Berchtesgaden National Park Research Articles

Gap expansion is the dominant driver of canopy openings in a temperate mountain forest landscape

Abstract Natural disturbances are important drivers of forest dynamics, and canopy gaps are their fingerprints in forest ecosystems. Gaps form and persist because of the interplay of tree mortality and regeneration. They can have long‐lasting impacts on ecosystems, yet the temporal dynamics of gap formation and closure remains poorly quantified. We analysed 11,331 canopy gaps and their changes through time across 3999 ha of unmanaged temperate mountain forests at Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany). We assessed gap formation and closure using three repeat lidar acquisitions between 2009 and 2021, analysing canopy height changes at 1 m horizontal resolution. Our objective was to determine the dominant mode of gap formation, distinguishing the creation of new gaps from the expansion of existing ones. Additionally, we studied the rate of gap closure, considering closure from tree regeneration and lateral crown expansion. Gap formation was primarily driven by gap expansion rather than the initiation of new gaps. Gap expansion accounted for 81.3% of gap formation, although new gaps were on average twice as large as gap expansions. Only 1.4% of gaps did not expand over the 12‐year study period, and Norway spruce forests had the highest rate of gap expansion. Overall, gap closure rate (0.74 ha 100 ha−1 year−1) was higher than gap formation (0.58 ha 100 ha−1 year−1) in our study system. Ingrowth of the regenerating tree cohort was the primary mode of gap closure, with lateral crown expansion accounting for 20% of all gap area closed. Mixed‐species stands had the highest rate of gap closure, and gaps <0.1 ha closed faster than larger gaps. Synthesis. While canopy openings are generally small in the European Alps, we show that they keep growing over multiple years, underlining that gap expansion is an important driver of temperate forest dynamics. Canopy gaps closed faster than they were created, highlighting the resilience of European mountain forests to natural disturbances. However, as disturbances are projected to increase under climate change, this resilience might be challenged in the future, requiring a continuous monitoring of gap dynamics as an important early warning indicator of forest change.

Projected climate and canopy change lead to thermophilization and homogenization of forest floor vegetation in a hotspot of plant species richness.

Mountain forests are plant diversity hotspots, but changing climate and increasing forest disturbances will likely lead to far-reaching plant community change. Projecting future change, however, is challenging for forest understory plants, which respond to forest structure and composition as well as climate. Here, we jointly assessed the effects of both climate and forest change, including wind and bark beetle disturbances, using the process-based simulation model iLand in a protected landscape in the northern Alps (Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany), asking: (1) How do understory plant communities respond to 21st-century change in a topographically complex mountain landscape, representing a hotspot of plant species richness? (2) How important are climatic changes (i.e., direct climate effects) versus forest structure and composition changes (i.e., indirect climate effects and recovery from past land use) in driving understory responses at landscape scales? Stacked individual species distribution models fit with climate, forest, and soil predictors (248 species currently present in the landscape, derived from 150 field plots stratified by elevation and forest development, overall area under the receiving operator characteristic curve = 0.86) were driven with projected climate (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and modeled forest variables to predict plant community change. Nearly all species persisted in the landscape in 2050, but on average 8% of the species pool was lost by the end of the century. By 2100, landscape mean species richness and understory cover declined (-13% and -8%, respectively), warm-adapted species increasingly dominated plant communities (i.e., thermophilization, +12%), and plot-level turnover was high (62%). Subalpine forests experienced the greatest richness declines (-16%), most thermophilization (+17%), and highest turnover (67%), resulting in plant community homogenization across elevation zones. Climate rather than forest change was the dominant driver of understory responses. The magnitude of unabated 21st-century change is likely to erode plant diversity in a species richness hotspot, calling for stronger conservation and climate mitigation efforts.

