Introduction
As the earth’s climate changes over the next century, many species adapted to specific climates will find themselves under increasing stress as their suitable habitat shifts beneath them. This can be especially harmful to sessile organisms such as plants that are unable to move as their ranges shift. Many of the ranges these plants inhabit can be defined in terms of a specific climate envelopes – defined as the set of climatic variables that make up a species habitable range. Our analysis examines a potential climate envelope for Oregon White Oak (Quercus Garryana). Oregon white Oak, commonly known as Oregon White Oak, is one of the Pacific Coast’s few native deciduous trees. Using the recent climate data as well as climate change model predictions for the region, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we attempt to identify the climate envelope for Oregon White Oak. We use this to determine current and future areas with suitable climates of the species. The documented range for Oregon White Oak is along the west coast of the United States and stretches from southern British Columbia, Canada, to central California in the United States. |