Cold air drainage and pooling occur in many mountain valleys, especially at night and during winter. Local
climate regimes associated with frequent cold air pooling have substantial impacts on species phenology, distribution and
diversity. However, little is known about how the degree and frequency of cold air drainage and pooling...
Ecosystem services play a crucial role in sustaining human well-being and economic viability. People benefit substantially from the delivery of ecosystem services, for which substitutes usually are costly or unavailable. Climate change will substantially alter or eliminate certain ecosystem services in the future. To better understand the consequences of climate...
The general objective of this study was to develop
models and datasets that would significantly advance our
ability to assess the current and future effects of global
change on the biosphere. The focus was in two areas: (1)
preparing environmental datasets at regional to small
watershed scales; and (2) developing...
Spatial climate datasets of 1981–2010 long-term mean monthly average dew point and minimum and maximum vapor pressure deficit were developed for the conterminous United States at 30-arcsec (~800m) resolution. Interpolation of long-term averages (twelve monthly values per variable) was performed using PRISM (Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model). Surface stations...
Cold air drainage and pooling occur in many mountain valleys, especially at night and during winter. Local
climate regimes associated with frequent cold air pooling have substantial impacts on species phenology, distribution and
diversity. However, little is known about how the degree and frequency of cold air drainage and pooling...
In the arid western United States, wildlife water developments, or ‘‘guzzlers,’’ are important water sources for wildlife, and consist of impermeable roof structures designed to intercept precipitation and small tanks for storing water. Guzzlers are typically installed in remote mid- to high-elevation basins, where precipitation data are often scarce. In...
The accurate prediction of winter injury caused by low-temperature events is a key component of the effective cultivation of woody and herbaceous perennial plants. A common method employed to visualize geographic patterns in the severity of low-temperature events is to map a climatological variable that closely correlates with plant survival....
Several crops have recently been identified as potential dedicated bioenergy feedstocks for the production of power, fuels, and bioproducts. Despite being identified as early as the 1980s, no systematic work has been undertaken to characterize the spatial distribution of their long-term production potentials in the United states. Such information is...
In many regions of the world, the extremes of winter cold are a major determinant of the geographic distribution of perennial plant species and of their successful cultivation. In the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) is the primary reference for defining geospatial...
1. Spatial climate variables are routinely used in species distribution models (SDMs) without accounting for the
fact that they have been predicted with uncertainty, which can lead to biased estimates, erroneous inference and
poor performances when predicting to new settings – for example under climate change scenarios.
2. We show...