Climate change accelerates ecosystem restoration in the mountain forests of Central Europe

Abstract Restoring degraded forest ecosystems is an important element in the ongoing challenge to sustain the integrity and functioning of the biosphere. However, the evaluation of restoration success is hampered by long lead times of management measures in forests. Moreover, forest change is accelerating also in the absence of management because of ongoing climate change. Yet, because a counterfactual is frequently missing, it remains unclear whether restoration measures are aided or impeded by climate change. Here, we analysed the pace and success of forest restoration under climate change, combining field data and simulation modelling. We focused on the management zone of Berchtesgaden National Park (BGNP), Germany, where restoration aims to restore homogeneous Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests to structurally diverse mixed mountain forests. We evaluated three alternative restoration strategies: Two active strategies focused on planting the currently underrepresented silver fir (Abies alba) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica) but differing in the creation of gap‐cuts, and a third passive restoration strategy without interventions. Strategies were simulated with the forest landscape model iLand from 2020 to 2100 under different climate scenarios (historic, RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5). The forests of BGNP developed into structurally diverse and mixed forests under all evaluated management strategies, and differences between active and passive restoration were generally small. While restoration goals for forest structure were largely met by 2100, forest composition remained far from target in all strategies. Climate change aided restoration by significantly increasing the prevalence of silver fir and European beech (+104.2% to +258.6%). Field data on short‐term restoration effects were in line with simulated long‐term trajectories. Synthesis and applications: We here show that forest restoration efforts in Central European mountain forests will likely be accelerated by climate change. Nonetheless, the slow pace of restoration underscores the need for taking action. Our study highlights that active restoration measures such as tree planting can bring the system closer to restoration targets. However, it also demonstrates that passive restoration (no intervention) is a viable option for management, highlighting the need to evaluate restoration measures against the counterfactual of a no intervention strategy.

Uncovering Early Traces of Bark Beetle Induced Forest Stress via Semantically Enriched Sentinel-2 Data and Spectral Indices

Forest ecosystems are shaped by both abiotic and biotic disturbances. Unlike sudden disturbance agents, such as wind, avalanches and fire, bark beetle infestation progresses gradually. By the time infestation is observable by the human eye, trees are already in the final stages of infestation—the red- and grey-attack. In the relevant phase—the green-attack—biochemical and biophysical processes take place, which, however, are not or hardly visible. In this study, we applied a time series analysis based on semantically enriched Sentinel-2 data and spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) to detect early traces of bark beetle infestation in the Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany. Our approach used a stratified and hierarchical hybrid remote sensing image understanding system for pre-selecting candidate pixels, followed by the use of SVIs to confirm or refute the initial selection, heading towards a 'convergence of evidence approach’. Our results revealed that the near-infrared (NIR) and short-wave-infrared (SWIR) parts of the electromagnetic spectrum provided the best separability between pixels classified as healthy and early infested. Referring to vegetation indices, we found that those related to water stress have proven to be most sensitive. Compared to a SVI-only model that did not incorporate the concept of candidate pixels, our approach achieved distinctively higher producer’s accuracy (76% vs. 63%) and user’s accuracy (61% vs. 42%). The temporal accuracy of our method depends on the availability of satellite data and varies up to 3 weeks before or after the first ground-based detection in the field. Nonetheless, our method offers valuable early detection capabilities that can aid in implementing timely interventions to address bark beetle infestations in the early stage.

Using Springs as Sentinels of Climate Change in Nature Parks North and South of the Alps: A Critical Evaluation of Methodological Aspects and Recommendations for Long-Term Monitoring

Spring ecosystems are diverse transition zones between ground- and surface-water habitats. Due to their characteristics and vulnerable species assemblages, springs are considered indicator systems for monitoring environmental change. In particular, climate change is expected to alter spring-ecosystem features, such as water temperature and discharge, affecting otherwise typically stable biotic and abiotic conditions. However, reliable trend-development recognition and analysis require a uniform methodology and comparable data series over long periods of time. Spring research findings in the Berchtesgaden National Park and the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park have been consolidated to develop methodological recommendations to create lasting societal-added value. The successful transfer of the methodology to the Bavarian Forest National Park and the experienced contribution of the Bavarian Association for the Protection of Nature (Bavarian Climate Alliance) strongly improved method validations. Our resulting, newly developed recommendations for long-term spring monitoring have a focus on climate change impacts and aim at providing a decision-making basis for establishing programs in similar ecological and climatic zones. Uniform site-selection criteria and selected climate-sensitive parameters are indicated. This includes documenting the spring’s environment and structure, measuring abiotic parameters, and determining selected floristic and faunistic groups. We recommend measurement and sampling-survey intervals ranging from 3(4) times yearly to every 5 years, depending on the parameter. We further suggest a database system that integrates all monitoring parameters to ensure consistent data management and storage. Analysing the data resulting from our new holistic spring monitoring methodology should provide critical knowledge about putatively changing ecosystems that can then be used as evidence of climate-change impact on spring ecosystems.

