Estimating Climate Resilience in Boreal Forests Through Functional Diversity
| dc.contributor.author | Reitz, Michael | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-01-06T17:37:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-01-06T17:37:21Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-05 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The largest threat to northern forests ecosystems is the poleward migration of southern species, which are outcompeting and displacing the native vegetation. To mitigate this shift, land managers must optimize the growth rate of their forests and identify high priority areas for management or conservation. This study addressed these needs by analyzing which factors correlated to functional diversity in northeast Minnesota, which has been shown to increase overall productivity in southern boreal forests. We hypothesized that climatic and biological factors would have a statistically significant influence on functional diversity. Four sites were selected across a range of forest and landscape types within the southern boreal region. Averaged trait measurements by species were put into novel functional diversity indices to estimate ecological function. Data collected from climate models, site visits, and LiDAR were put into models to explain variation of functional diversity. We found that our hypothesis was supported. Both biological and climate variables were statistically significant in nearly all of the strongest models. We also noted that scope of our models significantly impacted their explanatory power. Models run with all plots together tended to be the weakest, models divided by broad plant community classifications were slightly stronger, and models grouped by a specific site or plant community both tended to be the strongest. These targeted models also leaned more heavily either towards biological or climate models, but did not completely abandon either category. Our results suggest that both site and native plant community play an important role in how tree species relate to one another. Within the scope of northeast Minnesota, these models will begin guiding conservation management and functional diversity research. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/67783 | |
| dc.title | Estimating Climate Resilience in Boreal Forests Through Functional Diversity | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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