Dissertation Research: Ecotone Dynamics and Landscape Response to Climate Change

论文题目：Ecotone Dynamics and Landscape Response to Climate change .要预测生态对全球气候变化的响应，必须从全面了解影响当前植被空间格局的因素开始。该研究探讨了在全球变暖的情况下，原始森林植被模式与可能发生变化的环境因素之间的关系。先前的分析表明，需要对基本环境特性进行更好的景观级估计。因此，将在西部喀斯喀特河的一个实验流域收集温度和湿度的细粒度测量数据，以满足这一关键需求。额外的抽样工作将侧重于社区转型活跃区域，因为这些转型中的转变已被强调为气候变化的潜在早期预警信号。本研究将探讨温度和湿度对杉木为主林向冷杉为主林过渡的影响。基于生成的数据的模拟模型将有助于综合和确定潜在的气候敏感性区域。

Proposal: DEB-0105068PI: Dean Urban & Todd LookingbillTitle: Dissertation Research: Ecotone Dynamics and Landscape Response to Climate ChangeAttempts to predict ecological response to global climate change must start with a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing current spatial patterns of vegetation. The proposed research examines the relationship between patterns of vegetation in old-growth forest and environmental factors likely to change under scenarios of global warming. Previous analyses have shown the need for better landscape-level estimates of fundamental environmental properties. Consequently, fine-grain measurements of temperature and moisture will be collected across an experimental watershed in the Western Cascades to address this critical need. An additional sampling effort will focus on an active area of community transition, because shifts in these transitions have been highlighted as potential early warning signs of climate change. This research will examine how temperature and moisture influence the transition from forest dominated by Tsuga heterophylla to forest dominated by Abies amabilis. Simulation models based on generated data will facilitate synthesis and identify areas of potential climatic sensitivity.