Climb Every Mountain: Mountaintop floras across Europe appear to be responding to climatic change in terms of upslope species range shifts.
Pauli
et al. (p. 353 ) systematically analyzed data gathered from standardized permanent plots on 66 high-mountain environments across Europe. On average, mountaintop species numbers have increased significantly during the last decade. However, this increase is a net effect of gains and losses, with losses particularly affecting mountains of Mediterranean regions and their endemic species. This turnover is largely consistent with model predictions and indicates that high-altitude species, and in particular the rich endemic alpine flora of many Mediterranean mountain ranges, will come under increasing pressure in the predicted warmer and drier climates in this region.