Integrating dynamic plant growth models and microclimates for species distribution modelling

Abstract

Climate is a major factor determining the distribution of plant species. Correlative models are frequently used to model the relationships between species distributions and climatic drivers but, increasingly, their use for prediction in novel scenarios such as climate change is being questioned. Mechanistic models, where processes limiting plant distribution are explicitly included, are regarded as preferable but more challenging. The availability of tools for simulating microclimates with high spatial and temporal definition has also opened new possibilities for simulating the limiting environmental stresses experienced by plants over their ontogeny. However, the field of mechanistic speci..