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Structural changes in the forest-tundra ecotone:A dynamic process

  • Conference paper
Past and Future Rapid Environmental Changes

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 47))

Abstract

In recent decades there has been increasing discussion of the possible effects of anthropogenic changes in climate. The biological consequences of anticipated changes have been discussed mostly in terms of ecosystem reaction to an increasingly warmer climate (Emanuel et al. 1985; Bonan et al. 1990; Botkin & Nisbet 1992; Chapin et al. 1995), involving a northward movement of boreal forest into areas currently covered by tundra (cf. Prentice et al. 1991). This generalized view can and needs to be discussed in depth in order to reach a more reliable prediction. This paper focuses on structural changes in time and space in the forest-tundra ecotone (i.e. the transition zone from closed forest to tundra, crossing the treeline up to the krummholz limit). The dynamic nature of the structural changes is discussed in relation to a hypothetical climate-vegetation equilibrium.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungasletta 2, N-7005, Trondheim, Norway

    Annika Hofgaard

Authors
  1. Annika Hofgaard
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Research Centre, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, DH1 3LE, Durham, UK

    Brian Huntley  & Judy R. M. Allen  & 

  2. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg, P.O. Box 6012 03, D-14412, Potsdam, Germany

    Wolfgang Cramer

  3. Quaternary Sciences Institute, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Alan V. Morgan

  4. Department of Systematic Botany, Lund University, Östra Vallgatan 18-20, S-223 61, Lund, Sweden

    Honor C. Prentice

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hofgaard, A. (1997). Structural changes in the forest-tundra ecotone:A dynamic process. In: Huntley, B., Cramer, W., Morgan, A.V., Prentice, H.C., Allen, J.R.M. (eds) Past and Future Rapid Environmental Changes. NATO ASI Series, vol 47. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60599-4_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60599-4_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-61877-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-60599-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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