Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Science
Rising plant extinction rates on European mountain summits
Abstract
Climate change increases plant species richness in alpine ecosystems. However, to what extent this diversity enrichment masks extinction dynamics of resident species remains elusive. In this study, we used floristic resurvey data from 896 permanent vegetation plots across 62 European mountain summits to show that local extinctions have increased over the past 21 years. Extinction rates rose with the magnitude of warming, and species were more likely to go extinct toward their low-elevation range margins and in communities undergoing stronger thermophilization. Moreover, local extinctions were significantly related to preceding abundance declines, which can serve as an early warning signal. These findings suggest that despite increasing plant species richness, plant assemblages above the treeline face an accelerating but so far neglected loss of their most characteristic species.
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BibTeX
@article{wessely2026rising,
title = {{Rising plant extinction rates on European mountain summits}},
author = {Johannes Wessely and Kryštof Chytrý and Andreas Gattringer and Johannes Hausharter and Norbert Helm and Karl Hülber and Dietmar Moser and Otar Abdaladze and Christopher Andrews and Elena Barni and Debora Barolin and José-Luis Benito-Alonso and Raphael von Büren and Michele Carbognani and Pau Carnicero and Valter Di Cecco and Philippe Choler and Jan Dick and Rosa Fernández-Calzado and Pieter de Frenne and Mary Carolina García Lino and Dany Ghosn and Khatuna Gigauri and Bente Graae and Andreas Hilpold and Juan Jiménez and Katharina Kagerl and Róbert Kanka and Jozef Kollár and Andrea Lamprecht and Jonas Lembrechts and Jonathan Lenoir and Juan Lorite and Panagiotis Nyktas and Mihai Pușcaș and Christophe Randin and Christian Rixen and Graziano Rossi and Patrick Saccone and Tudor Mihai Ursu and Thomas Vanneste and Marco Varricchione and Pascal Vittoz and Manuela Winkler and Sonja Wipf and Harald Pauli and Stefan Dullinger},
journal = {Science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1126/science.aed2974},
url = {https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-05740488v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Rising plant extinction rates on European mountain summits
AU - Johannes Wessely
AU - Kryštof Chytrý
AU - Andreas Gattringer
AU - Johannes Hausharter
AU - Norbert Helm
AU - Karl Hülber
AU - Dietmar Moser
AU - Otar Abdaladze
AU - Christopher Andrews
AU - Elena Barni
AU - Debora Barolin
AU - José-Luis Benito-Alonso
AU - Raphael von Büren
AU - Michele Carbognani
AU - Pau Carnicero
AU - Valter Di Cecco
AU - Philippe Choler
AU - Jan Dick
AU - Rosa Fernández-Calzado
AU - Pieter de Frenne
AU - Mary Carolina García Lino
AU - Dany Ghosn
AU - Khatuna Gigauri
AU - Bente Graae
AU - Andreas Hilpold
AU - Juan Jiménez
AU - Katharina Kagerl
AU - Róbert Kanka
AU - Jozef Kollár
AU - Andrea Lamprecht
AU - Jonas Lembrechts
AU - Jonathan Lenoir
AU - Juan Lorite
AU - Panagiotis Nyktas
AU - Mihai Pușcaș
AU - Christophe Randin
AU - Christian Rixen
AU - Graziano Rossi
AU - Patrick Saccone
AU - Tudor Mihai Ursu
AU - Thomas Vanneste
AU - Marco Varricchione
AU - Pascal Vittoz
AU - Manuela Winkler
AU - Sonja Wipf
AU - Harald Pauli
AU - Stefan Dullinger
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
JO - Science
DO - 10.1126/science.aed2974
UR - https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-05740488v1
AB - Climate change increases plant species richness in alpine ecosystems. However, to what extent this diversity enrichment masks extinction dynamics of resident species remains elusive. In this study, we used floristic resurvey data from 896 permanent vegetation plots across 62 European mountain summits to show that local extinctions have increased over the past 21 years. Extinction rates rose with the magnitude of warming, and species were more likely to go extinct toward their low-elevation range margins and in communities undergoing stronger thermophilization. Moreover, local extinctions were significantly related to preceding abundance declines, which can serve as an early warning signal. These findings suggest that despite increasing plant species richness, plant assemblages above the treeline face an accelerating but so far neglected loss of their most characteristic species.
SN - 0036-8075
SN - 1095-9203
ER -