Abstract
Models examining the present-day relationship between macro-scale patterns in terrestrial species richness and variables of water and energy demonstrate that a combined water-energy model is a good predictor of richness in mid-to-high latitude regions. However, the power of the individual water and energy variables to explain this richness through time has never been explored. Here, we assess how well energy and water can predict long-term variations in plant richness using a 320 000-year fossil pollen data set from Hungary. Results demonstrate that a combined water-energy model best explains the variation in plant diversity through time. However, this long temporal record also demonstrates that amplitude of energy variation appears to be a strong determinant of richness. Decreased richness correlates with increased climate variability and certain species appear to be more susceptible according to their ecological traits. These findings have important implications for predicting richness at times of increasing climate variability.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 673-679 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Ecology Letters |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2007 |
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Keywords
- climate variability
- cold tolerance
- diversity loss
- drought tolerance
- ecological traits
- macroecology
- palaeoecology
- plant richness
- pliocene
- water-energy dynamics
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Testing the impact of climate variability on European plant diversity : 320 000 Years of water-energy dynamics and its long-term influence on plant taxonomic richness. / Willis, Katherine J.; Kleczkowski, Adam; New, Mark; Whittaker, Robert J.
In: Ecology Letters, Vol. 10, No. 8, 01.08.2007, p. 673-679.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Testing the impact of climate variability on European plant diversity
T2 - Ecology Letters
AU - Willis, Katherine J.
AU - Kleczkowski, Adam
AU - New, Mark
AU - Whittaker, Robert J.
PY - 2007/8/1
Y1 - 2007/8/1
N2 - Models examining the present-day relationship between macro-scale patterns in terrestrial species richness and variables of water and energy demonstrate that a combined water-energy model is a good predictor of richness in mid-to-high latitude regions. However, the power of the individual water and energy variables to explain this richness through time has never been explored. Here, we assess how well energy and water can predict long-term variations in plant richness using a 320 000-year fossil pollen data set from Hungary. Results demonstrate that a combined water-energy model best explains the variation in plant diversity through time. However, this long temporal record also demonstrates that amplitude of energy variation appears to be a strong determinant of richness. Decreased richness correlates with increased climate variability and certain species appear to be more susceptible according to their ecological traits. These findings have important implications for predicting richness at times of increasing climate variability.
AB - Models examining the present-day relationship between macro-scale patterns in terrestrial species richness and variables of water and energy demonstrate that a combined water-energy model is a good predictor of richness in mid-to-high latitude regions. However, the power of the individual water and energy variables to explain this richness through time has never been explored. Here, we assess how well energy and water can predict long-term variations in plant richness using a 320 000-year fossil pollen data set from Hungary. Results demonstrate that a combined water-energy model best explains the variation in plant diversity through time. However, this long temporal record also demonstrates that amplitude of energy variation appears to be a strong determinant of richness. Decreased richness correlates with increased climate variability and certain species appear to be more susceptible according to their ecological traits. These findings have important implications for predicting richness at times of increasing climate variability.
KW - climate variability
KW - cold tolerance
KW - diversity loss
KW - drought tolerance
KW - ecological traits
KW - macroecology
KW - palaeoecology
KW - plant richness
KW - pliocene
KW - water-energy dynamics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34347261020&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01056.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01056.x
M3 - Article
VL - 10
SP - 673
EP - 679
JO - Ecology Letters
JF - Ecology Letters
SN - 1461-023X
IS - 8
ER -