Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps
Indirect topographic variables have been used successfully as surrogates for disturbance processes in plant species distribution models (SDM) in mountain environments. However, no SDM studies have directly tested the performance of disturbance variables. In this study, we developed two disturbance v...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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ftunivlausanne:oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_DD37A3B7A99B 2024-02-11T09:59:02+01:00 Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps Randin, C.F. Vuissoz, G. Liston, G. Vittoz, P. Guisan, A. 2009 https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_DD37A3B7A99B https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1523-0430 https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_DD37A3B7A99B doi:10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 347-361 info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2009 ftunivlausanne https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 2024-01-22T00:57:16Z Indirect topographic variables have been used successfully as surrogates for disturbance processes in plant species distribution models (SDM) in mountain environments. However, no SDM studies have directly tested the performance of disturbance variables. In this study, we developed two disturbance variables: a geomorphic index (GEO) and an index of snow redistribution by wind (SNOW). These were developed in order to assess how they improved both the fit and predictive power of presenceabsence SDM based on commonly used topoclimatic (TC) variables for 91 plants in the Western Swiss Alps. The individual contribution of the disturbance variables was compared to TC variables. Maps of models were prepared to spatially test the effect of disturbance variables. On average, disturbance variables significantly improved the fit but not the predictive power of the TC models and their individual contribution was weak (5.6% for GEO and 3.3% for SNOW). However their maximum individual contribution was important (24.7% and 20.7%). Finally, maps including disturbance variables (i) were significantly divergent from TC models in terms of predicted suitable surfaces and connectivity between potential habitats, and (ii) were interpreted as more ecologically relevant. Disturbance variables did not improve the transferability of models at the local scale in a complex mountain system, and the performance and contribution of these variables were highly species-specific. However, improved spatial projections and change in connectivity are important issues when preparing projections under climate change because the future range size of the species will determine the sensitivity to changing conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Université de Lausanne (UNIL): Serval - Serveur académique lausannois Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 41 3 347 361 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université de Lausanne (UNIL): Serval - Serveur académique lausannois |
op_collection_id |
ftunivlausanne |
language |
English |
description |
Indirect topographic variables have been used successfully as surrogates for disturbance processes in plant species distribution models (SDM) in mountain environments. However, no SDM studies have directly tested the performance of disturbance variables. In this study, we developed two disturbance variables: a geomorphic index (GEO) and an index of snow redistribution by wind (SNOW). These were developed in order to assess how they improved both the fit and predictive power of presenceabsence SDM based on commonly used topoclimatic (TC) variables for 91 plants in the Western Swiss Alps. The individual contribution of the disturbance variables was compared to TC variables. Maps of models were prepared to spatially test the effect of disturbance variables. On average, disturbance variables significantly improved the fit but not the predictive power of the TC models and their individual contribution was weak (5.6% for GEO and 3.3% for SNOW). However their maximum individual contribution was important (24.7% and 20.7%). Finally, maps including disturbance variables (i) were significantly divergent from TC models in terms of predicted suitable surfaces and connectivity between potential habitats, and (ii) were interpreted as more ecologically relevant. Disturbance variables did not improve the transferability of models at the local scale in a complex mountain system, and the performance and contribution of these variables were highly species-specific. However, improved spatial projections and change in connectivity are important issues when preparing projections under climate change because the future range size of the species will determine the sensitivity to changing conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Randin, C.F. Vuissoz, G. Liston, G. Vittoz, P. Guisan, A. |
spellingShingle |
Randin, C.F. Vuissoz, G. Liston, G. Vittoz, P. Guisan, A. Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps |
author_facet |
Randin, C.F. Vuissoz, G. Liston, G. Vittoz, P. Guisan, A. |
author_sort |
Randin, C.F. |
title |
Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps |
title_short |
Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps |
title_full |
Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps |
title_fullStr |
Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the Western Swiss Alps |
title_sort |
introduction of snow and geomorphic disturbance variables into predictive models of alpine plant distribution in the western swiss alps |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_DD37A3B7A99B https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 347-361 |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1523-0430 https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_DD37A3B7A99B doi:10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.347 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
347 |
op_container_end_page |
361 |
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1790594915039707136 |