---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '22527'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Mountain ecosystems are experiencing rapid warming resulting in ecological
    changes worldwide. Projecting the response of these ecosystems to climate change
    is thus crucial, but also uncertain due to complex interactions between topography,
    climate, and vegetation. Here, we performed numerical simulations in a real and
    a synthetic spatial domain covering a range of contrasting climatic conditions
    and vegetation characteristics representative of the European Alps. Simulations
    were run with the mechanistic ecohydrological model Tethys–Chloris to quantify
    the drivers of ecosystem functioning and to explore the vulnerability of Alpine
    ecosystems to climate change. We correlated the spatial distribution of ecohydrological
    responses with that of meteorological and topographic attributes and computed
    spatially explicit sensitivities of net primary productivity, transpiration, and
    snow cover to air temperature, radiation, and water availability. We also quantified
    how the variance in several ecohydrological processes, such as transpiration,
    quickly diminishes with increasing spatial aggregation, which highlights the importance
    of fine spatial resolution for resolving patterns in complex topographies. We
    conducted controlled numerical experiments in the synthetic domain to disentangle
    the effect of catchment orientation on ecohydrological variables, such as streamflow.
    Our results support previous studies reporting an altitude threshold below which
    Alpine ecosystems are water‐limited in the drier inner‐Alpine valleys and confirm
    that the wetter areas are temperature‐limited. High‐resolution simulations of
    mountainous areas can improve our understanding of ecosystem functioning across
    spatial scales. They can also locate the areas that are the most vulnerable to
    climate change and guide future measurement campaigns.
article_number: e2054
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Theodoros
  full_name: Mastrotheodoros, Theodoros
  last_name: Mastrotheodoros
- first_name: Christoforos
  full_name: Pappas, Christoforos
  last_name: Pappas
- first_name: Peter
  full_name: Molnar, Peter
  last_name: Molnar
- first_name: Paolo
  full_name: Burlando, Paolo
  last_name: Burlando
- first_name: Panagiotis
  full_name: Hadjidoukas, Panagiotis
  last_name: Hadjidoukas
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
citation:
  ama: 'Mastrotheodoros T, Pappas C, Molnar P, Burlando P, Hadjidoukas P, Fatichi
    S. Ecohydrological dynamics in the Alps: Insights from a modelling analysis of
    the spatial variability. <i>Ecohydrology</i>. 2019;12(1). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2054">10.1002/eco.2054</a>'
  apa: 'Mastrotheodoros, T., Pappas, C., Molnar, P., Burlando, P., Hadjidoukas, P.,
    &#38; Fatichi, S. (2019). Ecohydrological dynamics in the Alps: Insights from
    a modelling analysis of the spatial variability. <i>Ecohydrology</i>. Wiley. <a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2054">https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2054</a>'
  chicago: 'Mastrotheodoros, Theodoros, Christoforos Pappas, Peter Molnar, Paolo Burlando,
    Panagiotis Hadjidoukas, and Simone Fatichi. “Ecohydrological Dynamics in the Alps:
    Insights from a Modelling Analysis of the Spatial Variability.” <i>Ecohydrology</i>.
    Wiley, 2019. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2054">https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2054</a>.'
  ieee: 'T. Mastrotheodoros, C. Pappas, P. Molnar, P. Burlando, P. Hadjidoukas, and
    S. Fatichi, “Ecohydrological dynamics in the Alps: Insights from a modelling analysis
    of the spatial variability,” <i>Ecohydrology</i>, vol. 12, no. 1. Wiley, 2019.'
  ista: 'Mastrotheodoros T, Pappas C, Molnar P, Burlando P, Hadjidoukas P, Fatichi
    S. 2019. Ecohydrological dynamics in the Alps: Insights from a modelling analysis
    of the spatial variability. Ecohydrology. 12(1), e2054.'
  mla: 'Mastrotheodoros, Theodoros, et al. “Ecohydrological Dynamics in the Alps:
    Insights from a Modelling Analysis of the Spatial Variability.” <i>Ecohydrology</i>,
    vol. 12, no. 1, e2054, Wiley, 2019, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2054">10.1002/eco.2054</a>.'
  short: T. Mastrotheodoros, C. Pappas, P. Molnar, P. Burlando, P. Hadjidoukas, S.
    Fatichi, Ecohydrology 12 (2019).
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:24Z
date_published: 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-06T07:44:22Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1002/eco.2054
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        12'
issue: '1'
keyword:
- Alpine ecohydrology
- Climate change
- Ecosystem sensitivity
- Numerical modelling
- Spatialheterogeneity
language:
- iso: eng
month: '01'
oa_version: None
publication: Ecohydrology
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1936-0592
  issn:
  - 1936-0584
publication_status: published
publisher: Wiley
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Ecohydrological dynamics in the Alps: Insights from a modelling analysis of
  the spatial variability'
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 12
year: '2019'
...