Seed germination traits in alpine grasslands are poorly understood, despite the sensitivity of
these communities to climate change. We hypothesise that germination traits predict species …

For most terrestrial plants, regeneration depends on the ability of seeds to germinate in the
most favourable climatic conditions. Understanding seed germination phenology is thus …

Understanding the key aspects of plant regeneration from seeds is crucial in assessing
species assembly to their habitats. However, the regenerative traits of seed dormancy and …

Mesoscale heterogeneity of alpine landscapes generates snowmelt gradients resulting in a
distinct vegetation zonation from almost snow-free fellfields to long-lasting snowbeds …

Assumptions about the germination ecology of alpine plants are presently based on
individual species and local studies. A current challenge is to synthesise, at the global level …

Ongoing changes in temperature and precipitation regime may have a strong impact on
vulnerable life-history stages such as germination, especially in alpine regions. Differences …

Functional plant traits are used in ecology to explain population dynamics in time and space.
However, because the germination niche is an essential stage in alpine plant life cycles and …

Plant establishment and subsequent persistence are strongly influenced by germination
strategy, especially in temporally and spatially heterogeneous environments. Germination …

Snow cover duration, which depends on winter precipitation and temperature, is decreasing
along several alpine areas around the world as a consequence of the global warming and …

Background and Aims Despite the considerable number of studies on the impacts of climate
change on alpine plants, there have been few attempts to investigate its effect on …