From sink to source: changing climate and disturbance regimes could tip the 21st century carbon balance of an unmanaged mountain forest landscape

Abstract Forests are one of the most important components of the global carbon cycle. Consequently, forest protection as a nature-based climate solution has garnered increasing interest. Protected areas instated to safeguard biodiversity provide an opportunity to maximize carbon storage in situ, with important co-benefits between conservation and climate change mitigation. However, changing climate and disturbance regimes put this carbon storage function at risk. Here we investigated carbon sequestration and storage in a protected landscape in the German Alps (Berchtesgaden National Park) throughout the 21st century. We simulated the impacts of climate change as well as increasing wind and bark beetle disturbances on cumulative Net Ecosystem Production using a process-based forest landscape model. Considering a wide range of potential changes in wind frequency and speed under a variety of climate change scenarios, we addressed the question under which future conditions the landscape will turn from a carbon sink to a carbon source. While the landscape was a net carbon sink at the end of the simulation in 76 per cent of the simulation runs, increasing disturbances and climate change greatly reduced its carbon sink capacity. Under RCP2.6, the landscape remained a robust carbon sink even under elevated disturbance (probability of turning from sink to source between 0 per cent and 25 per cent). In contrast, carbon release was likely under RCP8.5 even with little change in the disturbance regime (probability: 30 per cent to 95 per cent). Productive areas in lower elevations that currently have the highest carbon density on the landscape were contributing most strongly to a reduction of the carbon sink strength. Our study reveals that the effect of protected areas acting as nature-based climate solutions might be overestimated if the risks from changing climate and disturbance regimes are neglected. We therefore call for a more explicit consideration of future forest dynamics in the discussion of the potential role of forests in climate change mitigation.

Will forest dynamics continue to accelerate throughout the 21st century in the Northern Alps?

Observational evidence suggests that forests in the Northern Alps are changing at an increasing rate as a consequence of climate change. Yet, it remains unclear whether the acceleration of forest change will continue in the future, or whether downregulating feedbacks will eventually decouple forest dynamics from climate change. Here we studied future forest dynamics at Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany by means of a process-based forest landscape model, simulating an ensemble of 22climate projections until the end of the 21st century. Our objectives were (i) to assess whether the observed acceleration of forest dynamics will continue in the future, (ii) to analyze how uncertainty in future climate translates to variation in future forest disturbance, structure, and composition, and (iii) to determine the main drivers of future forest dynamics. We found that forest dynamics continue to accelerate in the coming decades, with a trend towards denser, structurally more complex and more species rich forests. However, changes in forest structure leveled off in the second half of the 21st century regardless of climate scenario. In contrast, climate scenarios caused trajectories of tree species change to diverge in the second half of the 21st century, with stabilization under RCP 2.6 and RCP 4.5scenarios and accelerated loss of conifers under RCP 8.5. Disturbance projections were 3 to 20 times more variable than future climate, whereas projected future forest structure and composition varied considerably less than climate. Indirect effects of climate change via alterations of the disturbance regime had a stronger impact on future forest dynamics than direct effects. Our findings suggest that dampening feedbacks within forest dynamics will decelerate forest change in the second half of the 21st century. However, warming beyond the levels projected under RCP 4.5might profoundly alter future forest disturbance and composition, challenging conservation efforts and ecosystem service supply.

