Poster, AVEC - Integrated Assessment of Vulnerable Ecosystems under Global Change, International Summer School, Peyresq, Alpes des Haute-Provence, France: 14.09.2003 - 27.09.2003
Abstract:
I investigate spatial patterns of plant diversity through a raster based spatially explicit approach in a nested sampling design. The following questions are in focus: To which extend are disturbances responsible for the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation in comparison to abiotic factors? The investigations take place in highly vulnerable ecosystems (transition zone from ancient Stone Oak (Quercus rotundifolia) forest to halfa-grass (Stipa tenacissima) steppe) in North-Eastern Morocco. The major impacts are grazing (goats and sheep), illegal wood cutting and harvesting of rosemary. When this approach is successful, it will be possible to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of vegetation cover as response to human induced disturbance with a scalable, widely assignable, originator independent method on a range of spatial and temporal resolution.