Articles | Volume 20, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4259-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4259-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Oct 2023
Research article |
| 18 Oct 2023
| 18 Oct 2023
Above-treeline ecosystems facing drought: lessons from the 2022 European summer heat wave
Philippe Choler
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000 Grenoble, France
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Cited
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Early-successional species show higher tolerance of drought than late-successional species across Europe M. Beloiu Schwenke et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176997
- Key eco-physiological leaf traits suggest a moderate to high level of thermal tolerance of alpine plants in the Western Himalaya N. Hopak & A. Chawla 10.3389/fphgy.2025.1652412
- ORCHAMP: an observation network for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across space and time in mountainous regions W. Thuiller et al. 10.5802/crbiol.165
- Prescribed burning has negligible effects on the plant-soil system in Pinus sylvestris L. forests of the European Alps R. Gamba et al. 10.1038/s41598-025-97239-1
- Drivers of soil organic carbon stocks and stability along elevation gradients N. Bonfanti et al. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117452
- Cushion plants in the Alps are swarming with invertebrate life K. Dumas et al. 10.1007/s00035-025-00335-1
- Remote sensing of vegetation and soil moisture content in Atlantic humid mountains with Sentinel-1 and 2 satellite sensor data A. Monteiro et al. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112123
- Seasonal and diurnal freeze–thaw dynamics of a rock glacier and their impacts on mixing and solute transport C. Louis et al. 10.5194/hess-29-1505-2025
- Colonization and extinction lags drive non‐linear responses to warming in mountain plant communities across the Northern Hemisphere B. Bektaş et al. 10.1111/ecog.07378
- Traits and functions of alpine plant communities respond strongly but not always sufficiently to in situ climate change B. Bektaş et al. 10.1111/nph.70503
- Trends in the annual snow melt-out day over the French Alps and Pyrenees from 38 years of high-resolution satellite data (1986–2023) Z. Barrou Dumont et al. 10.5194/tc-19-2407-2025
- Influence of snow cover and microclimate on soil organic carbon stability in European mountain grasslands N. Bonfanti et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2025.108744
- 19th-century afforestation policies have predisposed mountain slopes to forest expansion under recent climate warming in the southern French Alps A. Bayle et al. 10.1177/03091333251378970
- Elevation-dependent sensitivity of spectral greening to temperature and precipitation in the Western Himalayas M. Macek et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/adc9c7
- Warming and drying increased the interspecies consistency of tree-ring lignin methoxy δ2H variability at the alpine treeline Q. Lu et al. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104468
- Above-treeline ecosystems facing drought: lessons from the 2022 European summer heat wave P. Choler 10.5194/bg-20-4259-2023
15 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Early-successional species show higher tolerance of drought than late-successional species across Europe M. Beloiu Schwenke et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176997
- Key eco-physiological leaf traits suggest a moderate to high level of thermal tolerance of alpine plants in the Western Himalaya N. Hopak & A. Chawla 10.3389/fphgy.2025.1652412
- ORCHAMP: an observation network for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across space and time in mountainous regions W. Thuiller et al. 10.5802/crbiol.165
- Prescribed burning has negligible effects on the plant-soil system in Pinus sylvestris L. forests of the European Alps R. Gamba et al. 10.1038/s41598-025-97239-1
- Drivers of soil organic carbon stocks and stability along elevation gradients N. Bonfanti et al. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117452
- Cushion plants in the Alps are swarming with invertebrate life K. Dumas et al. 10.1007/s00035-025-00335-1
- Remote sensing of vegetation and soil moisture content in Atlantic humid mountains with Sentinel-1 and 2 satellite sensor data A. Monteiro et al. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112123
- Seasonal and diurnal freeze–thaw dynamics of a rock glacier and their impacts on mixing and solute transport C. Louis et al. 10.5194/hess-29-1505-2025
- Colonization and extinction lags drive non‐linear responses to warming in mountain plant communities across the Northern Hemisphere B. Bektaş et al. 10.1111/ecog.07378
- Traits and functions of alpine plant communities respond strongly but not always sufficiently to in situ climate change B. Bektaş et al. 10.1111/nph.70503
- Trends in the annual snow melt-out day over the French Alps and Pyrenees from 38 years of high-resolution satellite data (1986–2023) Z. Barrou Dumont et al. 10.5194/tc-19-2407-2025
- Influence of snow cover and microclimate on soil organic carbon stability in European mountain grasslands N. Bonfanti et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2025.108744
- 19th-century afforestation policies have predisposed mountain slopes to forest expansion under recent climate warming in the southern French Alps A. Bayle et al. 10.1177/03091333251378970
- Elevation-dependent sensitivity of spectral greening to temperature and precipitation in the Western Himalayas M. Macek et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/adc9c7
- Warming and drying increased the interspecies consistency of tree-ring lignin methoxy δ2H variability at the alpine treeline Q. Lu et al. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104468
1 citations as recorded by crossref.
Latest update: 01 Nov 2025
Short summary
The year 2022 was unique in that the summer heat wave and drought led to a widespread reduction in vegetation growth at high elevation in the European Alps. This impact was unprecedented in the southwestern, warm, and dry part of the Alps. Over the last 2 decades, water has become a co-dominant control of vegetation activity in areas that were, so far, primarily controlled by temperature, and the growth of mountain grasslands has become increasingly sensitive to moisture availability.
The year 2022 was unique in that the summer heat wave and drought led to a widespread reduction...
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