Plant communities define distinct climatic life zones across latituderable and elevation gradients.

Evidence

Biologists have developed the idea of climatic life zones mainly on the basis of different plants that grow at different latitudes and different elevations, as influenced by differences in average temperatures and also by quantities of rainfall or snowfall. Typical animals are also found in these different zones so that the whole concept is PROFILE OF 13,000 CENTRAL SIERRA NEVADA 12,000 [after TREES, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1,000 1949. — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods, 102

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘climatic life zone’ framework used throughout the chapter to organize vegetation by latitude and elevation.
• XREF: connects to: Climate, animals, fire, and people all shape which plants grow where — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 70; Prevailing forest types directly reflect the climatic zones that created them. — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 96; Mountain ranges, coasts, and Great Lakes channel air-mass movement that creates regional climates. — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 93 (+18 more)

Broader Connections

• Undergrowth density and plant spacing reveal local rainfall levels #expands (0.90) — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods, 122
• Sustained attention reveals that species vary across geographic space #corroborates (0.90)
• Each degradation aspect traces to specific physical mechanisms in habitat #complicates (0.90) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 663
• Shrubland diversity arises from varied disturbance rather than a single optimum #expands (0.85) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 672
• Species differ sharply in flood tolerance that explains their cliff elevation #corroborates (0.85) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 296
• Bioregionalism identifies with place through dedicated observation and responsibility #complicates (0.85) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 428
• Slope aspect and cold-air drainage create sharply different microclimates within yards #corroborates (0.85) — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods, 123
• Ecological time scales vary across species and landforms #qualifies (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1093
• Indigenous harvesting practices are environmental factors plants depend on for survival #complicates (0.80) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 499
• Air, water, and living species all function as common pools spanning space and time #expands (0.80) — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 133
• Ecosystem resilience increases with species diversity against species loss #expands (0.80) — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 314
• Nutrient availability within a single-tree gap varies between crown and bole zones #complicates (0.75) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1987
• Microclimate inside a forest gap depends on gap diameter relative to tree height. #complicates (0.75) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 164
• Landscape-level diversity in the BWCA depends on a fire-made mosaic of successional stages. #complicates (0.75) — Miron L. Heinselman, Fire in the Virgin Forests of the…, 411
• Survival in unfamiliar environments requires local ecological knowledge, not just provisions #complicates (0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 120