Biotic disturbance facilitates range shift at the trailing but not the leading edge of lodgepole pine’s altitudinal distribution
Renwick KM, Rocca ME, Stohlgren TJ. 2016. Biotic disturbance facilitates range shift at the trailing but not the leading edge of lodgepole pine’s altitudinal distribution. Journal of Vegetation Science. 27(4)
Climate change will alter the geographic distribution of many species, but in forest communities, long-lived trees often persist after the climate is no longer suitable for recruitment. Disturbance eventsmay accelerate distribution shifts in forested ecosystems by removing persistent trees and creating new recruitment opportunities for species better adapted to the current climate. Here, we investigate how biological disturbances such as insect outbreaks may interact with climate change to initiate tree species range shifts.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Renwick, Katherine; Rocca, Monique; Stohlgren, Thomas
- Units
- ROMO
- Keywords
- Climate change, Competition; Disturbance, Ecotone, Lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta, Range shift