Scotland has over 90 percent of the UK's montane (alpine) habitat. These areas contain important populations of relic arctic, alpine and endemic plants, which also support important bird populations, all of which are of high conservation value. Within these areas, natural zonation of vegetation can be seen at different altitudes. This zonation is largely due the effects of temperature and winter wind speed (which influences snow lie and therefore exposure to low temperatures and wind abrasion). It is therefore possible that plant communities in mountain areas will be sensitive to the effects of long term climatic change.
There is increasing evidence that the global climate is changing, with a global temperature rise of about 0.6 degrees centigrade over the last 100 years. Much of this change has been attributed to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), produced by human activities. A number of models has been developed to predict possible climate change scenarios according to relative levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The most recent predictions suggest that the average annual temperature in the Scottish Highlands will increase by between one degree gentigrade and two degrees centigrade by 2050. If the predicted temperature increase occurs, it could result in pressure for an upward altitudinal shift of vegetation zones by 100 to 200 metres, as altitudinal zonation is partly temperature driven. What are the potential effects of climate change on Scottish montane plant communities?
To try and tackle this question the author has come up with three experiments: a chamber experiment, a transplant experiment, and a seed trapping experiment