Diatoms from the Spring Ecosystems Selected for the Long-Term Monitoring of Climate-Change Effects in the Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany)

We studied diatoms from the fifteen springs selected in the Berchtesgaden National Park on behalf of the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment to be sentinel environments of climate-change effects. For three of these springs, diatom data based on samples taken in 1997 were also available. A total of 162 species belonging to 49 genera were found sampling three microhabitat types (lithic materials, bryophytes, surface sediments). The cumulative percentage of all species included in a threat category including endangered species was 43%, confirming previous findings for comparable environments of the Alps. We could find a statistically significant positive association between the Meinzer variability index for discharge and the cumulative relative abundance of aerial diatom species. This study thus highlighted once again the relevance of discharge (and associated water-level) variability as an environmental determinant of diatom assemblages in spring ecosystems. Increased nitrate concentrations in some springs, likely due to diffuse airborne pollution and, locally, to impacts such as forest management, game, and cattle, led to a relevant occurrence of eutraphentic diatom species. Our results show a segregation of the older data in non-parametric diatom-based ordinations, suggesting a strong potential for the use of spring diatoms in studies aiming at tracking the effects of climate and environmental change.

Establishing a standard for park visitation analyses: Insights from Germany

Protected areas not only contribute to the protection of biological diversity but also offer spaces for outdoor recreation and tourism. As is well known, visitor monitoring is required for various reasons. The need to collect comparable visitation data in Germany's protected areas became clear with a first pilot study in 2001 at Berchtesgaden National Park. Since then, additional studies have estimated visitation using a standardized methodology. This article focuses on this methodology by examining how visitation is registered in protected areas in Germany, where a combination of censuses and structural surveys are used on selected survey days and at certain survey sites. Extrapolations of such raw data consider variations in visitor volume according to season, the day of the week, and weather conditions, while also integrating visitor segmentation and official statistical data. Differences in spatial structure are reflected in those visitor segments and outdoor activities. Parks near urban areas show a high share of day-visitors, while overnight tourism predominates in more remote areas, especially traditional tourist destinations. Using this method, initial studies calculated about 53 million visitor days per year in national parks, and over 65 million visitor days in biosphere reserves. In combination with alternative counting methods, such as automatic counters, long-term monitoring must be set up to operate permanently in order to meet international reporting obligations and verify the carrying capacity of protected areas.

Accelerating Mountain Forest Dynamics in the Alps

Climate change alters forest development pathways, with consequences for ecosystem services and biodiversity. As the rate of warming increases, ecosystem change is expected to accelerate. However, ecosystem dynamics can have many causes unrelated to climate (for example, disturbance and stand development legacies). The compound effects of multiple drivers remain largely unclear. Here, we assessed forest dynamics over 28 years at Berchtesgaden National Park (BGNP), Germany, quantifying the spatiotemporal patterns and unraveling the drivers of forest change. We analyzed high-density forest inventory data, consisting of three consecutive censuses of 3759 permanent sample plots (132,866 tree records in total). We used semi-variograms to analyze spatial patterns of change, and boosted regression trees to quantify the effect of 30 covariates on changes in nine indicators of forest structure and composition. Over the 28 years investigated, the forests of BGNP were becoming denser, structurally more complex, and more species rich. Changes in forest structure were more pronounced and spatially correlated on the landscape than changes in tree species composition. Change rates of all indicators increased over time, signifying an acceleration of forest dynamics since the 1980s. Legacies and climate were the most important drivers of change, but had diverging impacts. Although forest change accelerated with increasing temperature, high legacy levels typical for late development stages dampened it. We here provide evidence for accelerating forest dynamics in mountain forests of the Alps, with potentially far-reaching consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem processes. We highlight that unmanaged forest development toward old-growth conditions could counteract climate-mediated acceleration of forest change.

Developing a livelihood: conservation model for the Kakamega Forest region, Kenya using experiences from Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany

ABSTRACT Active participation of local community of Kakamega Forest in conservation has rather been elusive. Conservation efforts directed at the Forest have resulted into more resource use restrictions instead of access. Furthermore, the community faces the threat of human-wildlife conflict. Achieving a resilient livelihood and active forest conservation among the Community has therefore been a challenge. Against this background, the study sought to develop a conservation model for the Kakamega Forest region using experiences from Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany. The study adopted emic and etic approaches. A variety of interview methods were used to gain the inside feelings of the respondents with regard to livelihoods and conservation experiences. The resulting data were identified, coded and patterns reported using thematic analysis. Results indicated that most of the livelihood strategies being used by the local community of Kakamega forest are small scale and have a weak link to tourism and conservation activities. On the contrary, results from Berchtesgaden National Park indicated a livelihood asset base which is strong, diversified and strongly linked to tourism. The model developed gives more understanding and insight into the often delicate balance between livelihoods and conservation.

