The case for gradient experimental approaches in climate extremes research

Since the early 2000’s, ecologists have advocated for the use of more statistically powerful and informative experimental designs in the form of regression experiments. While the adoption of regression experimental designs is largely uncertain, it is clear that it has not been applied to climate extremes research. Here I discuss the first set of field experiments imposing climatic treatments of 11 levels within two ecosystems of opposing climatic backgrounds. I then build the case for why the next generation of experiments in climate extremes research should impose gradients of climatic extremity.