Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction: What is alpine? -- 2 High mountains in latitude life zones: a worldwide perspective -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Arctic mountains -- 2.3 Boreal mountain regions -- 2.4 Temperate regions -- 2.5 Subtropical mountains -- 2.6 Tropical regions -- 3 Elevation gradients -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Climate and elevation -- 3.3 Elevation pattern in weathering and soils -- 3.4 Elevation and vegetation zonation -- 3.5 Species richness in relation to elevation -- 3.6 Invertebrates -- 3.7 Vertebrates -- 3.8 Geography and vegetation altitude boundary shifts -- 3.9 Conclusions -- 4 The alpine environment: energy and climate -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The atmosphere-surface system -- 4.3 Other atmospheric physical and chemical factors related to climate -- 4.4 Relief energy in alpine landscapes -- 4.5 Alpine zone climates -- 4.6 Conclusions -- 5 Habitat creating factors: landforms, hydrology, and soils -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Landforms -- 5.3 Hydrological characteristics of alpine landscapes -- 5.4 Soils -- 5.5 Nutrient budgets: the atmosphere-plant-soil system -- 5.6 Climatic seasonality and plant available soil nutrients -- 5.7 Nutrient limitation in alpine ecosystems? -- 5.8 Conclusions -- 6 Alpine terrestrial habitats and community types/assemblages -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Arctic alpine habitats and community types -- 6.3 Boreal zone mountains: dwarf-shrub heaths -- 6.4 Temperate mountains: sedge heaths -- 6.5 The interface between temperate and subtropical mountains: the Himalayas -- 6.6 Subtropical sclerophyllous forest zone -- 6.7 Aseasonal tropical alpine habitats -- 6.8 Seasonal tropical alpine environments -- 6.9 Conclusions -- 7 Biogeography, adaptation, and evolution of alpine organisms -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 The backdrop: orogenesis and past climatic changes.

7.3 The biogeography of regions -- 7.4 Species richness and the applicability of the theory of island biogeography to the alpine zone mountains -- 7.5 Adaptation, survival, and evolution of alpine organisms -- 7.6 Conclusions -- 8 Temporal and spatial dynamics -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Alpine primary succession -- 8.3 The case of glacier forelands -- 8.4 Secondary succession -- 8.5 Post-succession vascular plant establishment, growth, and dynamics -- 8.6 The role of extraneous drivers -- 8.7 Conclusions -- 9 Global change impacts on alpine habitats: climate and nitrogen deposition -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 The environment and its change in space and time -- 9.3 Climatic drivers: forecasts and scenarios of future climate changes -- 10 Land use and conservation of alpine landscapes, ecosystems, and species -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Land use from a brief historic perspective -- 10.3 Conservation of alpine landscapes and habitats -- 10.4 Conclusions -- 11 Concluding remarks -- References -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.