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Bioclimatic Classification of US Vegetation Along a Coast-To-Coast Macrotransect Crossing Central United States

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Bioclimatic Classification of US Vegetation Along a Coast-To-Coast Macrotransect Crossing Central United States Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology Official Journal of the Societa Botanica Italiana ISSN: 1126-3504 (Print) 1724-5575 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tplb20 Bioclimatic classification of US vegetation along a coast-to-coast macrotransect crossing central United States. I: Mediterranean vegetation Manuel Peinado, Alejandro Aparicio, Juan Luis Aguirre & José Delgadillo To cite this article: Manuel Peinado, Alejandro Aparicio, Juan Luis Aguirre & José Delgadillo (2019) Bioclimatic classification of US vegetation along a coast-to-coast macrotransect crossing central United States. I: Mediterranean vegetation, Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology, 153:1, 147-162, DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2018.1492994 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2018.1492994 View supplementary material Published online: 14 Jul 2018. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 15 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tplb20 PLANT BIOSYSTEMS - AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL DEALING WITH ALL ASpECTS OF PLANT BIOLOGY, 2019 VOL. 153, NO. 1, 147–162 https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2018.1492994 Bioclimatic classification of US vegetation along a coast-to-coast macrotransect crossing central United States. I: Mediterranean vegetation Manuel Peinadoa, Alejandro Apariciob, Juan Luis Aguirreb and José Delgadilloc aDepartamento de Ciencias de la Vida & Instituto Franklin de Estudios Norteamericanos, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain; bCátedra de Medio Ambiente, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain; cFacultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Campus de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY This report presents the first of two parts of a bioclimatic classification of the vegetation of the United Received 7 February 2018 States. Using a geographical information system, 987 weather stations were located along a longitudinal Accepted 6 June 2018 macrotransect from the shores of the Atlantic to Pacific on four maps: Map of the Physiographic Divisions of KEYWORDS the Conterminous US, US Potential Natural Vegetation Map, US Ecoregion Map, and Terrestrial Ecosystems- Bioclimatology; Isobioclimates Map of the Conterminous United States. Based on these maps, bibliographic resources and biogeography; North field data, we deduced the potential natural vegetation (PNV) of each weather station; then, we assigned American plant communities; the different PNV types to alliance or association levels using the US National Vegetation Classification North American potential (USNVC). In a next step, USNVC groups were related with similar level phytosociological syntaxa described natural vegetation; in the study area. The bioclimatic distribution of the USNVC units defined was then interpreted using the Rivas-Martínez bioclimatic bioclimatic classification proposed in successive approximations by S. Rivas-Martínez. The distribution of classification; United USNVC alliances was mainly linked to the macrobioclimates (Mediterranean, Temperate, and Tropical) of States national vegetation the longitudinal gradient examined, though some edaphic factors induced the appearance of specialized classification; vegetation gradients plant groups. Herein, we present our data for the Mediterranean macrobioclimate, in which 53 alliances and 28 isobioclimates were identified. Abbreviations: AL: Alliance; AS: Association; EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency; G: Group; MB: Macrobioclimate; MG: Macrogroup; PNV: Potential Natural Vegetation; RMC: Rivas-Martínez et al. bioclimatic classification; US: United States; USNVC: United States National Vegetation Classification Introduction eight standard hierarchy levels organized into three upper lev- els (Class, Subclass, and Formation), three middle levels (Division, In the past century, an enormous body of phytosociological lit- Macrogroup, and Group) and two lower levels, Alliance and erature has been compiled (see Biondi 2011; Blasi and Frondoni Association, defined by detailed floristic composition associated 2011; Blasi et al. 2011; Pott 2011) resulting in diverse proposals with local to regional topo-edaphic and disturbance gradients for classifying vegetation types throughout Europe that have (Jennings et al. 2009; Faber-Langendoen et al. 2014). The units culminated in the synthesis of Mucina et al. (2016). Recently, the described so far in the USNVC system are: 7 classes, 17 subclasses, classification of US vegetation