Collaborative Research: A Climate Station Network for the Chiricahua Sky Island Ecoregion

这个由西南研究站（SWRS）和沙漠研究所（DRI）西部区域气候中心（WRCC）合作的项目将在奇里卡华山脉的东西斜坡沿海拔梯度建立5个高质量的长期气候监测站。这些气候台站收集的数据，对于在SWRS进行研究的当地科学家和全球科学家来说，都是非常重要的，因为他们可以观察到动植物分布和丰度的预测变化，以及气候数据的相关梯度。据预测，气候变化与动植物的分布和丰富程度的变化有关。各种气候模型预测，气候变化最显著的影响将在亚利桑那州东南部的“天空群岛”的斜坡上显现。然而，在这片被充分研究过的山脉上，几乎完全没有气候监测站。由于西南研究站周边地区的生境和生物多样性，50多年来，人们对该地区动植物的分布和丰度进行了深入的研究。SWRS位于奇里卡华山脉，是美国西南部马德兰群岛/天空群岛27个山脉的独特综合体的一部分，SWRS科学家收集的大部分数据已经对马德兰天空岛栖息地和物种的保护和管理产生了直接影响。这个多样化地区的植物和动物的高度生物多样性确保了科学家们将继续被吸引到SWRS进行该地区未来和正在进行的研究。年代的生物群。安装五个气候站，横跨奇里卡华山脉的东西斜坡，海拔梯度从1280米到2743米，将使科学家们能够将他们的生态观测结果与这些共享的气候数据进行比较，并将他们的问题扩展到包括不同空间尺度上生态-气候相互作用的新领域。通过访问科学家、学生和教师获取当地的气候数据，实际上将加强SWRS的所有研究和教育活动。与WRCC及其主办机构DRI的伙伴关系将把收集到的气候测量数据推广到学术、政府、管理和私营部门。建立气候模型的自然地理学家和大气科学家将受益于沿着这座天空岛山的海拔梯度获得的数据。有关西南研究站的更多信息，请访问他们的网站http://research.amnh.org/swrs/。

This collaborative project between the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) and the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) will build five high-quality, long-term climate monitoring stations positioned along an elevational gradient on the eastern and western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains. The data collected by these climate stations will be important both locally to scientists conducting research at the SWRS, and globally to scientists all over the world to observe both predicted changes in the distribution and abundance of plants and animals, as well as, the associated gradients in climate data. Climate change is predicted to be associated with changes in the distribution and abundance of plants and animals. Various climate models predict the most dramatic effects of climate change to be apparent along the slopes of the "Sky Islands" of southeast Arizona. However, climate monitoring stations are almost entirely lacking in this otherwise well-studied mountain range. Because of the wide diversity of habitats and organisms easily accessible in the areas surrounding the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS), the distributions and abundances of plants and animals of this area have been well studied for over five decades. The SWRS is located in the Chiricahua Mountains, part of a unique complex of about 27 mountain ranges, the Madrean Archipelago/Sky Islands of the southwestern U.S. Much of the data collected by SWRS scientists already has had direct influence on the conservation and management of the Madrean Sky Island habitats and species. The high biodiversity of plants and animals of this diverse area insures that scientists will continue to be attracted to the SWRS for future and ongoing studies of the area?s biota. Installation of five climate stations, spanning the eastern and western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains and an encompassing an elevational gradient from 1280 to 2743 m, will allow scientists to compare their ecological observations to this shared climate data and expand their questions to include new areas of ecology-climate interactions at different spatial scales. Access to local climate data by visiting scientists, students, and teachers will enhance virtually all research and educational activities at the SWRS. Partnership with the WRCC and its host institution DRI will expand the use of collected climate measurements to the academic, governmental, management, and private sectors. Physical geographers and atmospheric scientists building climate models will benefit from the data obtained along the elevational gradient of this sky island mountain. For more information about the Southwestern Research Station, visit their website at http://research.amnh.org/swrs/.