TY - GEN N1 - 24 cm N2 - Three isolated massifs in the Sudetes, Central Europe, are elevated sufficiently high to allow for the development of the treeline ecotone. These are the Karkonosze/Krkonoše in the West Sudetes and Hruby Jeseník and MasywŚnieżnika/Králický Sněžnik in the East Sudetes. The upper limit of closed tree stands (i.e. timberline) is located at c. 1250 m a.s.l. on average in the Krkonoše, but with significant variability spanning more than 500 m. In theEast Sudetes the respective elevation is higher, above 1300 m a.s.l., and the variability is smaller. While temperature is the primary factor governing the uppermost tree stands, second-order climatic factors play an importantrole in shaping treeline ecotone position, particularly wind and snow accumulation patterns. Active surface processes such as debris flows and snow avalanches force the timberline to descend and account for its locallyvery irregular course. There is a history of long-term human impact on the position of the timberline, with its peak in the 17-19th centuries when high-mountain meadows were extensively used for grazing and haymaking.In the last century the overall trend of timberline ascent associated with abandonment of agricultural land and temperature rise has been interrupted by the episode of catastrophic forest decline due to air pollution. L1 - http://rcin.org.pl/Content/54608/PDF/WA51_74679_r2015-t88-no2_G-Polonica-Treml.pdf M3 - Text J2 - Geographia Polonica Vol. 88 No. 2 (2015) PY - 2015 IS - 2 EP - 70 KW - treeline ecotone KW - Karkonosze Mountains KW - Hruby Jesenik KW - Śnieżnik Massif KW - mountain ecology A1 - Treml, Vaclav A1 - Migoń, Piotr PB - IGiPZ PAN VL - 88 CY - Warszawa SP - 55 T1 - Controlling factors limiting timberline position and shifts in the Sudetes: A review UR - http://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/54608 ER -