Winners and losers of climate change in a central alpine glacier foreland

The effects of microclimate change on the growth of fast- and slow-growing glacier foreland species were analyzed from 1996 to 2004 to test the following hypotheses: (1) plant growth and cover will increase due to experimental warming; (2) fast-growing species will respond the most; and (3) asexually and sexually reproducing forms of Poa alpina react differently-the asexually produced plantlets will respond the most due to their growth advantages in contrast to seedlings. Temperatures were increased with open top chambers (OTCs) by 1 +/- 0.01 degrees C (soil surface) and 0.7 +/- 0.03 degrees C (soil) during the growing seasons using a modified ITEX approach. Juvenile plants of Artemisia genipi (pioneer species), Trifolium pallescens (mid-successional species), Anthyllis vulneraria ssp. alpestris (late-successional species), Pact alpina, and Poa alpina ssp. vivipara (ubiquitous species) were planted into plots with OTCs and adjacent control plots and harvested after three, four, and five years, respectively. The Artemisia and Poa (R- and S-selected species) showed little response to changes in microclimate, whereas Trifolium and Anthyllis (plastic species, CSR/CS strategists) had significantly higher dry weights and enhanced reproduction.