Lake-effect snow as the dominant control of mesic-forest distribution in Michigan, USA

1Recent studies demonstrated the sensitivity of northern forest ecosystems to changes in the amount and duration of snow cover at annual to decadal time scales. However, the consequences of snowfall variability remain uncertain for ecological variables operating at longer time scales, especially the distributions of forest communities. 2The Great Lakes region of North America offers a unique setting to examine the long-term effects of variable snowfall on forest communities. Lake-effect snow produces a three-fold gradient in annual snowfall over tens of kilometres, and dramatic edaphic variations occur among landform types resulting from Quaternary glaciations. We tested the hypothesis that these factors interact to control the distributions of mesic (dominated by Acer saccharum, Tsuga canadensis and Fagus grandifolia) and xeric forests (dominated by Pinus and Quercus spp.) in northern Lower Michigan. 3We compiled pre-European-settlement vegetation data and overlaid these data with records of climate, water balance and soil, onto Landtype Association polygons in a geographical information system. We then used multivariate adaptive regression splines to model the abundance of mesic vegetation in relation to environmental controls. 4Snowfall is the most predictive among five variables retained by our model, and it affects model performance 29% more than soil texture, the second most important variable. The abundance of mesic trees is high on fine-textured soils regardless of snowfall, but it increases with snowfall on coarse-textured substrates. Lake-effect snowfall also determines the species composition within mesic forests. The weighted importance of A. saccharum is significantly greater than of T. canadensis or F. grandifolia within the lake-effect snowbelt, whereas T. canadensis is more plentiful outside the snowbelt. These patterns are probably driven by the influence of snowfall on soil moisture, nutrient availability and fire return intervals. 5Our results imply that a key factor dictating the spatio-temporal patterns of forest communities in the vast region around the Great Lakes is how the lake-effect snowfall regime responds to global change. Snowfall reductions will probably cause a major decrease in the abundance of ecologically and economically important species, such as A. saccharum.

High-resolution FTIRS-inferred biogeochemical properties for MIS 11c in the sediment record of core ICDP5011-1 in Lake Elgygytgyn, NE Russia

Here we present a detailed multi-proxy record of the climate and environmental evolution at Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic during the period 430-395 ka covering the marine isotope stage (MIS) 12/11 transition and the thermal maximum of super interglacial MIS 11c. The MIS 12/11 transition at Lake El'gygytgyn is characterized by initial warming followed by a cold reversal implying similarities to the last deglaciation. The thermal maximum of MIS 11c is characterized by full and remarkably stable interglacial conditions with mean temperatures of the warmest month (MTWM) ranging between ca. 10-15 °C; annual precipitation (PANN) ranging between ca. 300-600 mm; strong in-lake productivity coinciding with dark coniferous forests in the catchment; annual disintegration of the lake ice cover; and full mixis of the water column. Such conditions persisted, according to our age model, for ca. 27 ± 8 kyr between ca. 425-398 ka. The Lake El'gygytgyn record closely resembles the climate pattern recorded in Lake Baikal (SE Siberia) sediments and Antarctic ice cores, implying interhemispheric climate connectivity during MIS 11c.

Index of the relative importance of fuel efficiency (IFE) in the motor vehicle market. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Research and Development, Washington, D.C.

Rules of the United States District court for the Northern district of Iowa, including rules in Bankruptcy, as amended and revised to April 1, 1924.

Mode of access: Internet.

The co-operation of retail liquor trade in saloon regulation.

Mode of access: Internet.

The thermal performance of earth covered buildings in hot, arid regions /

"Work Performed Under Contract No. EG-77-C-01-4042."

The practical application of space nuclear power in the 1960's for the International Astronautical Congress, Stockholm, Sweden, August 15-20, 1960 /

"Work done under AEC Contract: AT911-1)-GEN-8."

The second partition of Poland; a study in diplomatic history,

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Harvard University, 1910.

Research report on the physical condition of passenger vehicle tires in highway use. Final report.

National Bureau of Standards, Office of Vehicle Systems Research, Washington, D.C.

The universal library of music : graded masterpieces in pianoforte compositions /

v. 1-6. Instrumental -- v.7. Vocal.

Reports of decisions in the Supreme court of British Guiana ... and in the West Indian court of appeal

Editors: 19 -1921, L.C. Dalton; 1922, L.C. Dalton, S.J. Van Sertima; 1923, S.J. Van Sertima; 1924, E.M. Duke; 1925, E.M. Duke, S.J. Van Sertima; 1926-1930, S.J. Van Sertime; 1931, E.M. Duke

Abridged notes of cases argued and determined in the several courts of law and equity in Ireland : with some decisions at Nisi Prius and on the circuits : a table of cases and index to the principal matters.

Edited by George Crawford and Edward Spenser Dix.

Studies of the fatigue behavior of butt-welded joints in HY-80 and HY-100 steels /

"AD no. 452191."

I. The equilibrium in liquid mixtures of ammonia and xylene. II. The molecular weight of complex sodium tellurides in liquid ammonia,

Reprinted from articles by Charles A. Kraus and Edward H. Zeitfuchs in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, v. 44, no. 6, June, 1922 and v. 44, no. 12, December, 1922.

The industrial utility of public water supplies in the east North-Central States, 1952,

Mode of access: Internet.