Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest
Ecological responses to climatic variability in the Southwest include regionally synchronized fires, insect outbreaks, and pulses in tree demography (births and deaths). Multicentury, tree-ring reconstructions of drought, disturbance history, and tree demography reveal climatic effects across scales...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
1998
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.483.9198 http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf |
id |
ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.483.9198 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.483.9198 2023-05-15T16:39:12+02:00 Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest Thomas W. Swetnam Julio L. Betancourt The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 1998 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.483.9198 http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.483.9198 http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf text 1998 ftciteseerx 2016-01-08T08:04:20Z Ecological responses to climatic variability in the Southwest include regionally synchronized fires, insect outbreaks, and pulses in tree demography (births and deaths). Multicentury, tree-ring reconstructions of drought, disturbance history, and tree demography reveal climatic effects across scales, from annual to decadal, and from local (,102 km2) to mesoscale (104–106 km2). Climate–disturbance relations are more variable and complex than previously assumed. During the past three centuries, mesoscale outbreaks of the western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis) were associated with wet, not dry episodes, contrary to conventional wisdom. Regional fires occur during extreme droughts but, in some ecosystems, antecedent wet conditions play a secondary role by regulating accumulation of fuels. Interdecadal changes in fire–climate associations parallel other evidence for shifts in the frequency or amplitude of the Southern Oscillation (SO) during the past three centuries. High interannual, fire–climate correlations (r 5 0.7 to 0.9) during specific decades (i.e., circa 1740–80 and 1830– 60) reflect periods of high amplitude in the SO and rapid switching from extreme wet to dry years in the Southwest, thereby entraining fire occurrence across the region. Weak correlations from 1780 to 1830 correspond with a decrease in SO frequency or amplitude inferred from independent tree-ring width, ice core, and coral isotope reconstructions. Text ice core Unknown |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
ftciteseerx |
language |
English |
description |
Ecological responses to climatic variability in the Southwest include regionally synchronized fires, insect outbreaks, and pulses in tree demography (births and deaths). Multicentury, tree-ring reconstructions of drought, disturbance history, and tree demography reveal climatic effects across scales, from annual to decadal, and from local (,102 km2) to mesoscale (104–106 km2). Climate–disturbance relations are more variable and complex than previously assumed. During the past three centuries, mesoscale outbreaks of the western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis) were associated with wet, not dry episodes, contrary to conventional wisdom. Regional fires occur during extreme droughts but, in some ecosystems, antecedent wet conditions play a secondary role by regulating accumulation of fuels. Interdecadal changes in fire–climate associations parallel other evidence for shifts in the frequency or amplitude of the Southern Oscillation (SO) during the past three centuries. High interannual, fire–climate correlations (r 5 0.7 to 0.9) during specific decades (i.e., circa 1740–80 and 1830– 60) reflect periods of high amplitude in the SO and rapid switching from extreme wet to dry years in the Southwest, thereby entraining fire occurrence across the region. Weak correlations from 1780 to 1830 correspond with a decrease in SO frequency or amplitude inferred from independent tree-ring width, ice core, and coral isotope reconstructions. |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Thomas W. Swetnam Julio L. Betancourt |
spellingShingle |
Thomas W. Swetnam Julio L. Betancourt Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest |
author_facet |
Thomas W. Swetnam Julio L. Betancourt |
author_sort |
Thomas W. Swetnam |
title |
Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest |
title_short |
Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest |
title_full |
Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest |
title_fullStr |
Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the American southwest |
title_sort |
mesoscale disturbance and ecological response to decadal climatic variability in the american southwest |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.483.9198 http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf |
genre |
ice core |
genre_facet |
ice core |
op_source |
http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.483.9198 http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/JClimate98.pdf |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
_version_ |
1766029532782919680 |