Avalanches and micrometeorology driving mass and energy balance of the lowest perennial ice field of the Alps: a case study

Abstract. The mass balance of very small glaciers is often governed by anomalous snow accumulation, winter precipitation being multiplied by snow redistribution processes (gravitationally or wind driven), or suppressed snow ablation driven by micrometeorological effects lowering net radiation and/or turbulent heat exchange. In this case study, we analysed the relative contribution of snow accumulation and ablation processes governing the long- and short-term mass balance of the lowest perennial ice field of the Alps, the Ice Chapel, located at 870 m a.s.l. in the Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany). This study emphasizes the importance of the local topographic setting for the survival of a perennial ice field located far below the climatic snow line. Although long-term mass balance measurements of the ice field surface showed a dramatic mass loss between 1973 and 2014, the ice field mass balance was rather stable between 2014 and 2017 and even showed a strong mass gain in 2017/2018 with an increase in surface height by 50 %–100 % relative to the ice field thickness. Measurements suggest that the winter mass balance clearly dominated the annual mass balance. At the Ice Chapel surface, 92 % of snow accumulation was gained by snow avalanching, thus clearly governing the 2017/2018 winter mass balance of the ice field with mean snow depths of 32 m at the end of the accumulation period. Avalanche deposition was amplified by preferential deposition of snowfall in the wind-sheltered rock face surrounding the ice field. Detailed micrometeorological measurements combined with a numerical analysis of the small-scale near-surface atmospheric flow field identified the micrometeorological processes driving the energy balance of the ice field. Measurements revealed a katabatic flow system draining down the ice field throughout the day, showing strong temporal and spatial dynamics. The spatial origin of the thermal flow system was shown to be of particular importance for the ice field surface energy balance. Numerical simulation indicates that deep katabatic flows, which developed at higher-elevation shaded areas of the rock face and drained down the ice field, enhance sensible heat exchange towards the ice field surface by enhancing turbulence close to the ice surface. Conversely, the shallow katabatic flow developing at the ice field surface appeared to laterally decouple the local near-surface atmosphere from the warmer adjacent air suppressing heat exchange. Numerical results thus suggest that shallow katabatic flows driven by the cooling effect of the ice field surface are especially efficient in lowering the climatic sensitivity of the ice field to the surrounding rising air temperatures. Such micrometeorological phenomena must be taken into account when calculating mass and energy balances of very small glaciers or perennial ice fields at elevations far below the climatic snow line.

National Parks and demographic change – Modelling the effects of ageing hikers on mountain landscape intra-area accessibility

With demographic change, the number of older hikers who visit National Parks (NP) and other natural recreational areas will increase. Results from sports medicine and transportation studies suggest that walking speed decreases with growing age, especially in mountainous landscapes, a fact that would have consequences for the intra-area accessibility of these areas. Based on 353 GPS trajectories, a questionnaire applied to visitors, and a geodatabase covering the trail network of the case study area of Berchtesgaden National Park (BNP), speed values and their environmental and demographic determinants are examined by regression modeling. Network analysis was performed in GIS to determine the accessibility of the BNP trail network for different age groups. Results show that in addition to such environmental characteristics as trail slope, trail difficulty, land use and elevation, age has a strong, non-linear influence on walking speed. Network modeling showed that walking times to certain areas in NP may vary by as much as 80min among different age groups. These findings suggest that intra-area accessibility in the BNP is likely to decline with demographic change, with obvious implications for park management and planning.

