Spatial analysis of dolines as microclimatic refugia in the Berchtesgaden National Park

Climate change is already causing species to relocate in the Alpine region. To counteract current and future habitat loss, microclimatic refugia can play a crucial role. In this context, dolines are potentially valuable refugia. To assess their occurrence and distribution and thus support further research in their microclimatic potential, reliable mapping is required.
In this study, the fill-sink method for automated doline mapping was applied to a digital terrain model (DTM) of the Berchtesgaden National Park, which also provided the data. The results were compared with manual mapping. Additionally, the spatial distribution of dolines under the influence of topography (elevation, slope, exposition) was investigated to evaluate their microclimatic relevance.
The results show that the overlap between the two methods is small. A central problem of the method may be that it often combines several individual dolines into one higher ranked sink, likely due to the heterogeneous relief in the region. Nevertheless, the automated method identified margins of uvalas that align with historical maps. Based on manually mapped doline distribution only, we find a clustering of dolines at elevations between 2000 and 2200 m a.s.l, in low slope inclinations and on north-facing slopes.
Overall, reliable automated doline mapping needs to be adapted for regions with more complex relief. However, since other karst features with potential microclimatic importance were identified, the broader applicability of the fill-sink method should be further investigated beyond doline mapping. The current manually mapped distribution of dolines suggests future relevance for cold-adapted species and therefore requires further research.