Central European Mountain Range Research Articles

Ambient ozone – New threat to birds in mountain ecosystems?

Mountain ecosystems are inhabited by species with specific characteristics enabling survival at high altitudes, which make them at risk from various pressures. In order to study these pressures, birds represent excellent model organisms due to their high diversity and position at the top of food chains. The pressures upon mountain bird populations include climate change, human disturbance, land abandonment, and air pollution, whose impacts are little understood. Ambient ozone (O3) is one of the most important air pollutants occurring in elevated concentrations in mountain conditions. Although laboratory experiments and indirect course-scale evidence suggest its negative effects on birds, population-level impacts remain unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we analysed a unique 25-years long time series of annual monitoring of bird populations conducted at fixed sites under constant effort in a Central European mountain range, the Giant Mountains, Czechia. We related annual population growth rates of 51 bird species to O3 concentrations measured during the breeding season and hypothesized (i) an overall negative relationship across all species, and (ii) more negative O3 effects at higher altitudes due to increasing O3 concentration along altitudinal gradient. After controlling for the influence of weather conditions on bird population growth rates, we found an indication of the overall negative effect of O3 concentration, but it was insignificant. However, the effect became stronger and significant when we performed a separate analysis of upland species occupying the alpine zone above treeline. In these species, populations growth rates were lower after the years experiencing higher O3 concentration indicating an adverse impact of O3 on bird breeding. This impact corresponds well to O3 behaviour and mountain bird ecology. Our study thus represents the first step towards mechanistic understanding of O3 impacts on animal populations in nature linking the experimental results with indirect indications at the country-level.

First evidence for the forging of gold in an Early Bronze Age Site of Central Europe (2200–1800 BCE)

Evidence of gold processing in the fortified site of Bruszczewo (Poland) is the first testimony of the production of gold artefacts in a domestic Early Bronze Age site of Central Europe. This paper highlights the potential of macrolithic tool ensembles as a key element for the recognition of metallurgical work processes. Moreover, it presents an optimised methodological approach to tackle the application of stone tools in metallurgical production, based on technological characterisation, use-wear analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Finally, the absence of gold sources in Central Europe raises the question about the origin of the metal, constituting an especially striking issue, as gold was a raw material of restricted access. As Bruszczewo was one of the few enclosed Early Bronze Age sites north of the Central European Mountain Range, the patterning of metal processing (including gold) sheds light on the mode of the production of metal artefacts, apparently restricted to central sites of power, which controlled the communication trails.

Population genetic structure and connectivity in three montane freshwater invertebrate species (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Amphipoda) with differing life cycles and dispersal capabilities

Abstract Dispersal abilities and the resulting levels of connectivity between streams influence population structure in aquatic organisms. We investigated how different dispersal and life‐history traits affect gene flow and population structure in three aquatic invertebrate species in a central European mountain range. We used microsatellite markers and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I barcode data to assess small‐scale population structure and connectivity of the mayfly Baetis alpinus, the stonefly Brachyptera seticornis, and the amphipod Gammarus fossarum in seven streams within Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany. Significant population structure within the study area was detected in B. alpinus and G. fossarum, whereas B. seticornis had signatures of panmixia. In G. fossarum, that structure corresponded to stream topography, while in B. alpinus it did not. The Bavarian Forest range appears to be a contact zone for different mitochondrial lineages of B. alpinus and G. fossarum. Limited geneflow between sample sites in B. alpinus can be explained by the species’ short adult lifespans, which restricts dispersal between sites. Since imagines are able to disperse via adult flight population structure is, however, decoupled from stream topology. Longer‐lived B. seticornis is better able to maintain geneflow between sample sites. In flightless G. fossarum, population structure corresponding to stream topology can be explained by limited dispersal capabilities between streams. Dispersal ability alone is insufficient to predict or explain patterns of gene flow and connectivity for individual species, and should be examined together with life‐history traits when assessing population and community structure.

Between the Czech Krkonoše and the German Riesengebirge: Nationalism and Tourism in the Giant Mountains, 1880s–1930s

AbstractThe article deals with Czech and German nationalist discourses and practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as they relate to tourism in the Krkonoše/Riesengebirge, the highest Central European mountain range between the Alps and Scandinavia. It will discuss the discourses developed in relation to mountain tourism and nationalism (metaphors of battlefields, wedges, walls, gates, and bastions), different symbolical cores of mountains, and practices of tourist and nationalist organizations (tourist trails and markings, excursions, the ownership of mountains huts, languages used, memorials, and the construction of roads). It will examine how these discourses and practices changed from the first Czech-German ethnic conflicts in the 1800s until the end of interwar Czechoslovakia. Finally, it will discuss the Czech culture of defeat in the shadow of the Munich Agreement, which meant the occupation of the Giant Mountains by Nazi Germany.

Does dead wood volume affect saproxylic beetles in montane beech-fir forests of Central Europe?

As most European forests are commercially managed for wood production, excluding the disintegration phase of the forest development cycle, a serious decline of numerous species has been observed. The intensity of forest management is critical for biodiversity conservation, especially in regard to saproxylic organisms, as it reduces the abundance of old trees and dead wood. We studied saproxylic beetles in 12 montane beech-fir stands in a Central European mountain range. We used 72 flight interception traps exposed for two vegetation seasons (2012 and 2013) placed at sites characterized by three levels of dead wood volume. In total, 7990 individuals of 287 species belonging to 41 families were collected. Species richness and abundance of both non-threatened and threatened species showed no significant differences among the three studied forest stand categories. Nevertheless, the presence of both non-threatened and threatened species in the studied forest stands was affected by several environmental variables. Large diameter dead wood, dead wood in the last decay stage and dead beech wood close to the traps significantly affected the assemblage of threatened beetles. Canopy openness, thin dead wood in the wider trap surroundings and dead wood in the second and third decay stage in the closer trap surroundings affected the assemblage of non-threatened species.

