Plant species responses to climate variables

Plant species responses to climate variables Climate change will force plant species to react; they can stay and adapt, disperse at a rate so they can match the climate change ‘speed', or they will, in term, become extinct. Effects of climate change are not limited to temperature raise alone, but e.g. also affect precipitation. Knowledge on the responses and preferences of plant species to temperature and precipitation can help to under-stand better species response to climate change and may identify species that are under threat, though at presents there are no signs yet that they are endangered due to climate change. We used our earlier developed method to estimate plant species responses for soil variables to esti-mate plant species response to climate variables. Responses were estimated for temperature (annual mean, average highest en lowest temperature) and precipitation (yearly total and growing season total). Responses were estimated on a European scale, combining vegetation relevés, climatic in-formation from weather stations and an altitude map from Europe. We extrapolated the climatic in-formation using the altitude map to estimate the temperatures and rainfall at the sites the relevés were made. This resulted in responses to climatic variables for many European plant species. The responses will undergo further testing on their reliability and we will be made available through the website www.abiotic.wur.nl.