Characteristics of the Alps

This mountain range is located in a temperate environment, but it is a special area because of the altitude. Indeed, the climatic conditions evolve  and  there are different terrace depending on the altitude. In a climax situation, it would be like the schema below.

Vegetation levels vary according to altitude exposure Versan (shady or sunny side). Wind, snow, temperature and soil are influenced by the exposure.

There is debate among scientists to determine the altitude of the floors that vary from a few hundred meters depending on the source.

Belts of vegetation	Plant formation	Animals
Collinean ( below 900m)	Culture, orchards, fields and deciduous (oak, beech, maple, chestnut).	Cow, horses but also wild animals (wild boars, deer, rabbits, partridges
Montagne ( 900- 1500m)	Mixture of hardwood and softwood (deciduous and coniferous trees) such as oak, beech, maple, alder, fir, spruce, Scots pine	Numerous Wild animals protected by the vegetation (grouse, deer, etc).
Subalpine ( 1500-2000m)	Coniferous forest. Development of pastures even if the trees are still numerous (pin hook, green alder, larch). we see a multitude of mostly small plants such as tea in the Alps, the purple columbine, lily orange. And also protected species like blue thistle or primrose.	Deer, mouflon, chamois, marmots alongside cattle and sheep.
Alpine (2000- 3000m)	Alpine grasses for lawns, shrubs (blueberry). very few trees remain in the cold too intense in winter (pine gilts)	During the summer, marmots emerge from hibernation while the species refuged in the lower floors for the winter are back.
Nival or mineral (above 3000m)	The average temperature is around 0°C, at this altitude,  snow ,glaciers and rock cliffs prevent plants from growing	some insects and rodents

Vegetation and fauna are very sensitive to climate change, we don't really know which will be the consequences of vegetation in the future but we already know that vegetation responds to these influences climate by morphological and physiological changes. Vegetation, in effect, will tend to "migrate" to higher altitudes where the climatic conditions of the future will be more similar to those of today. Species already close to the peaks would be required to adapt or die, finding more places to which to migrate. Moreover, competition between species would be detrimental to those whose capacity for adaptation and migration are lower.
Species in the Alps have been reinventoried lately. new species recorded and the summit have been consider as migrant due to the climat change, it seems to be en increase of species homogeneity.
Of course, climate change is not only responsible for these changes, humanbeings have more and more  a significant impact mostly on ecotones and biological corridors. Buildings and fields for agriculutre endanger biodiversity also in the Alps.