71 research outputs found
The impact of ski slope reconstruction : an approach by means of soil function evaluation
No full textThe popularity of alpine skiing is still increasing in the Alps. Consequently, the demand for bigger ski resorts and for broad and levelled ski slopes is rising, too. The reconstruction of entire slopes has become normality in many regions. As a result, the soil structure is strongly influenced and new vegetation needs to be sown often followed by enhanced erosion. Hence, it is reasonable to ask to what extent those construction measures impact on the affected soils and its role within the ecosystem.
Therefore, soil pit information along transects from the subalpine to the alpine zone in four ski resorts in the Aosta valley was collected. Per site, one profile on the ski slope and a reference profile next to the ski slope were analysed. By means of soil function evaluation, it was tried to assess the effects of ski slope reconstruction on soils and thus, their functionality. The soil function evaluation was performed with the tool SEPP (Soil Evaluation for Planning Procedures), which was developed by the Department of Geography at the University of Innsbruck and firstly introduced by Gruber et al. (2019).
According to the calculations, most soil functions are not significantly lowered but stay similar or are even enhanced by creating a ski slope, which are quite unexpected results. Ski slopes provide a better habitat for drought-tolerant species and their ability to reduce surface runoff is enhanced. A clear impairment of function fulfilment is observed regarding carbon storage.
In addition to the presentation of methods, study area and results, two central questions will be discussed: Where are the limitations of the SEPP tool, which is based on methods that were developed for non-mountainous areas, and how could it be adapted to better reflect properties and functionality of high mountain soils?
Gruber, Fabian; Schaber, Elisabeth; Baruck, Jasmin; Geitner, Clemens (2019): How and to What Extent Does
Topography Control the Results of Soil Function Assessment. A Case Study From the Alps in South Tyrol (Italy). In Soil
Syst. 3 (1), p. 18. DOI: 10.3390/soilsystems3010018
sj-docx-1-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 – Supplemental material for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive by Marcel Lerch, Marika Stutzriemer, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Melissa Sehrt, Nina Feistmantl, Benjamin Dietre, Werner Kofler, Morena Boysen, Gary Salazar, Sönke Szidat, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser and Michael Zech in The Holocene</p
sj-xlsx-5-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 – Supplemental material for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive
No full textSupplemental material, sj-xlsx-5-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive by Marcel Lerch, Marika Stutzriemer, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Melissa Sehrt, Nina Feistmantl, Benjamin Dietre, Werner Kofler, Morena Boysen, Gary Salazar, Sönke Szidat, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser and Michael Zech in The Holocene</p
sj-png-6-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 – Supplemental material for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive
No full textSupplemental material, sj-png-6-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive by Marcel Lerch, Marika Stutzriemer, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Melissa Sehrt, Nina Feistmantl, Benjamin Dietre, Werner Kofler, Morena Boysen, Gary Salazar, Sönke Szidat, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser and Michael Zech in The Holocene</p
sj-xlsx-4-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 – Supplemental material for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive
No full textSupplemental material, sj-xlsx-4-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive by Marcel Lerch, Marika Stutzriemer, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Melissa Sehrt, Nina Feistmantl, Benjamin Dietre, Werner Kofler, Morena Boysen, Gary Salazar, Sönke Szidat, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser and Michael Zech in The Holocene</p
sj-xlsx-3-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 – Supplemental material for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive
No full textSupplemental material, sj-xlsx-3-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive by Marcel Lerch, Marika Stutzriemer, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Melissa Sehrt, Nina Feistmantl, Benjamin Dietre, Werner Kofler, Morena Boysen, Gary Salazar, Sönke Szidat, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser and Michael Zech in The Holocene</p
sj-xlsx-2-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 – Supplemental material for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive
No full textSupplemental material, sj-xlsx-2-hol-10.1177_09596836231176485 for Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive by Marcel Lerch, Marika Stutzriemer, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Melissa Sehrt, Nina Feistmantl, Benjamin Dietre, Werner Kofler, Morena Boysen, Gary Salazar, Sönke Szidat, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser and Michael Zech in The Holocene</p
