Climate Change and impacts on Mountain streams

The influence of hydrous Mn–Zn oxides on diel cycling of Zn in an alkaline stream draining abandoned mine lands

by Christopher Shope

Evidence that local land use practices influence regional climate, vegetation, and stream flow patterns in adjacent natural areas. Global Change Biology 4:495-504.

by Timothy Kittel

Full citation--
Stohlgren, T.J., T.N. Chase, R.A. Pielke, Sr., T.G.F. Kittel, and J. Baron. 1998. Evidence that local land use practices influence regional climate, vegetation, and stream flow patterns in adjacent natural areas. Global Change Biology 4:495-504. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.t01-1-00182.x

We present evidence that land use practices in the plains of Colorado influence regional climate and vegetation in... more We present evidence that land use practices in the plains of Colorado influence regional climate and vegetation in adjacent natural areas in the Rocky Mountains in predictable ways. Mesoscale climate model simulations using the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) projected that modifications to natural vegetation in the plains, primarily due to agriculture and urbanization, could produce lower summer temperatures in the mountains. We corroborate the RAMS simulations with three independent sets of data: (i) climate records from 16 weather stations, which showed significant trends of decreasing July temperatures in recent decades; (ii) the distribution of seedlings of five dominant conifer species in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, which suggested that cooler, wetter conditions occurred over roughly the same time period; and (iii) increased stream flow, normalized for changes in precipitation, during the summer months in four river basins, which also indicates cooler summer temperatures and lower transpiration at landscape scales. Combined, the mesoscale atmospheric/land-surface model, short-term trends in regional temperatures, forest distribution changes, and hydrology data indicate that the effects of land use practices on regional climate may overshadow larger-scale temperature changes commonly associated with observed increases in CO2 and other greenhouse gases.


Keywords:

    cooling effect;
    forest distribution change;
    hydrologic change;
    land use;
    land cover change;
    long-term stream flow trends;
    long-term temperature change;
    mesoscale climate modelling

Threats Without Threateners? Exploring Intersections of Threats to the Global Commons and National Security

by Erik Nemeth

Co-authored with Gregory F. Treverton and Sinduja Srinivasan

View abstract at:  View abstract at:  http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP360

Distribution Pattern of Terricolous Lichens in Garhwal Himalayas (Chopta-Tungnath Tract) with Reference to Morphological and Environmental Variables

by Himanshu Rai

Co-authored with RAJAN K. GUPTA, D.K. UPRETI & PRAMOD NAG

India is a rich centre of lichen biodiversity. Soil inhabiting lichens (Terricolous lichens), are potential group of... more India is a rich centre of lichen biodiversity. Soil inhabiting lichens (Terricolous lichens), are potential group of lichen species which can be calibrated for ecological indicator studies, as their direct growth on the soil make them very sensitive to any change in the topographic and climatic environment.
In the present study soil-inhabiting lichens of Chopta-Tungnath tract in Garhwal Himalayas, are defined on the basis of ecological and morphological characters using Hierarchical bootstrap-clustering, and the various habitat and climatic variables are analyzed for their effect on the determination of structure and distribution pattern of terricolous lichen community, using Correlation-Regression analysis.
Of the three macrohabitats identified along the elevation gradient maximum soil lichen diversity was observed at middle elevation (3000-3400 mt.) A total of nine lichen species belonging to four families, seven genera and five morphological groups/thallus type (Squamulose, Squamulose-Fruticose, Leprose, Fruticose and Foliose) were identified. Squamulose was dominating morphological group, followed by fruticose, dimorphic, foliose and leprose forms. Soil lichen exhibit maximum associations with mosses followed by angiosperms, only few soil lichens were found growing on ground. Among the environmental variables soil pH and minimum and maximum temperature were positively related to lichen diversity whereas relative humidity and elevation negatively influenced soil lichen community.
Cluster analyses revealed six lichen groups on the basis of their maximum distribution at middle elevations, dominance of moisture absorbing lichen groups (fruticose and foliose) and
maximized associative growth with mosses

MSc Dissertation - Integrating Sustainable Energy Projects with Climate Change Adaptation in Ladakh, Northern India: How many birds can one stone hit?

by Cai J. Heath

Submitted as part of a Masters degree in International Development, October 2010.

Contrasting patterns in elevational diversity between microorganisms and macroorganisms

by jianjun wang

Wang, Jianjun. Soininen, Janne. Zhang, Yong. Wang, Beixin. Yang, Xiangdong. Shen, Ji. (2011) Contrasting patterns in elevational diversity between microorganisms and macroorganisms. Journal of Biogeography: 38: 595-603. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02423.x.

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Similiar references (But different patterns for microbes):
Bahram M, Põlme S, Kõljalg U, Zarre S, Tedersoo L (2011) Regional and local patterns of ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and community structure along an altitudinal gradient in the Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran. New Phytologist, DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03927.x
Singh D, Takahashi K, Kim M, Chun J, Adams JM (2011) A Hump-Backed Trend in Bacterial Diversity with Elevation on Mount Fuji, Japan. Microbial Ecology, DOI: 10.1007/s00248-00011-09900-00241.
Fierer, N., McCain, C., Meir, P., Zimmerman, M., Rapp, J., Silman, M., and Knight, R. (2011) Microbes do not follow the elevational diversity patterns of plants and animals. Ecology 92: 797-804.
Bryant, J.A., Lamanna, C., Morlon, H., Kerkhoff, A.J., Enquist, B.J., and Green, J.L. (2008) Microbes on mountainsides: Contrasting elevational patterns of bacterial and plant diversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105: 11505-11511.

Aim  Data and analyses of elevational gradients in diversity have been central to the development and evaluation of a... more Aim  Data and analyses of elevational gradients in diversity have been central to the development and evaluation of a range of general theories of biodiversity. Elevational diversity patterns have, however, been severely understudied for microbes, which often represent decomposer subsystems. Consequently, generalities in the patterns of elevational diversity across different trophic levels remain poorly understood. Our aim was to examine elevational gradients in the diversity of macroinvertebrates, diatoms and bacteria along a stony stream that covered a large elevational gradient.

Location  Laojun Mountain, Yunnan province, China.

Methods  The sampling scheme included 26 sites spaced at elevational intervals of 89 m from 1820 to 4050 m elevation along a stony stream. Macroinvertebrate and diatom richness were determined based on the morphology of the specimens. Taxonomic richness for bacteria was quantified using a molecular fingerprinting method. Over 50 environmental variables were measured at each site to quantify environmental variables that could correlate with the patterns of diversity. We used eigenvector-based spatial filters with multiple regressions to account for spatial autocorrelation.

Results  The bacterial richness followed an unexpected monotonic increase with elevation. Diatoms decreased monotonically, and macroinvertebrate richness showed a clear unimodal pattern with elevation. The unimodal richness pattern for macroinvertebrates was best explained by the mid-domain effect (r2 = 0.72). The diatom richness was best explained by the variation in nutrient supply, and the increase in bacterial richness with elevation may be related to an increased carbon supply.

Main conclusions  We found contrasting patterns in elevational diversity among the three studied multi-trophic groups comprising unicellular and multicellular aquatic taxa. We also found that there may be fundamental differences in the mechanisms underlying these species diversity patterns.


Keywords: Bacteria; biogeography; China; diatoms; elevational gradient; macroecology; macroinvertebrates; mid-domain effect; species diversity patterns; streams