Experimental sites installed

In September 2021 we installed our transplantation and seed sowing plots in Obergurgl. The plots are located on 5 different sites which are distributed over an elevational gradient from 1.900 to 2.600 m a.s.l., from subalpine Vaccinium shrublands to nival vegetation patches. Each site hosts 5 areas that cover the different habitats of each site and in each area 12 transplantation and 4 seed sowing plots were installed. In half of the plots we removed the aboveground biomass of neighbouring plants and the other half was set up as control. To hold off curious sheeps from grazing our experimental sites we protected each area with fences. In total we transplanted 47 plant species, each with 100 individuals evenly distributed among the 5 sites and 25 areas and measured parameters related to vitality and reproduction of each individual.