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Översiktsartikel2013Vetenskapligt granskad

Community and Ecosystem Responses to Elevational Gradients: Processes, Mechanisms, and Insights for Global Change

Sundqvist, Maja; Sanders, Nathan J.; Wardle, David

Sammanfattning

Community structure and ecosystem processes often vary along elevational gradients. Their responses to elevation are commonly driven by changes in temperature, and many community- and ecosystem-level variables therefore frequently respond similarly to elevation across contrasting gradients. There are also many exceptions, sometimes because other factors such as precipitation can also vary with elevation. Given this complexity, our capacity to predict when and why the same variable responds differently among disparate elevational gradients is often limited. Furthermore, there is utility in using elevational gradients for understanding community and ecosystem responses to global climate change at much larger spatial and temporal scales than is possible through conventional ecological experiments. However, future studies that integrate elevational gradient approaches with experimental manipulations will provide powerful information that can improve predictions of climate change impacts within and across ecosystems.

Nyckelord

biotic interactions; diversity; nutrient cycling; mountains; warming experiments; fertilization

Publicerad i

Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
2013, Volym: 44, sidor: 261-280
Titel: Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics
ISBN: 978-0-8243-1444-6
Utgivare: ANNUAL REVIEWS, 4139 EL CAMINO WAY, PO BOX 10139, PALO ALTO, CA 94303-0897 USA