Altitudinal vegetation belts in Switzerland for 2085 with less dry future climate

This map shows the altitudinal vegetation belts of forest vegetation in Switzerland for the period 2070-2099 assuming a less dry future climate. The following altitudinal vegetation belts only occur in the southern valleys: «mediterranean», «hyperinsubric», «colline with beech», and «lower/upper montane». The map «Modelled altitudinal vegetation belts for 1995» serves as a basis for the shift of the altitudinal vegetation belts into the future. Among the Representative concentration pathways, RCP 4.5 with the model combination SMHI-RCA_MPIESM_EUR44 was selected as the «less dry» projection (NCCS 2018). This model projects an average warming of 1.8 °C (northern Switzerland) or 2.3 °C (southern Switzerland) and a reduction in precipitation of 4.0% (northern Switzerland) or 0.5% (southern Switzerland) for the months April-August, which are considered most relevant for the climate suitability of trees, compared to the period 1981-2010 (Remund 2020). The natural upper timberline was also modelled using an analogous procedure (Könz et al. 2021). --- Source: Zischg et al. (subm.)