IAI-Final Report_ISP1_071: Comparative Studies in North and South America Along An Aridity Gradient

This dataset refers to Final Report of the ISP round I project number 071,
which has the name "COMPARATIVE STUDIES IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA ALONG AN
ARIDITY GRADIENT: A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO UPSCALING THE FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF
DIVERSITY WITHIN PLANT COMMUNITIES". The understanding of natural systems has
always been difficult due to their high number of constituent species. Any
attempt to go beyond the descriptive level into explanation, prediction and
sustainable manipulation needs to reduce the enormous taxonomic diversity in to
fewer groups of ecologically similar species. This approach has recently
provoked renewed interest, in view of the urgent challenges represented by
global climate change and massive loss of biodiversity. Both problems have to
be tackled expediently, as well as on strong theoretical basis. This project
proposed to develop comparative studies on structural and functional
characteristics of ecologically similar plant communities in North and South
America. To find information about this project, as well as its results, see
the Final Report.
ftp://disbr1.iai.int/iai/isp1/071-Castellanos/Final_Report.pdf