Abstract
The findings presented in this book represent a holistic perspective on the structure and function of a high elevation glacial flood plain in the Swiss Alps, encompassing landscape features and their history, physical and chemical characteristics of surface waters and ground waters, aquatic and terrestrial flora, benthic and hyporheic biota, and mechanistic studies of ecosystem function (Fig. 1). The results demonstrate the inherent dynamic complexity of alpine glacial flood plains, a level of complexity typically attributed to their low elevation counterparts. An important finding was how sensitive these systems are to changes in environmental conditions, thus making them key indicators for assessing landscape transformation resulting from changes in climate or human demographics. Glacier retreat has accelerated globally, increasing the probability that fundamental ecological changes will occur in alpine environments, in particular those with alluvial flood plains and complex channel networks. As the glacial influence diminishes over time, expected changes in water sources and hydrologic regime will certainly affect the distribution and abundance of organisms and the resulting functional characteristics of alpine flood plains. This chapter synthesizes our current understanding of the Val Roseg and presents some perspectives that we believe are generally applicable to these spatio-temporally complex and dynamic ecosystems.
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Robinson, C.T., Burgherr, P., Malard, F., Tockner, K., Uehlinger, U. (2003). Synthesis and Perspectives. In: Ward, J.V., Uehlinger, U. (eds) Ecology of a Glacial Flood Plain. Aquatic Ecology Series, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0181-5_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0181-5_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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