98th ESA Annual Meeting (August 4 -- 9, 2013)

IGN 6-1 - Treeline research - what's in it for me?

Tuesday, August 6, 2013
101H, Minneapolis Convention Center
Melanie A. Harsch, Biology Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Why study treeline ecotones? The views are breathtaking.  But beyond spectacular views, treeline ecotones are a model system for climate change research, ecosystem boundaries, and life at the limits.  Research at treeline ecotones has been diverse in topic to spatial scales. Research has dealt with climate change, effects of biotic interactions on species distributions, climate reconstructions, evolution and adaptation, and much more. This talk will introduce the breadth of treeline research and applications beyond the trees themselves while introducing the basic concepts and terminology specific to treeline ecotones.