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| Community structure and ecosystem processes often vary along elevational
gradients. Their responses to elevation are commonly driven by changes
in temperature, and many community- and ecosystem-level variables therefore
frequently respond similarly to elevation across contrasting gradients.
There are also many exceptions, sometimes because other factors such as
precipitation can also vary with elevation. Given this complexity, our capacity
to predict when and why the same variable responds differently among
disparate elevational gradients is often limited. Furthermore, there is utility
in using elevational gradients for understanding community and ecosystem
responses to global climate change atmuch larger spatial and temporal scales
than is possible through conventional ecological experiments. However, future
studies that integrate elevational gradient approaches with experimental
manipulations will provide powerful information that can improve predictions
of climate change impacts within and across ecosystems. | |
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