Research Brief: Small Alpine Lakes Exhibit Abrupt Responses to Global Warming

Mountain lakes are unique and fragile ecosystems, and are especially at-risk from global warming and land-use changes. Many studies have explored temporal and chemical changes in large alpine lakes, but fewer in their smaller, shallower counterparts.1 However, these lakes may be even more vulnerable to climate change given their restricted size and limited diversity.1 These changes are important to understand, given that small to medium-sized alpine lakes outnumber large lakes and are important.