Global Change and Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems

Regions with Mediterranean-type climates include parts of California, South America, Australia, and of course, Europe. The effect of global climate change on these heavily populated areas will have major social and political ramifications.
This volume addresses issues in these areas, from processes at the leaf level to the individual, ecosystem, and landscape levels. This book will serve to raise awareness on the significance of these types of ecosystems, and on their sensitivity to the threat that global change represents.

Inhalt

1. Relevance of Regional Models for Analyzing Future Climate Change in the Iberian Peninsula.- 2. Modeling Leaf Level Effects of Elevated CO2 on Mediterranean Sclerophylls.- 3. Direct Effects of Elevated CO2 in Chaparral and Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems.- 4. Biomass Partitioning and Resource Allocation of Plants from Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems: Possible Responses to Elevated Atmospheric CO2.- 5. Preliminary Studies of the Long-Term CO2 Response of Mediterranean Vegetation Around Natural CO2 Vents.- 6. Anticipated Effects of Elevated CO2 and Climate Change on Plants from Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems Utilizing Results of Studies in Other Ecosystems.- 7. Plant Responses to Drought Under Climate Change in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems.- 8. Functional Attributes of Angiosperm Hemiparasites and Their Hosts and Predictions of Possible Effects of Global Climate Change on Such Relationships.- 9. Effects of Global Change on Plant-Animal Synchrony: Implications for Pollination and Seed Dispersal in Mediterranean Habitats.- 10. The Coastal Sage Scrub-Chaparral Boundary and Response to Global Climatic Change.- 11. Vegetation Response to Climatic Change in a Dune Ecosystem in Southern Spain.- 12. Monitoring Ecosystem Response to Global Change: High Spatial Resolution Digital Imagery.- 13. Monitoring Ecosystem Response to Global Change: Multitemporal Remote Sensing Analyses.- 14.Microbe-Plant Interactions in Mediterranean-Type Habitats: Shifts in Fungal Symbiotic and Saprophytic Functioning in Response to Global Change.- 15. Soil Organic Matter in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems and Global Climatic Changes: A Case Study-The Soils of the Mediterranean Basin.- 16. Ecosystem Response to Elevated CO2: Nutrient Availability and Nutrient Cycling.- 17. Volatile Organics in Mediterranean Shrubs and Their Potential Role in a Changing Environment.- 18. Using Catchments of Contrasting Hydrological Conditions to Explore Climate Change Effects on Water and Nutrient Flows in Mediterranean Forests.- 19. Water Balance of Mediterranean Ecosystems Under a Changing Climate.- 20. Patterns of Fire Occurrence Across a Climatic Gradient and Its Relationship to Meteorological Variables in Spain.- 21. Sensitivity of Fire Regime in Chaparral Ecosystems to Climate Change.- 22. Global Environmental Change to and the Future of Mediterranean Forest Avifauna.- 23. Monitoring Environmental Change Through Amphibian Populations.- 24. Conservation, Restoration, and Research Priorities for Mediterranean Uplands Threatened by Global Climate Change.