Alnus viridis a sensitive snowfall indicator for past oceanic timberlines in the Alps

We analyse the modern ecological response of mountain alder (Alnus viridis) pollen proportions (%) to climatic parameters along altitudinal gradients in two contrasting climate regions of the European Alps and calculate pollen accumulation rates (PAR) to detect the effect of snowmelt runoff. We also compare independent sediment proxies for alluvial events in a high-altitude site of the outer Italian Alps (Armentarga peat bog, 2345 m a.s.l.), which was selected to investigate Alnus viridis response in the last 11000 years.