High-Latitude Rainforests and Associated Ecosystems of the West Coast of the Americas

Regional intercomparisons between ecosystems on different continents can be a powerful tool to better understand the ways in which ecosystems respond to global change. Large areas are often needed to characterize the causal mechanisms governing interactions between ecozones and their environments. Factors such as weather and climate patterns, land-ocean and land-atmosphere interactions all play important roles. As a result of the strong physical north-south symmetry between the western coasts of North and South America, the similarities in climate, coastal oceanography and physiography between these two regions have been extensively documented. High Latitude Rain Forests and Associated Ecosystems of the West Coast of the Americas presents current research on West Coast forest and river ecology, and compares ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest with those of South America.

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Section 1. Climate, Hydrology, and History.- 1. North-South Variations in West Coast Hydrometeorological Parameters and Their Significance for Earth Systems.- 2. Factors Controlling the Climate of the West Coast of North America.- 3. Sulfur Cycling in Coastal Upwelling Systems and Its Potential Effects on Climate.- 4. Atmospheric and Geologic Constraints on the Biogeochemistry of North and South American Temperate Rainforests.- 5. Past Changes in Climate and Tree Growth in the Western Americas.- 6. Constraints on Terrestrial Primary Productivity in Temperate Forests Along the Pacific Coast of North and South America.- Section 2. Biotic Patterns.- 7. Biodiversity Patterns in Relation to Climate: The Coastal Temperate Rainforests of North America.- 8. Phytogeographic Relationships and Regional Richness Patterns of the Cool Temperate Rainforest Flora of Southern South America.- 9. A Comparative Review of Forest Dynamics and Disturbance in the Temperate Rainforests of North and South America.- 10 Patterns of Terrestrial Vertebrate Diversity in New World Temperate Rainforests.- 11. Avian Communities in Temperate Rainforests of North and South America.- 12. The Importance of Plant-Bird Mutualisms in the Temperate Rainforest of Southern South America.- 13. The Temperate Rainforest Lakes of Chile and Canada: Comparative Ecology and Sensitivity to Anthropocentric Change.- Section 3. Forest System Responses to Human Activities.- 14. Implications of Patch Dynamics for Forested Ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest.- 15. Assessing and Responding to the Effects of Climate Change on Forest Ecosystems.- 16. A Comparison of the Ecology and Conservation Management of Cool Temperate Rainforest in Tasmania and the Americas.- 17. Logging Effects on the Aquatic Ecosystem: A Case Study in theCarnation Creek Experimental Watershed on Canada's West Coast.- 18. Biodiversity of Canadian Forests, with Particular Reference to the West Coast Forests.- Section 4. Conclusion.- 19. Afterword.