Regional Changes and Global Connections: Monitoring Climate Variability and Change in

• Main Author: Henry F. Diaz
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: permafrost; Tundra
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.307.7111; http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr193/psw_gtr193_1a_03_Diaz.pdf

Mountain ecosystems of the Western United States are complex and include cold desert biomes, such as those found in Nevada; subpolar biomes found in the upper treeline zone; and tundra ecosystems, occurring above timberline. Many studies (for example, Thompson 2000) suggest that high-elevation environments, comprising glaciers, snow, permafrost, water, and the uppermost limits of vegetation and other complex life forms, are among the most sensitive to climatic changes occurring on a global scale. The stratified, elevationally controlled vegetation belts found on mountain slopes represent an analog to the different latitudinally controlled climatic zones, but these condensed vertical gradients are capable of producing unique hotspots of biodiversity, such as those that serve as habitat for a variety of species ranging from butterflies, frogs, and toads to birds, trout, and salmon. High relief and concomitant environmental gradients make mountain ecosystems very vulnerable to slight changes of temperatures and extreme precipitation events. Likewise, the role of mountain regions in providing life-sustaining water for communities in the western United States means that climatic and other environmental changes in these mountains will have a large impact not only on the region but in many other areas as well. In