Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

The perspective of Arctic-Alpine species in southernmost localities: Kalmia procumbens example in the Pyrenees and Carpathians

Łukasz Walas
ORCID logo ,
Marcin Pietras
ORCID logo ,
Małgorzata Mazur
ORCID logo ,
Ángel Romo
,
Lydia Tasenkevich
,
Yakiv Didukh
,
Adam Boratyński
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 11 August 2023 / Approved: 11 August 2023 / Online: 11 August 2023 (12:08:10 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Walas, Ł.; Pietras, M.; Mazur, M.; Romo, Á.; Tasenkevich, L.; Didukh, Y.; Boratyński, A. The Perspective of Arctic–Alpine Species in Southernmost Localities: The Example of Kalmia procumbens in the Pyrenees and Carpathians. Plants 2023, 12, 3399. Walas, Ł.; Pietras, M.; Mazur, M.; Romo, Á.; Tasenkevich, L.; Didukh, Y.; Boratyński, A. The Perspective of Arctic–Alpine Species in Southernmost Localities: The Example of Kalmia procumbens in the Pyrenees and Carpathians. Plants 2023, 12, 3399.

Abstract

The high-mountain and arctic plants are considered especially sensitive to the climate changes because of close adaptations to the cold environment. Kalmia procumbens, the typical arctic-alpine species reaches southernmost European localities in the Pyrenees and Carpathians. The aim of the study was the assessment and comparison of K. procumbens current potential niche areas in the Pyrenees and Carpathians and their possible reduction due to climate change, depending on the scenario. Realized niches of K. procumbens in the Pyrenees are compact while in the Carpathians dispersed. In both mountain chains, the species occurs in the alpine and subalpine vegetation belts, going down to elevations of about 1500-1600 m, while the most elevated localities in the Pyrenees are at ca 3000 m, about 500 m higher than in the Carpathians. The localities of K. procumbens in the Carpathians have a more continental climate than in the Pyrenees, with lower precipitation and temperatures but higher seasonality of temperature and of precipitation. The species covered a larger area of geographic distribution during Last Glacial, and reduced area during mid Holocene. Due to the climate warming, the strong reduction of potential area of occurrence to 2100 is expected in the Carpathians and moderate reduction in in the Pyrenees.

Keywords

biogeography; climate change; ecological niche modeling; geographic range; relict plant

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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