• The Center for Research on Altitude Ecosystems (CREA) based in Chamonix is ​​looking for volunteers.

  • Their mission: to observe the flowering of trees and mountain plants in order to be able to compare their evolution from one year to the next.

  • The data will be used to scientifically study the effects of climate change in low and high mountains.

In half a century, or maybe less, will mountain landscapes look the same as those we traditionally know? Climate change could very well reshuffle the cards. A recent study carried out by around thirty scientists has shown that a month of snow cover has been lost in the Alps at low and medium altitude, in the space of 50 years. What will happen to plant or tree species, nestled in mountain ranges and subject to now much milder temperatures? Are they able to adapt or are they doomed to disappear in the long term?

To answer all these questions, CREA Mont-Blanc, the Center for Research on Altitude Ecosystems, based in Chamonix, launched 17 years ago a participatory program called Phénoclim which consists of recruiting volunteers to observe the phenology of trees and plants in mountain areas.

Historically early springs in 2017 and 2020

Thirteen species were chosen: hazel, lilac, primrose (cuckoo), coltsfoot, larch, spruce, Scots pine, fir, beech, ash and two kinds of birch.

“It's about watching when they flower, when the buds open and when the leaves twist.

This makes it possible to compare from year to year ", explains Colin Van Reeth, ecologist at CREA, specifying that the years 2017 and 2020 were marked by a particularly early spring in the Alps," in advance of 6 to 10 days ".

"We are already seeing trends after 18 years"

All observations will then be scientifically analyzed. “This will make it possible to understand why such and such a species is marked by a precocity of spring or not, specifies the researcher. This will also make it possible to observe whether the offset is the same in the Alps and the Pyrenees, if it is similar in low and high mountains. Ultimately, we should be able to know the areas where certain species will still be present in the future ”. And identify those which unfortunately have not been able to adapt.

“We often say that we have to have 30 years of hindsight to take note of the consequences of climate change, but we are already seeing trends after 18 years,” he continues.

The Phenoclim participatory program has been launched in around fifty departments in mountain areas.

Registrations are made on the phenoclim.org/fr website.

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  • Alps

  • Climate change

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