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Exposure-related forest-steppe: A diverse landscape type determined by topography and climate / Martin Hais in Journal of Arid Environments, vol 135 (December 2016)  

Public [article]  inJournal of Arid Environments > vol 135 (December 2016) . - pp 75 - 84 Titre : Exposure-related forest-steppe: A diverse landscape type determined by topography and climate Type de document : Article/Communication Auteurs : Martin Hais, Auteur ; Milan Chytrý, Auteur ; Michal Horsak, Auteur Année de publication : 2016 Article en page(s) : pp 75 - 84 Note générale : bibliographie Langues : Anglais (eng) Descripteur : [Termes IGN] climat continental [Termes IGN] hétérogénéité spatiale [Termes IGN] image Landsat [Termes IGN] modèle numérique de surface [Termes IGN] occupation du sol [Termes IGN] pente [Termes IGN] précipitation [Termes IGN] Sibérie [Termes IGN] steppe [Termes IGN] topographie locale [Vedettes matières IGN] Ecologie forestière Résumé : (auteur) Topographic heterogeneity under dry continental climate can create a landscape mosaic called “exposure-related forest-steppe”, characterized by a regular pattern of forest on the north- and steppe on the south-facing slopes. Here we identify the climatic and topographic determinants of this landscape type, using a model of the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia because they (1) contain large areas of forest-steppe together with forested and steppe landscapes, and (2) possess well-preserved natural land-cover. Based on the Landsat land-cover classification and digital elevation model we identified areas containing exposure-related forest-steppe and modeled their climatic and topographic thresholds using regression trees. The models showed that in the Altai exposure-related forest-steppe is most common in topographically heterogeneous areas with May–September precipitation of 226–377 mm and a mean July temperature of 13.8–15.6 °C. Its existence is jointly determined by hilly topography and a climate that is moist enough to support tree growth on north-facing slopes, but insufficiently so to support woodland development on south-facing slopes. This is consistent with the concept of effective topographic heterogeneity, suggesting that topographic heterogeneity on the landscape level is translated into high habitat diversity and species diversity only within a certain range of climatic conditions. Numéro de notice : A2016--158 Affiliation des auteurs : non IGN Thématique : FORET Nature : Article DOI : 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.08.011 Date de publication en ligne : 31/08/2016 En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.08.011 Format de la ressource électronique : URL article Permalink : https://documentation.ensg.eu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=86984 [article]