plant biodiversity has earned the region notoriety as a plant biodiversity hot spot. About 15 percent of the total forested land of the Alps is protected by legislation in order to mitigate damage to the forest ecosystem. The Global 200 Initiative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the Ramsar Convention have all recognized the Alps conifer and mixed forests as a wilderness area of great importance.

The primary deciduous, broadleafed tree species present in the Alps forests include beech (Fagus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), and oak (Quercus spp.). As angiosperms, these trees are called hardwoods; note that this designation is not necessarily related to the actual hardness of the wood. Alps deciduous forests are sparsely distributed; centuries of logging by inhabitants have taken a toll on these trees, and it is rare to find woodlands composed exclusively of deciduous trees. Coniferous tree species distributed throughout the Alps include larch (Larix spp.)—technically a deciduous conifer—pine (Pinus spp.), spruce, and fir. As gymnosperms, these trees are known as softwoods. Coniferous softwoods are the primary type of harvested forest tree here. Fortunately, much of Europe's timber demand is supplied by managed conifer plantations.

Characteristic Fauna

Some of the best-known animals in the Alps are the ungulates, or hoofed mammals, such as the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) and the alpine ibex (Capra ibex). The total number of Alps mammals, including these charismatic megafauna, is about 80. There are also 200 bird species, twenty-one amphibian species, only one of which, Lanza's Alpine salamander (Salamandra lanzai), is endemic (specifically adapted and unique to a particular biome). The Alps are home to fifteen reptile species as well.

The recent reestablishment of wolves (Canis lupus) in the Italian and Western Alps has brought with it a number of ecological implications, as well as concerns about the integration of these animals into a landscape with human inhabitants. At the same time, the diverse geography found in the Alps conifer and mixed forests places physical limits on growing populations of wolves. In the Eastern Alps, for example, the presence of large lakes inhibits the movement of wolf populations, effectively placing a check on unmanaged growth.

Human Interference

Alps forests contribute numerous ecosystem services to the Alps region as a whole. Ecosystem services are those aspects of ecosystems that provide an intrinsic benefit to human health and quality of life. For forest ecosystems, these may be air filtration, water purification, erosion protection, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and opportunities for recreation. Alps conifer and mixed forests also act as formidable protection against avalanche damage to alpine settlements. Portions of the Alps have prohibited or set limits on forest cutting activities and even access to the forest to reflect this important benefit. According to researcher Roland Olschewski, an example of this can be found in the Swiss municipality of Andermatt, Canton Uri, where residents have been banned from forest harvesting practices since 1397 C.E.

Forest ecologists have traditionally recognized a number of factors responsible for forest damage, with wildfire, pests, invasive species, and wind among them. The high elevation locations of Alps conifer and mixed forests means that avalanches are an additional and inevitable risk for both forests and humans. However, just as wildfire can serve a crucial function in forest regeneration and ecological succession, avalanche events can play a similar role. As forest trees are uprooted by the events, space is opened in the forest canopy for new organisms to establish themselves. In addition, the disrupted landscape topography associated with these fallen trees dynamically affects forest soils and microbial ecology. Ecological succession is often instigated in this way as some individuals of an abundant species are removed or damaged, allowing for new growth to occur.

Much of the forested environment in the Alps is no longer pristine or untrammeled by humans; indeed much of it has been inhabited for thousands of years. While there are still portions of pristine and preserved wilderness, the Alps conifer and mixed forest landscape has undergone extensive change since the advent of human settlement in the region. With settlement came a pastoral way of life in which inhabitants survived through agriculture, herding, and grazing. This well-established cultural pattern appears to have begun shifting in the late 20th century and continues to this day. Current landscape change in many parts of the Alps seems to be pointed to a slow but steady reforestation of the region, rather than the steady deforestation that can be found in many other forests across the globe. Nevertheless, the World Wildlife Foundation rated the region "vulnerable" on its Global 200 list of ecoregions with high biodiversity that the foundation believes should be priorities for conservation.

In the Swiss Alps, researcher P. P. Germann noted that between 1985 and 1995 there had been annual growth of between 0.5 and 1 percent in forested lands, amounting to roughly 3,860 to 4,050 square miles (1 million to 1.05 million hectares). Land abandonment, which has become increasingly common as small-scale farm operations become unprofitable, is largely responsible for this phenomenon. Land abandonment has also promoted a shift in the tree line as forest regenerates at higher elevations. Recent academic research has shown that some of this tree line shift is related to climate change effects in the Alps. If climate change effects are exacerbated over time, this physical shifting of the tree line will likely continue upward, potentially at increasing rates.

