Climate Warming and Seasonal Precipitation Change Interact to Limit Species Distribution Shifts across Western North America.

ABSTRACT: Using an extensive network of occurrence records for 293 plant species collected over the past 40 years across a climatically diverse geographic section of western North America, we find that plant species distributions were just as likely to shift upwards (i.e., towards higher elevations) as downward (i.e., towards lower elevations)-despite consistent warming across the study area. Although there was no clear directional response to climate warming across the entire study area, there was significant region- to region- variation in responses (i.e. from as many as 73% to as few as 32% of species shifting upward). To understand the factors that might be controlling region-specific distributional shifts of plant species, we explored the relationship between the direction of change in distribu

SUBMITTER: Harsch MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4957754 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature