Permanent plots are currently being recognized as valuable tools to monitor long-term effects of environmental changes on vegetation. Often used in short-term studies (3 to 5 years), they are generally abandoned at the end of projects. However, their full potential might only be revealed after 10 or more years, once the location is lost. For instance, the oldest permanent plots in Switzerland, established by Braun-Blanquet in Swiss National Park or by Lüdi along the Altesch Glacier and on the Schynige Platte were almost lost, although they are now very valuable data. For these reasons, the project Permanent.Plot.ch aims to collect and conserve data about vegetation permanent plots in Switzerland.
In complement to plots permanently marked in the field, old phytosociological inventories with precise indications of their location can be valuable tools to monitor vegetation changes.
The project GLORIA (GLobal Observation Research Initiative in Alpine environments) aims to monitor the impact of climate change on alpine vegetation. It is based on a complete set of permanent plots on summits. One of the target regions, monitored for 2001, is in the western Swiss Alps.
Selected recent publications
Liberati L., Messerli S., Matteodo M. & Vittoz, P. (2019). Contrasting impacts of climate change on the vegetation of windy ridges and snowbeds in the Swiss Alps. Alpine Botany 129: 95-105.
Matteodo M., K. Ammann, E. Verrecchia & P. Vittoz (2016). Snowbeds are more affected than other subalpine-alpine plant communities by climate change in the Swiss Alps. Ecology and Evolution 6: 6969-6982.
Matteodo M., Wipf S., Stöckli V., Rixen C. & Vittoz P. (2013). Elevation gradient of successful plant traits for colonizing alpine summits under climate change. Environmental Research Letters 8: 024043.
Nicklas L., Walde J., Wipf S., Lamprecht A., Mallaun M., Rixen C., Steinbauer K., Theurillat J.-P., Unterluggauer P., Vittoz P., Moser D., Gattringer A., Wessely J. & Erschbamer B. (2021). Climate change affects vegetation differently on siliceous and calcareous summits of the European Alps. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9: 642309.
Rion V., J.-D. Gallandat, J.-M. Gobat & P. Vittoz (2018). Recent changes in the plant composition of wetlands in the Jura Mountains. Applied Vegetation Science 21: 121-131.
Scherrer D., S. Massy, S. Meier, P. Vittoz & A. Guisan (2017). Assessing and predicting shifts in mountain forest composition across 25 years of climate change. Diversity and Distributions 23: 517-528.
Winkler M., A. Lamprecht, K. Steinbauer, K. Hülber, J.-P. Theurillat et al. (2016). The rich sides of mountain summits – a pan-European view on aspect preferences of alpine plants. Journal of Biogeography 43: 2261-2273.
A more complete list of publications related to permanent plots can be found on Permanent.Plot.ch