showing evidence of a change in climate and by limited options for intervention,
alpine plants are very likely to become a disadvantaged category.
However, the reduction of the non-climatic stress such as grazing (extension in
time, diversity of livestock, livestock overload), motorised tourism and the development of the tourism infrastructure, can be an alternative measure to buffer as
much as possible the impact that climate change has or might have on the alpine
plants and habitats from Bucegi Natural Park.
According to Theurillat and Guisan (2001), the perpetuation of traditional landuse, without intensification can be considered a key factor to offset climate change
over the following decades, especially for extensively used ecosystems such as
subalpine and alpine grasslands.
17.6 Conclusions
Significant climate change pressures such as increasing temperatures, decreasing
precipitation, seasonal changes and extreme phenomena, affect the habitats of the
Bucegi Natural Park and we can expect the loss of those plants which will no longer
have adequate conditions for survival and a gradual change of their habitats. The
analyses of the structure of the plant communities and of their ecological spectrum
offer some indication of the potential future tendencies in the habitats’ changes. In
this regard, the selected Natura 2000 habitat type 6150, well represented in the
Carpathian Mountains, populated by plant species strongly depending on low
temperatures and the presence of snow can be considered as potentially vulnerable.
A way to buffer as much as possible the effects of climate change on alpine
habitats, could be linked to efforts to decrease or limit the impact of human
activities, thus avoiding, or at least diminishing, the cumulative effects of climatic
and non-climatic stress.
Acknowledgements The presented activities and results were developed in the framework of the
HABIT-CHANGE project: Adaptive management of climate induced changes of habitats diversity
in protected areas, implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by
the ERDF.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Administrat ¸ia Parcului Natural Bucegi. (2011). Plan management. Retrieved June 12, 2012, from
www.bucegipark.ro
Andrade, P. A., Herrera, F. B., & Cazzola, G. R. (Eds.). (2010). Building resilience to climate
change: Ecosystem-based adaptation and lessons from the field. Gland: IUCN.
17 Potential Impact of Climate Change on Alpine Habitats. . .
265
alpine plants are very likely to become a disadvantaged category.
However, the reduction of the non-climatic stress such as grazing (extension in
time, diversity of livestock, livestock overload), motorised tourism and the development of the tourism infrastructure, can be an alternative measure to buffer as
much as possible the impact that climate change has or might have on the alpine
plants and habitats from Bucegi Natural Park.
According to Theurillat and Guisan (2001), the perpetuation of traditional landuse, without intensification can be considered a key factor to offset climate change
over the following decades, especially for extensively used ecosystems such as
subalpine and alpine grasslands.
17.6 Conclusions
Significant climate change pressures such as increasing temperatures, decreasing
precipitation, seasonal changes and extreme phenomena, affect the habitats of the
Bucegi Natural Park and we can expect the loss of those plants which will no longer
have adequate conditions for survival and a gradual change of their habitats. The
analyses of the structure of the plant communities and of their ecological spectrum
offer some indication of the potential future tendencies in the habitats’ changes. In
this regard, the selected Natura 2000 habitat type 6150, well represented in the
Carpathian Mountains, populated by plant species strongly depending on low
temperatures and the presence of snow can be considered as potentially vulnerable.
A way to buffer as much as possible the effects of climate change on alpine
habitats, could be linked to efforts to decrease or limit the impact of human
activities, thus avoiding, or at least diminishing, the cumulative effects of climatic
and non-climatic stress.
Acknowledgements The presented activities and results were developed in the framework of the
HABIT-CHANGE project: Adaptive management of climate induced changes of habitats diversity
in protected areas, implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by
the ERDF.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Administrat ¸ia Parcului Natural Bucegi. (2011). Plan management. Retrieved June 12, 2012, from
www.bucegipark.ro
Andrade, P. A., Herrera, F. B., & Cazzola, G. R. (Eds.). (2010). Building resilience to climate
change: Ecosystem-based adaptation and lessons from the field. Gland: IUCN.
17 Potential Impact of Climate Change on Alpine Habitats. . .
265