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Organized Proposal Session

North American boundary forests: diversity, conservation, and fire management

3 - Topography-driven microclimate gradients shape forest structure, diversity, and composition at a Nebraskan biome transition zone

Saturday, October 28, 2023

8:30am - 8:45am PST

Location: A2

Speaker(s)

Bailey McNichol, PhD (she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Michigan State University
Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Co-author(s)

RW

Ran Wang, PhD

Research Assistant Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
AH

Amanda Hefner, BS

Niobrara Valley Preserve Community and Engagement Coordinator
The Nebraska Nature Conservancy
CH

Chris Helzer, PhD

Director of Science
The Nebraska Nature Conservancy
SM

Sean McMahon, PhD

Principal Investigator, Senior Scientist
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Sabrina E. Russo, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professor, School of Biological Sciences
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States

In a mixed temperate refugial forest at a forest-grassland transition zone in the North American Great Plains, we found that topography-driven microclimate variation shapes patterns of forest structure, diversity, and composition, suggesting that microclimatic refugia within topographically complex regions may serve as potential buffers against climate-driven changes in biome diversity.