Monitoring and research on succession in glacier forefields of the Northern Limestone Alps

Glaciers have retreated since the maximum extent of the “Little Ice Age” around c. 1850. The barren forefields provide a unique opportunity to study the development of an emerging ecosystem from its early stages to better understand successional mechanisms, community assembly and underlying filtering processes. While previous studies have primarily focused on the Central Alps, there remains a knowledge gap regarding succession for the forefields in the Northern Limestone Alps. The aim of this new monitoring platform is to gain a more comprehensive understanding of vegetation dynamics in the context of ecosystem succession in glacier forefields of this region. To this end, the chronosequence approach is applied across four glacier forefields, namely Hallstätter Glacier, Great Gosau Glacier (both in Dachstein mountains, Austria), Watzmann Glacier and Blaueis (both in Berchtesgaden Alps, Germany). Integrated, interdisciplinary methods are used for long-term monitoring and assessment of succession processes. From Vegetation monitoring which follows GLORIA guidelines, selected trait measurements, analysis of ancient DNA pools in ice lake sediments, abiotic site characterization including temperature recording and substrate sampling, to remote sensing methods we want to provide a whole picture of this dynamic environment. First results shows that species richness, abundance increase with age. However, these trends occur at a much slower rate than observed in the Central Alps. Initial trait analyses based on database entries revealed only a few clear patterns along the age gradient. In-depth analyses using trait field measurements are still underway. Additionally, environmental parameters seem to play a role in shaping succession, indicating that abiotic factors may significantly influence the pace and pattern of ecosystem development in the glacier forefields of the Northern Limestone Alps.