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Application of MC1 to Wind Cave National Park: Lessons from a small-scale study: Chapter 8

August 21, 2015

MC1 was designed for application to large regions that include a wide range in elevation and topography, thereby encompassing a broad range in climates and vegetation types. The authors applied the dynamic global vegetation model MC1 to Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, USA, on the ecotone between ponderosa pine forest to the northwest and mixed-grass prairie to the southeast. They calibrated MC1 to simulate adequate fire effects in the warmer southeastern parts of the park to ensure grasslands there, while allowing forests to grow to the northwest, and then simulated future vegetation with climate projections from three GCMs. The results suggest that fire frequency, as affected by climate and/or human intervention, may be more important than the direct effects of climate in determining the distribution of ponderosa pine in the Black Hills region, both historically and in the future.

Publication Year 2015
Title Application of MC1 to Wind Cave National Park: Lessons from a small-scale study: Chapter 8
DOI 10.1002/9781119011705.ch8
Authors David A. King, Dominique M. Bachelet, Amy J. Symstad
Publication Type Book Chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Index ID 70157156
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center