Kelly Anne E, Goulden Michael L
Center for Environmental Analysis, Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 19;105(33):11823-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0802891105. Epub 2008 Aug 12.
A change in climate would be expected to shift plant distribution as species expand in newly favorable areas and decline in increasingly hostile locations. We compared surveys of plant cover that were made in 1977 and 2006-2007 along a 2,314-m elevation gradient in Southern California's Santa Rosa Mountains. Southern California's climate warmed at the surface, the precipitation variability increased, and the amount of snow decreased during the 30-year period preceding the second survey. We found that the average elevation of the dominant plant species rose by approximately 65 m between the surveys. This shift cannot be attributed to changes in air pollution or fire frequency and appears to be a consequence of changes in regional climate.
气候变化预计会导致植物分布发生变化,因为物种会在新的适宜区域扩张,而在日益恶劣的环境中减少。我们比较了1977年以及2006 - 2007年在南加州圣罗莎山脉2314米海拔梯度上进行的植物覆盖调查。在第二次调查前的30年里,南加州地表气候变暖,降水变率增加,降雪量减少。我们发现,两次调查之间优势植物物种的平均海拔上升了约65米。这种变化不能归因于空气污染或火灾频率的改变,似乎是区域气候变化的结果。