Shifting habitats in the Alps and potential future consequences for birds

Climate change has resulted in upward elevational shifts in the distribution of animals and plants in many highaltitude areas. The extent to which this will have negative impacts for high-altitude species will depend on sufficient areas of high elevation to enable upwards range expansion, and also on the response of different habitat types to temperature rise; in particular, habitat loss may be exacerbated if different habitats respond differentially.