Where are the alpine forests in the Alps?

Question

It seems that there are hardwood trees in the lower reaches, but there don't seem to be any alpine forests. They should be there right? Where are they? What happened to them?

Answer 1

"Alpine Forest" refers to stands of trees growing at high elevations. At certain elevations, called the 'tree line', the environment can no longer support trees. However, just because you're in a high elevation area below the tree line doesn't necessarily mean that the soils, soil moisture, prevailing winds, and light conditions are going to support an alpine forest.