Introduction
Alpine and Subalpine Areas Are Valuable for Studying Climate Responses
The alpine zone contains low-statured, non-arboreal vegetation that is distinct from lower-elevation, subalpine vegetation, such as forests and occasionally shrub or grasslands. The highest elevations that vascular seed plants occur at are above 6,000 m in the Himalayas to near 3,000 m lower in high-latitude, maritime-influenced mountains such as in New Zealand to much lower elevations nearer to polar latitudes having arctic influences. Much of the area within a particular alpine area may be unvegetated, particularly at the higher elevations or more exposed sites. Ground cover may consist of bare rock or soil and with occasional herbs or dwarf shrubs nestled into features that collect snow. Although alpine areas comprise only about 3 % of the land on earth, they are distributed across nearly all latitudes and are highly appreciated for a range of values and ecosystem services they provide to humans. As...
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Germino, M.J. (2014). Plants in Alpine Environments. In: Monson, R. (eds) Ecology and the Environment. The Plant Sciences, vol 8. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7501-9_12
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