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CLIMATE CONSTRAINTS AND ISSUES OF SCALE CONTROLLING REGIONAL BIOMES
Citation:
Neilson, R. CLIMATE CONSTRAINTS AND ISSUES OF SCALE CONTROLLING REGIONAL BIOMES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-90/074 (NTIS PB90246315).
Description:
The prosepct of climate change threatens to cause large changes in regional biomes. hese effects could be in the form of qualitative changes within biomes, as well as spatial changes in the boundaries of biomes. he boundaries, or ecotones, between biomes have been suggested as potentially sensitive areas to climatic change and therefore useful for monitoring change. egional gradients of vegetation habitat size and variability are explored for their utility in detecting ecotone location and movement as driven by climatic change. aximal habitat variability, as indicated by differential survivorship of plants, occurs at the ecotones or transitions between biomes. he principles developed for the analysis of abrupt changes in spatial habitat patterns (ecotones) will also be considered for the analysis and detection of potentially abrupt physiognomic changes through time (thresholds) over much of the regions. xtensive regional changes in habitat variability could occur rapidly, indicating an spending "ecotone" in time (threshold) over much of the region. apid, regional changes could produce significant negative impacts on biological diversity. he two types of change, boundary shifts of regions and physiognomic shifts within regions, are potentially independent and may require different monitoring strate ies to detect impending change.