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Small-scale effects of historical land use and topography on post-cultural tree species composition in an Alpine valley in southern Switzerland

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Abstract

Investigations of spatial patterns in forest tree species composition are essential in the understanding of landscape dynamics, especially in areas of land-use change. The specific environmental factors controlling the present patterns, however, vary with the scale of observation. In this study we estimated abundance of adult trees and tree regeneration in a Southern Alpine valley in Ticino, Switzerland. We hypothesized that, at the present scale, spatial pattern of post-cultural tree species does not primarily depend on topographic features but responds instead to small-scale variation in historical land use. We used multivariate regression trees to relate species abundances to environmental variables. Species matrices were comprised of single tree species abundance as well as species groups. Groups were formed according to common ecological species requirements with respect to shade tolerance, soil moisture and soil nutrients. Though species variance could only be partially explained, a clear ranking in the relative importance of environmental variables emerged. Tree basal area of formerly cultivated Castanea sativa (Mill.) was the most important factor accounting for up to 50% of species’ variation. Influence of topographic attributes was minor, restricted to profile curvature, and partly contradictory in response. Our results suggest the importance of biotic factors and soil properties for small-scale variation in tree species composition and need for further investigations in the study area on the ecological requirements of tree species in the early growing stage.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) grant for Sina Muster. We thank Jan Strohschein and Merja Spott for their help with data collection and Patrick Fonti for his help with tree ring analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geoecology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Sina Muster & Helmut Elsenbeer

  2. Siemensstr. 24, Potsdam, 14482, Germany

    Sina Muster

  3. Postfach 601553, 14415, Potsdam, Germany

    Helmut Elsenbeer

  4. Research Unit Ecosystem Boundaries, WSL Swiss Federal Institute, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Marco Conedera

  5. via Belsoggiorno 22, Bellinzona, 6500, Switzerland

    Marco Conedera

Authors
  1. Sina Muster
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  2. Helmut Elsenbeer
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  3. Marco Conedera
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Correspondence to Sina Muster.

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Muster, S., Elsenbeer, H. & Conedera, M. Small-scale effects of historical land use and topography on post-cultural tree species composition in an Alpine valley in southern Switzerland. Landscape Ecol 22, 1187–1199 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-007-9099-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-007-9099-1

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