Forestry in the Alps conifer and mixed forests has long been a way of life for the region's inhabitants. Traditional forest harvesting practices have all but been replaced by mechanization in many European forests. This response to recent globalization has forced many forest managers to produce at higher speeds and lower costs in order to stay in business. The economic advantages of modern agriculture and forestry have long been known: costs of labor are lower, and the speed with which trees can be removed and sold as timber is much more rapid.

While the use of modern forestry machinery has for the most part become standard practice, modern sustainable forest management has become increasingly prominent throughout the Alps as well. Austrian Federal Forests (AFF), which manages much of Austria's natural environment including the conifer and mixed forests, has a sustainable forest management plan in effect. In 2010, AFF spearheaded a five-year biodiversity program to promote public awareness of biodiversity threats and implement protection measures.

Tourism and recreation are other important sources of income for Alps inhabitants. One side effect of tourism, however, is that the continued use of certain locations damages the ecosystem. Added together, the effect of tourism in many different locales puts an added burden on the environment. Climate change is predicted to negatively affect tourism in the Alps in the future, since alpine and winter sports depend on a very limited range of environmental conditions to operate. Ski hills need certain amounts of snow at regular intervals to attract visitors, and they need visitors to make a profit. Without the first factor in place, owners and operators will be hard pressed to maintain their facilities.

Physical and political boundaries often intersect, making it difficult for lawmakers and natural resource professionals to adequately manage all resources across all boundaries. This is particularly true in the case of Alps conifer and mixed forests, which are spread across many countries. Often countries are able only to implement domestic policies regarding forest use and protection. In 2007, regional national parks legislation was established in Switzerland to help manage the Swiss landscape, and also incorporate economic considerations and sustainable management. This initiative has attempted to synthesize land use within a single, coherent policy that is more easily implemented.

Pressures on the biological and ecological hallmarks of this region, which threaten to also disrupt its unique European culture, are showing the need for increased environmental protection. Perhaps the greatest danger posed to the Alps conifer and mixed forests is climate change. Climate change impacts, most of which are unknown or at least uncertain in the long-term future, may greatly affect the ecology of the conifer and mixed forests. In addition to temperatures becoming too warm for some plants, some parts of the region have become increasingly drought-prone, a trend that, as of 2024, was expected to continue. Increased competition for water was therefore expected to have an effect on plant life, especially species that require more water. Considerations of climate change will likely place a heavy burden on lawmakers and natural resource managers in their efforts to manage its effects on some of Europe's most extensive forests.

Bibliography

Gerber, J. D., and P. P. Knoepfel. "Towards Integrated Governance of Landscape Development: The Swiss Model of Regional Nature Parks." Mountain Research and Development, vol. 28, no. 2, 2008, pp. 110-15.

Germann, P. P., and P. P. Holland. "Fragmented Ecosystems: People and Forests in the Mountains of Switzerland and New Zealand." Mountain Research and Development, vol. 21, no. 4, 2001, pp. 382-91.

Marucco, F. F., and E. B. McIntire. "Predicting Spatio-temporal Recolonization of Large Carnivore Populations and Livestock Depredation Risk: Wolves in the Italian Alps." Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 47, no. 4, 2010, pp. 789-98.

Olschewski, R., et al. "Avalanche Protection by Forests—A Choice Experiment in the Swiss Alps." Forest Policy and Economics, vol. 17, 2012, pp. 19-24.

Pardos, M., et al. "The Greater Resilience of Mixed Forests to Drought Mainly Depends on Their Composition: Analysis along a Climate Gradient Across Europe." Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 481, Feb. 2021, doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118687. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Schuster, Roman, and Walter Oberhuer. "Age-dependent Climate-growth Relationships and Regeneration of Picea abiesin a Drought-prone Mixed-coniferous Forest in the Alps." Canadian Journal of Forest Research, vol. 43, no. 7, 2013, pp. 609-18.

Spinelli, R., and N. Magagnotti. "The Effects of Introducing Modern Technology on the Financial, Labour and Energy Performance of Forest Operations in the Italian Alps." Forest Policy and Economics, vol. 13, no. 7, 2011, pp. 520-24.