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

西南研究站（SWRS）和沙漠研究所（DRI）的西部区域气候中心（WRCC）之间的这一合作项目将建立五个高质量的长期气候监测站，这些监测站沿着奇里卡瓦山脉东部和西部斜坡的海拔梯度。这些气候站收集的数据对于在SWRS进行研究的科学家来说非常重要，对于世界各地的科学家来说，这些数据对于观察动植物分布和丰度的预测变化以及气候数据中的相关梯度都非常重要。据预测，气候变化与动植物分布和丰度的变化有关。各种气候模型预测，气候变化最显著的影响将明显沿着亚利桑那州东南部的“天空群岛”的斜坡。然而，气候监测站几乎完全缺乏在这个否则研究充分的山脉。由于西南研究站（SWRS）周围地区栖息地和生物的多样性，该地区的植物和动物的分布和丰度已经研究了五十多年。 SWRS位于Chiricahua山脉，是美国西南部Madrean Archipelago/Sky Islands的一部分，该山脉由大约27座山脉组成，SWRS科学家收集的大部分数据已经对Madrean Sky Island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进行该地区的未来和正在进行的研究？的生物群。在Chiricahua山脉的东西山坡上建立五个气候站，海拔梯度从1 280米到2 743米，将使科学家能够将他们的生态观测与这些共享的气候数据进行比较，并将他们的问题扩大到包括不同空间尺度上生态-气候相互作用的新领域。访问科学家，学生和教师访问当地气候数据将加强SWRS几乎所有的研究和教育活动。 与WRCC及其主办机构DRI的伙伴关系将扩大对学术，政府，管理和私营部门收集的气候测量的使用。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/.