Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) ecosystem response to climate on a temperate to boreal forest transect : project description

• Autorzy: Reed D.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

This brief paper describes the history and conceptual framework underlying the research presented in the remaining papers in this volume. This project began in 1996 as an international effort to examine Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) ecosystem structure and function in one of the few accessible areas on earth where similar forested ecosystems exist over a 20 stopni range in latitude. Widely predicted climate warming leads to serious concerns about how ecosystems may respond to stresses created by climate change. In order to recognize evidence of warming and predict likely future responses, it is necessary to understand how ecosystems that are distributed along climatic gradients accommodate wide climatic differences. Few tree species are distributed as widely as Scots pine, which ranges over much of Europe. This species is ideal for investigations that address questions regarding climate change effects on forest ecosystem structure and processes. Its distribution over comparable sites extending from temperate to boreal zones (over more than 20 stopni of latitude from northern Finland to southern Poland) permits characterization of this ecosystem over a relatively wide climatic range (covering a mean annual temperature difference of 9 stopni C). This transect: 1) provides information concerning numerous ecological processes over this wide range of conditions; 2) serves as a template for the development, testing, and evaluation of specific ecological indicators related to climate change; and 3) allows evaluation, comparison, and projection of ecological properties and processes among similar ecosystems with varying climate.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

climate; ecosystem; Pinus sylvestris; transect study

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2003
• Tom: Vol. 51, nr 4
• Strony: 399--401
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 9 poz.,

Twórcy

autor

Reed D.

• School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931 USA,