ABSTRACT
Glacial recession since the end of the so-called Little Ice Age has formed glacier forelands where barren moraines are colonised and primary succession proceeds. The chronosequences resulting from glacial retreat represent ecological gradients with a sequence of different communities. This landscape heterogeneity, termed beta diversity according to R. H. Whittaker, may contribute significantly to the diversity patterns of mountain ranges where deglaciation occurs. In most investigations of secondary succession relations between the diversity of plant and animal groups reflected the development of trophic structure. Diversity and abundance were much lower in the central flood plain than at nearby undisturbed sites. This disturbance effect was much more pronounced in plants than in animals. The chronologies of the Rotmoos glacier foreland provided a good overview of the trends on the landscape scale, and showed that during the colonisation phase the time elapsing since déglaciation was the determinant of diversity.
