Measuring resilience and assessing vulnerability of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change in South America.

ABSTRACT: Climate change has been identified as the primary threat to the integrity and functioning of ecosystems in this century, although there is still much uncertainty about its effects and the degree of vulnerability for different ecosystems to this threat. Here we propose a new methodological approach capable of measuring and mapping the resilience of terrestrial ecosystems at large scales based on their climatic niche. To do this, we used high spatial resolution remote sensing data and ecological niche modeling techniques to calculate and spatialize the resilience of three stable states of ecosystems in South America: forest, savanna, and grassland. Also, we evaluated the sensitivity of ecosystems to climate stress, the likelihood of exposure to non-analogous climatic conditions, and their re

SUBMITTER: Anjos LJS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5858834 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature