Collaborative Research on Topological Relationships at Alpine Treeline

对全球气候条件变化前景的担忧推动了新的调查，这些调查将确定可以随时监测和分析这种变化的影响的地区。一组这样的地带是高山林线交错带，在那里，山地森林逐渐让位于贫瘠的斜坡或高山冻土带。以前的研究表明，这些地区即使是微小的气候变化也会导致植被模式的深刻变化。这一合作研究项目将对树线物种的格局进行深入分析，并将探索影响物种数量和位置的各种因素之间的关系。研究将集中在蒙大拿州冰川国家公园的遗址上。数据将从卫星图像和气候变量以及土壤和基岩条件的实地观测中收集。来自数字海拔模型和树木年轮的数据也将被用来构建和测试统计和路径模型，这些模型表示树线分布如何响应不同变量之间的相互作用。这一合作项目将提供新的数据和模型，以加强对高山林线地带不同因素之间相互作用的了解，无论是在研究地点还是在许多其他山区环境中。该项目可能为确定气候条件变化的影响提供新的衡量标准，它还将探索监测和评估在植被建模中使用遥感数据和地理信息系统的新方法。

Concerns about prospects for changing climatic conditions across the globe have given new impetus to inquiries that would identify zones where the impacts of such changes can be readily monitored and analyzed. One such set of zones are alpine treeline ecotones, where montane forests gradually give way to barren slopes or alpine tundra. Previous studies have shown these areas to be locales where even minor climatic changes can induce profound changes in vegetation patterns. This collaborative research project will conduct intensive analyses of patterns of treeline species and will explore relationships among various factors that affect the number and location of species. Research will focus on sites in Glacier National Park of Montana. Data will be gathered from satellite images and field observations of climatic variables and soil and bedrock conditions. Data from digital elevation models and tree rings also will be used to construct and test statistical and path models that represent how treeline distributions respond to interactions among different variables over time. This collaborative project will provide new data and models that enhance knowledge about interactions among different factors in alpine treeline zones, both at the study site and in many other mountainous environments. This project may provide new metrics for identifying the impacts of changing climatic conditions, and it also will explore new methods for monitoring and evaluating the use of remote sensed data and geographic information systems in vegetation modelling.