Potential impacts of climate change on the habitat of boreal woodland caribou

Boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are currently listed as threatened in Canada, with populations in the province of Alberta expected to decline as much as 50 percent over the next 8–15 yr. We assessed the future of caribou habitat across a region of northeast Alberta using a model...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecosphere (Washington, D.C) D.C), 2018-10, Vol.9 (10), p.n/a
Main Authors: Barber, Quinn E., Parisien, Marc‐André, Whitman, Ellen, Stralberg, Diana, Johnson, Chris J., St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues, DeLancey, Evan R., Price, David T., Arseneault, Dominique, Wang, Xianli, Flannigan, Mike D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal populations
Bears
Boreal forests
Climate change
Coniferous forests
Deer
Disease
disturbance modeling
Ecosystems
Environmental impact
Forests
Grasslands
Habitats
Health risks
Moose
Peatlands
predation risk
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
Wildfires
wildland fire
woodland caribou
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are currently listed as threatened in Canada, with populations in the province of Alberta expected to decline as much as 50 percent over the next 8–15 yr. We assessed the future of caribou habitat across a region of northeast Alberta using a model of habitat‐quality and projections of future climate from three general circulation models. We used mapped climatic and topo‐edaphic properties to project future upland vegetation cover and a fire simulation model to project the frequency and extent of wildfires. Based on those projections, we quantified the future habitat of caribou according to estimates of nutritional resources and predation risk derived from vegetation cover type and stand age. Grassland vegetation covered up to half of the study area by the 2080s, expanding from
ISSN:2150-8925
2150-8925
DOI:10.1002/ecs2.2472