Soil function assessment in high-mountain environments : Testing the SEPP tool in a ski resort in the Italian Alps
No full textSoil function assessment (SFA) plays an important role in evaluating the impact of management practices, land- use changes and construction work. The Soil Evaluation for Planning Procedures (SEPP) tool is one of the few existing SFA tools that allow automated SFA. It was originally developed to address land- use planning issues, which traditionally play a minor role in high- mountain areas. Hence, the SEPP tool has not yet been applied to such environments. In this study, we tested the SEPP performance on high- mountain soils previously altered by construction work and land- use changes. Specifically, we evaluated soil data from 16 ski runs and 16 paired control sites in the Italian Alps, aiming to reflect land- use- driven differences in soil properties in the SFA results. The study re-vealed options to adapt SEPP assessment methods if high- mountain soils with special characteristics (e.g. shallowness or high coarse fragment content) are in-vestigated. The main adaptation options are the consideration of further soil pa-rameters and the adjustment of thresholds of function fulfilment levels. However, the assessment results of the current SEPP version already reflect the most rel-evant impacts of ski run construction on the soils in the study area: fulfilment of some of the soil functions was impaired and that of others improved, while most remained at a comparable level. We conclude that SFA with the SEPP tool pro-vides valuable support for the evaluation of construction projects and land- use change in high- mountain environments. However, the significance of SFA can be improved by considering the intrinsic properties of high- mountain soils
Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps
No full textEcosystem services (ES) are considered the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems sustain and fulfil human life. In the decision making process related to the natural resources management, two key-aspects must be taken into account: the economic value of the benefits provided by ES (provisioning, regulating and cultural services) and the spatial distribution of these benefits. The purpose of the paper is to develop a method aimed to capture the economic value of the benefits provided by ES, in order to support the decision makers in the natural resources management. ES are not homogeneous across landscapes nor in space. Consequently, gaining knowledge on the spatial distribution of the economic relevance of ES is a fundamental information to target management actions. This method was tested in a case study in the Austrian Alps (Leiblachtal area in Vorarlberg region), characterized by a high importance of forests and grasslands. The results show that the highest economic values could be achieved for the provisioning services with a range between 200 €/ha year and 1,400€/ha year. The regulating services have also important economic values, but strongly localized in specific areas (i.e. protective forests against natural hazards). The economic values of the cultural services are influenced by the preferences of tourists and varies between 5 €/ha year to 60 €/ha year. The method allowed us to reveal the spatial heterogeneity of provisioning, regulating and cultural ES, depending on the ecological characteristics of the site.</p
Renewable energies and ecosystem service impacts - a review focused on the alpine area.
No full textExpansion of renewable energies (=RE) is a key measure in climate change mitigation. For this expansion mountainous areas are regarded as specifically suitable because of their high-energy potential. However, mountains also are biodiversity hot-spots and provide scenic landscapes and therefore offer high natural and cultural value. Preserving this natural and cultural value whilst intensifying RE, is expected to increase land use conflicts. This is of great concern in particular for vulnerable areas such as the Alps. Reconciling RE expansion with the preservation of natural and cultural values and thus minimizing environmental impacts represents one of the most important challenges now. For this a systematic assessment of the wide range of impacts is needed. This literature review scrutinizes RE resources which are relevant in the Alpine region and their effects on the environment by applying the Ecosystem Service approach. Thereby, we identified possible environmental constraints when exploiting Alpine RE potentials and generated recommendations for future strategies on expanding RE. The outcomes highlight the strong need for interdisciplinary research on RE and environmental conflicts. Interdisciplinary approaches such as the concept of Ecosystem Services can help to cover the wide range of aspects associated with these particular human–environment interrelations
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