Snowmelt timing constrains green-up but not peak productivity in alpine grasslands of the western Pyrenees.
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| Title: | Snowmelt timing constrains green-up but not peak productivity in alpine grasslands of the western Pyrenees. |
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| Authors: | Domínguez-Aguilar, Pablo1 (AUTHOR) paguilar@ipe.csic.es, Revuelto, Jesús1 (AUTHOR), Gascoin, Simon2 (AUTHOR), López-Moreno, Juan I.1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Biogeosciences. 2026, Vol. 23 Issue 11, p3793-3806. 14p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Normalized difference vegetation index, *Grasslands, *Vegetation greenness, *Climate change, *Remote-sensing images, *Biomass production |
| Geographic Terms: | Pyrenees |
| Abstract: | It is now well established that climate change modifies the snow cover regime in European mountains. However, the impact of snow cover changes on alpine ecosystems is not well understood. In this study, we assess how snowmelt timing affects alpine grassland growth (onset and evolution) in the western Spanish Pyrenees using eight years (2018–2025) of Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m resolution. We combined satellite-derived snow melt-out dates (SMOD) with NDVI time series, meteorological data, and fractional snow-covered area (fSCA) to evaluate the temporal and spatial relationships between snowmelt timing and vegetation greening. Our results confirm that snowmelt consistently influences the onset of greening and regulates the timing of peak NDVI (annual maximum). However, short-term variations in melt-out timing had limited influence on the intensity of peak NDVI, which was more strongly linked to post-melt meteorological conditions. The spatial pattern of peak NDVI remained stable across years despite variable melt timing. Our observations suggest that site-specific characteristics – such as soil properties, microclimate, and vegetation composition – that can be linked to the long-term legacy of snow presence can exert a stronger influence on productivity than year-to-year snowmelt dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Database: | Energy & Power Source |
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| Header | DbId: enr DbLabel: Energy & Power Source An: 194731102 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Snowmelt timing constrains green-up but not peak productivity in alpine grasslands of the western Pyrenees. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Domínguez-Aguilar%2C+Pablo%22">Domínguez-Aguilar, Pablo</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> paguilar@ipe.csic.es</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Revuelto%2C+Jesús%22">Revuelto, Jesús</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gascoin%2C+Simon%22">Gascoin, Simon</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22López-Moreno%2C+Juan I%2E%22">López-Moreno, Juan I.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Biogeosciences%22">Biogeosciences</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 23 Issue 11, p3793-3806. 14p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Normalized+difference+vegetation+index%22">Normalized difference vegetation index</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grasslands%22">Grasslands</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vegetation+greenness%22">Vegetation greenness</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate+change%22">Climate change</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Remote-sensing+images%22">Remote-sensing images</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biomass+production%22">Biomass production</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pyrenees%22">Pyrenees</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: It is now well established that climate change modifies the snow cover regime in European mountains. However, the impact of snow cover changes on alpine ecosystems is not well understood. In this study, we assess how snowmelt timing affects alpine grassland growth (onset and evolution) in the western Spanish Pyrenees using eight years (2018–2025) of Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m resolution. We combined satellite-derived snow melt-out dates (SMOD) with NDVI time series, meteorological data, and fractional snow-covered area (fSCA) to evaluate the temporal and spatial relationships between snowmelt timing and vegetation greening. Our results confirm that snowmelt consistently influences the onset of greening and regulates the timing of peak NDVI (annual maximum). However, short-term variations in melt-out timing had limited influence on the intensity of peak NDVI, which was more strongly linked to post-melt meteorological conditions. The spatial pattern of peak NDVI remained stable across years despite variable melt timing. Our observations suggest that site-specific characteristics – such as soil properties, microclimate, and vegetation composition – that can be linked to the long-term legacy of snow presence can exert a stronger influence on productivity than year-to-year snowmelt dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=enr&AN=194731102 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.5194/bg-23-3793-2026 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 3793 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Normalized difference vegetation index Type: general – SubjectFull: Grasslands Type: general – SubjectFull: Vegetation greenness Type: general – SubjectFull: Climate change Type: general – SubjectFull: Remote-sensing images Type: general – SubjectFull: Biomass production Type: general – SubjectFull: Pyrenees Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Snowmelt timing constrains green-up but not peak productivity in alpine grasslands of the western Pyrenees. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Domínguez-Aguilar, Pablo – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Revuelto, Jesús – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gascoin, Simon – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: López-Moreno, Juan I. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: 2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 17264170 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 23 – Type: issue Value: 11 Titles: – TitleFull: Biogeosciences Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
