Climate change has already altered global patterns of biodiversity by modifying the geographic distributions of species. Forecasts based on bioclimatic envelop modeling of distributions of species suggests greater impacts can be expected in the future, but such projections are contingent on assumptions regarding future climate and migration rates of species. Here, we present a first assessment ...

BACKGROUND The temperature in arid Eastern Central Asia is projected to increase in the future, accompanied by increased variability of precipitation. To investigate the impacts of climate change on plant species in this area, we selected two widespread species as candidates, Clematis sibirica and C. songorica, from montane coniferous forest and arid steppe habitats respectively. METHODOLOGY/...

Mongolia is situated in an arid/semi-arid zone in Northeast Asia. The southern part of the territory has a desert type climate. The thermal effect of the Tibetan Plateau is the principle reason for the desert climate, remotely suppressing convective systems in the arid region (Sato and Kimura, 2005a). On the other hand, Taiga forest covers the northern part of Mongolia, extending to Siberia in ...

Climate change has already altered global patterns of biodiversity by modifying the geographic distributions of species. Forecasts based on bioclimatic envelop modeling of distributions of species suggests greater impacts can be expected in the future, but such projections are contingent on assumptions regarding future climate and migration rates of species. Here, we present a first assessment ...

BACKGROUND There have been numerous studies on dinosaur biogeographic distribution patterns. However, these distribution data have not yet been applied to ecological questions. Ecological studies of dinosaurs have tended to focus on reconstructing individual taxa, usually through comparisons to modern analogs. Fewer studies have sought to determine if the ecological structure of fossil assembla...

palynological analyses from exposed palaeolacustrine deposits located at the flanks of damavand volcano, in the central alborzmountains in northern iran, provide a broad idea of the temporal variation of vegetation according to climate changes during a rangeof limited time intervals during the quaternary period. this research reveals that the regional vegetation of the study area had been asemi...

A model analysis of climate and CO2 controls on tree growth in a semi-arid woodland G. Li, S. P. Harrison, and I. C. Prentice Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences (SAGES), Reading University, Reading, UK AXA Chair of Biosphere and Climate Impacts, Grand Challenges in Ecosystem and the...

This paper identifies rare climate challenges in the long-term history of seven areas, three in the subpolar North Atlantic Islands and four in the arid-to-semiarid deserts of the US Southwest. For each case, the vulnerability to food shortage before the climate challenge is quantified based on eight variables encompassing both environmental and social domains. These data are used to evaluate t...

Ice bodies in the semi-arid mountainous regions of Chile are of vital importance for the local population. As variations of their extent are often associated with climate change, this study focuses on the glaciers and glacierets situated in the Commune Alto del Car‐ men and local and regional climate. We combine statistically Landsat satellite imagery, historical and ongoing weather data. The p...

What does a horticulturist or landscape architect strive to attain when choosing plants for a naturalistic animal exhibit in any major zoo? Should visitors come upon bananas and tropical figs complementing an exhibit featuring giraffes or zebras that naturally roam the hot, arid Serengeti? Let’s hope not. Likewise, they should not be confronted by trees that resemble the acacias of arid Kenya a...