On the structural and species diversity effects of bark beetle disturbance in forests during initial and advanced early-seral stages at different scales

Following disturbances, early-seral stages of forests provide a variety of structures. Whether this variety is a short-term phenomenon or influences forest succession for several decades or even longer is not known. We tested the hypotheses that after spruce dieback caused by bark beetles, a high spatial heterogeneity of stand structures will persist within stands and among stands even in advanced early-seral stages and that species taxonomical and functional diversity measures will reflect this heterogeneity. We used a chronosequence of unmanaged forests in the Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany) consisting of mature undisturbed spruce stands (control), stands belonging to an initial early-seral stage (~3 years after disturbance) and stands in an advanced early-seral stage (~20 years after disturbance). We analysed diversity and heterogeneity of these forest stands including stand structure, species density, species composition and functional–phylogenetic diversity of vascular plants, wood-inhabiting fungi and saproxylic beetles within plots, among plots of the same successional stage and among stages. Stands of the advanced early-seral stage were characterized by a high spatial heterogeneity of structural attributes, such as crown cover, regeneration density and spatial distribution of trees. Among-plot taxonomic beta diversity was highest in the advanced early-seral stage for beetles, but lowest for fungi, while beta diversity of plants among plots remained unchanged during succession. The mosaic of successional stages initiated by bark beetles increased the gamma diversity of the study area, especially for fungi and beetles. Our findings support the hypothesis that structural heterogeneity continues for at least two decades at stand and landscape scales and that species turnover among successional stages is a major mechanism for gamma diversity in forests after bark beetle disturbance.

OpenStreetMap used in protected area management. The example of the recreational infrastructure in Berchtesgaden National Park

OpenStreetMap used in protected area management. The example of the recreational infrastructure in Berchtesgaden National Park

Akzeptanz als Rahmenbedingung für das erfolgreiche Management von Landnutzungen und biologischer Vielfalt in Großschutzgebieten

Local acceptance and the resolution of conflicts that arise from conservation objectives are important tasks for the successful management of large protected areas. This paper focuses on the distinct genesis of acceptance research for German large protected areas compared to the global context where the comprehensive term “park-people relationships” prevails. Using multiple tasks and roles assigned to national parks and biosphere reserves, we illustrate the overall diversity of conflict potential. Four explorative case studies, based on media analysis and selected expert interviews, are used to elaborate on the individual local conditions that foster conflict or co-existence in Germany. Berchtesgaden National Park is currently mainly free of conflicts, but unforeseen events such as barkbeetle infestations could unsettle the situation. On the contrary, private land ownership and conflicts over zoning in the Senne-Teutoburger Wald-Eggegebirge region have halted plans to establish a national park. In the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve, conflicts arose around conflicting land uses and overlapping planning responsibilities during the designation process, while in the Pfälzerwald Biosphere Reserve region, the development of renewable energies – mainly wind turbines – have shown to bear a specific conflict potential. The paper concludes with suggestions related to spatial and environmental planning, such as widening the mainly local focus on “acceptance” to active stakeholder management, including integrated, adaptive management approaches, in the sense of the term park-people relationships.

Developing a typology of sustainable protected area tourism products

ABSTRACT Political, socio-economic and environmental changes are creating demands for protected areas (PAs) to fulfill a double mandate of both “protection” and “use”. An appropriate mix of tourism products in PAs could help fulfill those demands. The conceptual framework of the Product-based Typology for Nature-based Tourism (PTNT) was developed and tested to identify and monitor suitable tourism products and users. The typology was developed in a deductive approach and empirically tested for the first time in this study of Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany). Two methodological approaches are used: first, a demand-sided approach to the motives and activities of 1092 overnight visitors in a latent class analysis to identify six tourism product clusters. Second, several common sense supply-side-defined tourism products are identified and profiled. All products are described by the motivations and attitudes of their users towards the environment and to sustainable tourism. One product category of “structured ecotourism” is identified, which seems to have the highest potential to help PAs fulfill their double mandate. The results are used to discuss an adaptation of the PTNT for sustainable protected area tourism products. Greater market knowledge, and its skilled use, could help PA managements fulfill the double mandate of PAs.

