Climatic control of vegetation distribution: the role of the water balance
Abstract
The water balance describes climate as it is sensed by plants, as the interaction of energy and water in the environment. Discriminant analysis showed that the distribution of North American plant formations was more highly correlated with the water balance (actual evapotranspiration and deficit) than with the more traditional measures of climate (such as temperature and precipitation) used in several studies, including those used in the well-known works of Thornthwaite, Holdridge, and Whittaker. Much of the improved correlation could be attributed to the ability of the water balance to distinguish between climates similar in mean annual energy and water supplies but different in the seasonal timing of the two. Consideration of the water balance aided in the interpretation of possible mechanisms controlling the distribution of plant formations. For example, coniferous forest occurred at low actual evapotranspiration (low simultaneous availability of energy and water), consistent with the suggestion that conifers are better adapted than deciduous trees to environments with a low potential for primary production. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which climate controls vegetation distribution will help us predict the effects of changing climate on the future distribution of vegetation types.
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The distribution of vegetation types is largely controlled by the biophysical effects of climatic variables.
“The distribution of vegetation types is largely controlled by the biophysical effects of climatic variables [42–44].”
From Incorporating Anthropogenic Influences into Fire Probability Models: Effects of Human Activity and Climate Change on Fire Activity in California (2016) · cites this paper as [43]
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- Authors
- Stephenson, N. L.
- Corresponding author
- Stephenson, Nathan L.
- Venue
- The American Naturalist
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 1990-05
- Volume
- 135
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 649-670
- ISSN
- 0003-0147 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5323
- OpenAlex
- W2022934840
- Cited by
- 848
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 41 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 38 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 18.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The American Naturalist (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Keywords
- water balance, vegetation distribution, vegetation-climate interactions, actual evapotranspiration, evapotranspiration deficit, vegetation formations, coniferous forest, deciduous trees, primary production, climate change impacts on vegetation
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