Dictionary

nival en · ADJ

Etymology

From Latin nivalis, from nix, nivis (“snow”).

Meanings

1. Abounding with snow; snowy; snow-covered (now especially in reference to plant habitats).
   • The observed climate warming during the twentieth century has affected alpine vegetation by increasing vascular plant species richness on nival mountain tops […] 2003, Laszlo Nagy, Georg Grabherr, Christian Körner, Desmond B.A. Thompson, Alpine Biodiversity in Europe, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 406:
   • It includes the nival mountain top, the moorlands above the timberline, a belt of tropical rainforest, the semihumid footzone of the tertiary volcano, the semiarid high Laikipia Plateau, the escarpment, and the semiarid to arid Samburu Plains. 2002, Mountain Research and Development:
   • In this way, the subnival mountain range on the southern facet with its strong solifluction influence (level slope formation) approaches in height the nival mountain range on the northern facet, which is distinguished by its well developed glacial forms. 1971, Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts, volume 22, issues 1-6, page 447
2. Found or thriving in snowy conditions.
   • In 1884 O. Heer published a comprehensive account of the nival flora of Switzerland, in which he listed 338 species of flowering plants found above 2600 m.; of these, 6 were found above 3900 m. 1914, The Journal of Ecology, page 60:
   • As can be seen from the present chapter, main problems of adaptation, ecophysiology, ecology and evolutionary biology of the nival fauna were hardly investigated at all.” The early history of explorations of the nival zone in the Alps has been summarized[…] 2013, Rosa Margesin, Franz Schinner, Cold-Adapted Organisms: Ecology, Physiology, Enzymology and Molecular Biology, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 165:

Forms