Performance of complex snow cover descriptions in a distributed hydrological model system: A case study for the high Alpine terrain of the Berchtesgaden Alps

[1] Runoff generation in Alpine regions is typically affected by snow processes. Snow accumulation, storage, redistribution, and ablation control the availability of water. In this study, several robust parameterizations describing snow processes in Alpine environments were implemented in a fully distributed, physically based hydrological model. Snow cover development is simulated using different methods from a simple temperature index approach, followed by an energy balance scheme, to additionally accounting for gravitational and wind-driven lateral snow redistribution. Test site for the study is the Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavarian Alps, Germany) which is characterized by extreme topography and climate conditions. The performance of the model system in reproducing snow cover dynamics and resulting discharge generation is analyzed and validated via measurements of snow water equivalent and snow depth, satellite-based remote sensing data, and runoff gauge data. Model efficiency (the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient) for simulated runoff increases from 0.57 to 0.68 in a high Alpine headwater catchment and from 0.62 to 0.64 in total with increasing snow model complexity. In particular, the results show that the introduction of the energy balance scheme reproduces daily fluctuations in the snowmelt rates that trace down to the channel stream. These daily cycles measured in snowmelt and resulting runoff rates could not be reproduced by using the temperature index approach. In addition, accounting for lateral snow transport changes the seasonal distribution of modeled snowmelt amounts, which leads to a higher accuracy in modeling runoff characteristics.

The Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavaria, Germany): a platform for interdisciplinary catchment research

The Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavaria, Germany), a study site of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program in the catchment of Berchtesgadener Ache, is introduced as a platform for interdisciplinary research. As the investigation of how human activities affect the natural resources in the park area, which has been defined a main aim of the program, naturally requires expertise from different scientific fields, interdisciplinary research has been fostered in the national park plan since the very beginning of the Man and the Biosphere program in 1981. To analyze the complex interactions and mutual dependencies between socio-economic and natural systems, a variety of monitoring programs have been initialized in different disciplines (e.g. climate sciences, zoology, botany) that are addressed in this paper. As a result of these research efforts, the park offers a profound data basis to be used in future studies (e.g. land cover classifications, maps of geological and soil conditions). Detailed information is provided on a climate monitoring network that has been installed in the park starting in the year 1993. The network has been continuously extended over the years and now provides extraordinary comprehensive information on meteorological conditions in the park, setting the basis for current as well as for potential future climate-related studies. A special characteristic of the station network is the fact that it covers a large range of elevations from 600 m a.s.l in the valleys to 2,600 m a.s.l in the summit regions and is therefore able to capture altitudinal gradients in meteorological variables as typical for Alpine regions. Due to the large number of stations in high elevations (15 stations are in elevations higher than 1,500 m a.s.l) the network provides information on the complex hydrometeorological conditions in summit regions which are often insufficiently represented in observation networks due to the increased costs for maintenance of climate stations in these locations. Beside the various monitoring programs, a variety of numerical models have been (further) developed for application in the park area that make extensive use of the different data collected and therefore largely benefit from the comprehensive data pool. The potential and necessity of the climate monitoring network for modelling studies is demonstrated by utilizing the meteorological recordings in the framework of a hydrometeorological simulation experiment. Further examples of environmental modelling efforts are shortly described together with preliminary model results.

Phenological response of grassland species to manipulative snowmelt and drought along an altitudinal gradient.

Plant communities in the European Alps are assumed to be highly affected by climate change, as the temperature rise in this region is above the global average. It is predicted that higher temperatures will lead to advanced snowmelt dates and that the number of extreme weather events will increase. The aims of this study were to determine the impacts of extreme climatic events on flower phenology and to assess whether those impacts differed between lower and higher altitudes. In 2010, an experiment simulating advanced and delayed snowmelt as well as a drought event was conducted along an altitudinal transect approximately every 250 m (600–2000 m above sea level) in the Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany. The study showed that flower phenology was strongly affected by altitude; however, there were few effects of the manipulative treatments on flowering. The effects of advanced snowmelt were significantly greater at higher than at lower sites, but no significant difference was found between both altitudinal bands for the other treatments. The response of flower phenology to temperature declined through the season and the length of flowering duration was not significantly influenced by treatments. The stronger effect of advanced snowmelt at higher altitudes may be a response to differences in treatment intensity across the gradient. Consequently, shifts in the date of snowmelt due to global warming may affect species more at higher than at lower altitudes, as changes may be more pronounced at higher altitudes. These data indicate a rather low risk of drought events on flowering phenology in the Bavarian Alps.