High‐speed colonization of bare ground—Permanent plot studies on primary succession of plants in recently deglaciated glacier forelands

Abstract

AbstractGlacier forelands are highly suitable environments to study vegetation dynamics. Due to time constraints, the method of ‘space for time substitution’ is commonly employed, using spatially different sites to reconstruct a temporal sequence. However, migration patterns, growth performance, shifts in frequency or abundance of species, changes in biological traits, setbacks, etc. can only be detected by long‐term monitoring on permanent plots. In 2005, a set of permanent plots were established immediately in front of two glacier termini in the European Alps (Goldbergkees, Austria; Lenksteinferner, Italy), which were revisited every second year thereafter. Changes in ground cover and individual numbers of vascular plants as well as structural features such as life‐form composition and dispersal biology types are recorded. The six visits between 2005 and 2015 allow for a detailed appraisal of early vegetation development in glacier forelands, which is surprisingly swift and primarily progressive, but locally interrupted by temporary setbacks due to disturbances. This study contributes to a better understanding of high alpine vegetation dynamics in paraglacial landscapes, that is, transitional landscapes characterized by particular rate and direction of change.