was boosted through the work 51 formations, 74 divisions, 197 macrogroups, 49593 groups, of some European phytosociologists and many North American 1281 alliances, and 6161 associations (USNVC 2016; updated ecologists. For example, advances in phytosociology applied to 02/02/2018). North America following Braun-Blanquet’s methods can be seen The alliance was the level chosen for our study though when- in Biondi and Casavecchia (2001), Rodríguez-Rojo et al. (2001), ever possible, the lowest level of association was also considered. Sánchez-Mata (2007, 2012), Peinado et al. (2011a, 2011b, 2014); The alliance is defined by a characteristic range of species com- 2016), Rivas-Martínez and Sánchez-Mata (2011), and Sánchez- position, habitat conditions, physiognomy, and diagnostic spe- Mata and Rodríguez-Rojo (2016), among others. cies, typically at least one of which is found in the uppermost or At the association level, the vegetation of the US is being dominant stratum of the vegetation. The association is defined on described in the USNVC (Jennings et al. 2008) within the frame- the basis of a characteristic range of species composition, diag- work of EcoVeg, a new physiognomic-floristic-ecological classi- nostic species occurrence, habitat conditions and physiognomy. fication approach that applies to existing vegetation worldwide Given the definitions of alliance and association are based on four (Faber-Langendoen et al. 2014). The USNVC establishes two broad criteria: characteristic taxa, physiognomy, ecology, and biogeog- categories: natural vegetation (including semi-natural) and cul- raphy, both levels have close similarities to the Braun-Blanquet tural vegetation in the sense of Küchler (1969). In the USNVC, classification (Faber-Langendoen et al. 2014). natural vegetation (on which our analysis focuses) consists of CONTACT Manuel Peinado [email protected] The underlying research materials for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2018.1492994. © 2018 Società Botanica Italiana Published online 14 Jul 2018 .M. PEINADO ET AL 148 Figure 1. Transects and physiographic provinces according to Fenneman and Johnson (1946). More detailed maps are provided in Appendices S2 and S3. According to the Ecoregion concept (Omernik 1987, 1995; from the Atlantic coast westwards to a point from which a north- Omernik and Griffith 2014), the United States Environmental ern and a southern branch emerge to form a loop. The whole Protection Agency (EPA) has virtually completed the mapping trace is thus shaped like a lasso (Figure 1). The linear distance of US Ecoregions (EPA 2016), and, following Rivas-Martínez’s covered along the area’s main highways was 18127 km, not bioclimatic methods, the United States Geological Survey pub- including short distances traveled to visit sampling sites beyond lished the US Isobioclimates Map (Cress et al. 2009). Our study the main route (up to 50 km on either side). was designed to identify the natural USNVC groups existing in From the Atlantic coast, the common path runs from the east- the study area, and to correlate them with EPA ecoregions at ernmost point of Back Bay, VA (36º 39′N, 75º 55′W), westwards Level IV, which we related to the biogegraphical classification until St. Louis, MO (38º 37′N, 90º 12′W). From here, emerge the of North America at the sector level (Rivas-Martínez et al. 1999), northern and southern stretches. The northern stretch, whose and with the bioclimatic types that determine their distribution most northern point is Casper, WY (42º 54′N, 106º 19 W), reaches across the continent using the classification of Rivas-Martínez the westernmost point of the study area in Eureka, CA (40º 48′ N, et al. (2011, 2016; hereafter RMC). In addition, when equivalences 124º 10′W), where the southern transect commences along the existed, USNVC units were related to phytosociological syntaxa Pacific coast until its most southern point in Chula Vista, CA (32º described for North America. In many cases, this was not possible, 38′N, 117º 02′W). From here, the route stretches northeast, enters especially for central and eastern US, because phytosociological the southwestern deserts of California, Nevada and Arizona. In studies published so far have mainly focused on the vegetation the middle of Arizona, it loops northwards, circling Grand Canyon of the West. Nevertheless, the syntheses of North American veg- National Park and crossing the National Parks Capitol Reef, etation by Rivas-Martínez (1997) and Rivas-Martínez et al. (1999) Canyonlands and Arches, before continuing eastwards, until we have been very useful for the whole study area. reach St. Louis. Figure 2 shows the altitudinal profiles of both In this paper, we present our results for the Mediterranean transects. Additional details are provided in Appendix S1. macrobioclimate, which served to identify and correlate 53 USNVC alliances
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