Extreme geomorphic events in the contemporary evolution of forested slopes in a Central European mountain range, the Sudetes

Forested slopes of the Sudetes have long been implicitly considered as stable under contemporary environmental conditions, with little geomorphic change throughout the Holocene. This view is difficult to sustain and this review-type paper brings together evidence that infrequent but potent surface processes locally cause significant remodelling of slopes and regolith removal or redistribution. These processes are debris flows, shallow and deepseated landslides, episodes of efficient linear water erosion and windthrows. All are triggered by exceptional meteorological events such as heavy rain or strong wind, but additional factors of slope steepness and suitable lithology play a role. Scarce database does not permit to firmly establish recurrence intervals of such events but they seem to occur at least once per decade (within the entire mountain range) for rain-induced phenomena and two-three times per century for wind-induced phenomena.

Population Trends of Central European Montane Birds Provide Evidence for Adverse Impacts of Climate Change on High-Altitude Species.

Climate change is among the most important global threats to biodiversity and mountain areas are supposed to be under especially high pressure. Although recent modelling studies suggest considerable future range contractions of montane species accompanied with increased extinction risk, data allowing to test actual population consequences of the observed climate changes and identifying traits associated to their adverse impacts are very scarce. To fill this knowledge gap, we estimated long-term population trends of montane birds from 1984 to 2011 in a central European mountain range, the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše), where significant warming occurred over this period. We then related the population trends to several species' traits related to the climate change effects. We found that the species breeding in various habitats at higher altitudes had more negative trends than species breeding at lower altitudes. We also found that the species moved upwards as a response to warming climate, and these altitudinal range shifts were associated with more positive population trends at lower altitudes than at higher altitudes. Moreover, long-distance migrants declined more than residents or species migrating for shorter distances. Taken together, these results indicate that the climate change, besides other possible environmental changes, already influences populations of montane birds with particularly adverse impacts on high-altitude species such as water pipit (Anthus spinoletta). It is evident that the alpine species, predicted to undergo serious climatically induced range contractions due to warming climate in the future, already started moving along this trajectory.

The influence of environmental factors and management methods on the vegetation of mesic grasslands in a central European mountain range

We examined how environmental factors combined with the diverse ways of the extensive management of mesic mountain grasslands affect species composition and diversity in the Polish part of Central Sudetes Mts. Based on the data from 100 research plots altitude, organic matter content and exchangeable magnesium in the soil, as well as the maximum soil water capacity and amount of sand fraction significantly affected species composition. Among the management methods, a significant effect on the differentiation of species composition was observed following the cessation of usage and mowing. Mown meadows had the highest share of forbs in the biomass, whereas those abandoned ones were dominated by tall and expansive grasses, mainly Calamagrostis epigejos. The species richest grasslands occurred in areas with soils of high water capacity, containing high concentrations of calcium and low amounts of total nitrogen. No significant effect of management methods on the total number of species as well as on the number of forb species was observed. Mown pastures had the highest mean value of the Shannon–Wiener diversity index.

The role of species’ ecological traits in climatically driven altitudinal range shifts of central European birds

Climate change is one of the most important recent forces modulating the structure of ecological communities worldwide. Although a number of studies have documented climatically induced altitudinal range shifts, with species move upwards with increasing temperature and tracking their climatic optima, an examination of interspecific variability in such altitudinal shifts remains unexplored. Using a unique dataset on the altitudinal distribution of birds in a central European mountain range, collected with constant effort and methodology over more than 20 years, we examined the effects of particular species’ ecological traits on interspecific variability in altitudinal range shifts. We predicted that shifts would be greater in species with narrower European climatic niches, breeding in open habitats, feeding on insects and originally breeding at lower altitudes. Patterns of the shifts differed within the time period studied. In the first decade, no climate change was observed and species did not show any direction in their altitudinal shifts. In the second decade, local spring temperatures increased and species moved to higher altitudes. These altitudinal shifts were related to species’ habitat preferences, with open habitat species shifting to higher altitudes than forest species. The effect of other predictors was relatively small. The habitat effects imply either stronger self‐regulation of the forest microclimate compared to open habitats, with forest species less forced to move upwards, or a delayed shift in the alpine timberline due to the slow growth of trees. In the latter case, forest species would face unfavourable climatic conditions and at the same time be constrained by the limited distribution of their habitat. Our study shows that species’ ecology can considerably alter the actual outcome of the impacts of ongoing climate change in mountain areas.

Blow fly Trypocalliphora braueri parasitism on Meadow Pipit and Bluethroat nestlings in Central Europe

The larvae of blow fly (Trypocalliphora braueri) are known to cause a subcutaneous myiasis in bird nestlings mainly in Nearctic species, while only a few records are available from the Palaearctic. Here, we report on infestations of this insect ectoparasite in two passerine species, Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) and Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica), breeding in the Central European mountain range Krkonose. The infestation of T. braueri parasite was relatively low in studied bird species (3.0% of infested nests in Meadow Pipit and 4.2% in Bluethroat) but varied strongly between years (0–33% of infested nests/year/species). The presence of the parasitic blow fly larvae was apparently controlled by temperature; they were found only during warm summers. The combination of parasite infection and heavy rainfalls in a critical period significantly reduced nestling survival.