Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/ Ecospherearrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
Ecosphere
Article . 2025 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
Data sources: Crossref
ETH Zürich Research Collection
Article . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

Evaluating floral resource availability in mountain habitats

Authors: Aji John; Mikko Tiusanen; Sarah K. Richman; Jake M. Alexander; Janneke Hille Ris Lambers;

Evaluating floral resource availability in mountain habitats

Abstract

Abstract Climate‐driven phenological mismatches have the potential to disrupt plant–pollinator interactions, emphasizing the need to uncover drivers behind spatial and temporal dynamics of floral resource availability. This is especially important in habitats such as mountain meadows, where climate change is not only likely to have outsized impacts, but topographic complexity creates a mosaic of microclimate and habitat heterogeneity. We investigated the impacts of elevation, canopy cover, and their interaction on the temporal availability of floral resources by deploying 35 trail cameras in open and forested habitats below and near the tree line in the Swiss Alps. We hypothesized that tree cover would lower species richness and floral abundance, especially at high elevations where low light might interact with harsh climates. However, we also hypothesized that a mosaic of open and forested habitats at any elevation may offer temporal benefits to pollinators by extending the flowering season and potentially providing complementary flower resources during critical life history phases. We applied machine learning approaches to images to extract first and last flowering dates, overall flowering duration, and flowering species richness, and then tested how these flowering metrics varied by site (low vs. high) and canopy categories (open vs. closed) and their interactions. We also explored temporal changes in species richness and the individual flowering phenology of the most abundant species. We found that canopy cover extended the entire flowering period while higher elevations shortened it, with both factors delaying the start of the flowering season. Flowering species richness was highest at the tree line, and floral abundance increased at and above the tree line relative to lower elevations. These results highlight the complex interactions between habitat structure and elevation in influencing flowering phenology and flower resource diversity. Understory wildflowers emerge as a potentially complementary resource for pollinators in mountain ecosystems, potentially benefiting them during the early season. This work also highlights the benefit of combining machine learning technologies with automated image capture (in our case, wildlife cameras) that allowed us to quantify phenology at an extremely fine temporal scale.

Related Organizations
Keywords

flowering phenology, elevation gradients, species detection, species diversity, alpine ecosystems, computer vision

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
gold