Announcement: EES Seminar (August 6, 3:00 PM–4:00 PM, Prof. Philippe CHOLER and Dr. Baptiste NICOUD)

We are pleased to announce that the EES Seminar will be held on Thursday, August 6, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, as detailed below. The speakers will be Prof. Philippe CHOLER and Dr. Baptiste NICOUD, who are affiliated with the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Université Grenoble Alpes. We look forward to your participation.

Date and Time: Thursday, August 6, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Venue: Room D101, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University
Speakers: Prof. Philippe CHOLER and Dr. Baptiste NICOUD (Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Université Grenoble Alpes)
Title: Mountain Greening Is Driven by the Interplay of Global Warming, Snow Regime Shifts, and Land-Use Change
Language: English

Abstract: In the European Alps, a long-term increase in vegetation cover has been widely documented by remote sensing across above-treeline, seasonally snow-covered ecosystems. Yet this greening is far from uniform, and the processes underlying this spatial variability remain poorly understood. This seminar will present a series of case studies that combine satellite observations with ground-based ecological surveys to uncover the mechanisms underlying greening. These include the upward expansion of mountain trees, shrub encroachment, and the establishment of alpine plants on previously bare ground. Together, these examples illustrate how vegetation dynamics is controlled by the complex interplay among climate warming, shifts in snow regimes, and land-use change. Understanding these interacting drivers is essential for interpreting observed trends and assessing their consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in mountains.

Organizer: Prof. Gaku KUDO