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Alpine treeline ecotones world wide: fine-scale spatial patterns and environmental controls.

Yuyang Xie1,2, Maaike Y Bader3, Xiao Feng2

  • 1Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.

The New Phytologist
|July 14, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Alpine treeline ecotones exhibit predictable global patterns. Environmental factors like snow and wind influence tree cover distribution, aiding climate change forest expansion predictions.

Keywords:
NothofagusPinusalpine treelinecanopy patch complexitytree boundarytreeline ecotonetreeline formtree‐cover fragmentation

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Biogeography
  • Remote Sensing

Background:

  • Alpine treelines represent the upper limit of tree growth.
  • Treeline ecotones beneath this limit show varied spatial patterns.
  • Global quantification of these patterns and their drivers is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To globally characterize fine-scale treeline-ecotone spatial patterns.
  • To identify environmental drivers of these patterns.
  • To develop a method for predicting forest expansion under climate change.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized very-high-resolution satellite imagery.
  • Applied landscape metrics to describe tree cover distribution.
  • Used principal component analysis to analyze spatial patterns.

Main Results:

  • Tree cover variations are described by patchiness and complexity.
  • Patchy ecotones are linked to high snow, wind, and topographic relief.
  • Genus-specific patterns observed (e.g., Pinus patchier, Nothofagus discrete).

Conclusions:

  • Alpine treeline ecotones display predictable global spatial patterns.
  • These patterns offer insights into ecotone formation and dynamics.
  • The method serves as an indicator for predicting forest expansion with climate change.