DOLOMITES - Annexes 2-8 - Provincia di Udine

NOMINATION OF THE DOLOMITES FOR INSCRIPTION ON THE WORLD NATURAL HERITAGE LIST UNESCO
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tween each. This is one of the main reasons for which some Universities and other research institutes
have placed their laboratories and permanent monitoring stations in the Dolomites. Many of these
study show that the high-altitude ecosystems (micro-thermal grasslands and forests), are particularly
sensitive to environmental change. Climate change and the direct and indirect effects of human activity,
in fact, are shown as having a strong negative impact on their structure and functioning. For
that matter, the effects of environmental change seem to cause damage, to a greater or lesser extent,
according to the level of the timberline. In the Tyrol, the area that has suffered the worst impact of
such changes is that of the northern calcareous Alps, whereas on the south-facing mountains and
particularly in the Dolomites areas, the timberline shows no marked symptoms of deterioration as
yet. In some sectors, on the contrary, a progressive upward movement of the forests can be observed,
which are taking over large areas of the secondary grasslands, presumably re-gaining their former altitude
limit. In this sense, the Dolomites area, as a whole, is a spectacular laboratory for the study of
the re-evolution of arboreal ecosystems, processes in which other collateral processes are visibly triggered
off, linked to variations in temperature (perceptible also on a planetary scale) and in rainfall
and soil hydration in the summer, due to the increase of intense phenomena in the summer and the
reduced snowfall in the winter. The conspicuous pedologic variability (effusive or sedimentary) connected
to the more superficial matrices enriches the composite framework of the re-evolving systems
and adds an important and interesting element of complexity to both the interpretation of the phenomena
in progress and to the changing vegetal landscape, especially at the higher altitudes. Georg
Grabherr, of Vienna University, reports that at high altitudes many more plant species can now be
found than in the past. He ascribes this fact to the increased altitude of the timber and vegetation
lines, a process which is proceeding, according to each case, at a rate of between 2-4 and 20-30 meters
every decade.
The never-ending battle of stones and grass constantly climbing up the scree, covered by new rockslides.
The contrast between the whiteness of the shattered rock and the pale green of the vegetation is one of the most spectacular sights