title: Changes in vegetation cover and composition in the Swedish mountain region.
abstract: Climate change, higher levels of natural resource demands, and changing land use will likely lead to changes in vegetation configuration in the mountain regions. The aim of this study was to determine if the vegetation cover and composition have changed in the Swedish region of the Scandinavian Mountain Range, based on data from the long-term landscape biodiversity monitoring program NILS (National Inventory of Landscapes in Sweden). Habitat type and vegetation cover were assessed in 1740 systematically distributed permanent field plots grouped into 145 sample units across the mountain range. Horvitz-Thompson estimations were used to estimate the present areal extension of the alpine and the mountain birch forest areas of the mountain range, the cover of trees, shrubs, and plants, and the composition of the bottom layer vegetation. We employed the data from two subsequent 5-year monitoring periods, 2003-2007 and 2008-2012, to determine if there have been any changes in these characteristics. We found that the extension of the alpine and the mountain birch forest areas has not changed between the inventory phases. However, the total tree canopy cover increased in the alpine area, the cover of graminoids and dwarf shrubs and the total cover of field vegetation increased in both the alpine area and the mountain birch forest, the bryophytes decreased in the alpine area, and the foliose lichens decreased in the mountain birch forest. The observed changes in vegetation cover and composition, as assessed by systematic data in a national and regional monitoring scheme, can validate the results of local studies, experimental studies, and models. Through benchmark assessments, monitoring data also contributes to governmental policies and land-management strategies as well as to directed cause and effect analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden. henrik.hedenas@slu.se.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5838-9942
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hedenås
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pernilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Svensson
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D029662:Betula / Q000254:growth & development*; D044822:Biodiversity; D057231:Climate Change; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D065928:Forests; D013548:Sweden; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: Alpine vegetation; Climate change; Land use; Monitoring; Mountain birch forest; Vegetation change