From landscape to ecosystem: across-scales functioning in changing environments (CRN2005)

The study examines how vegetation-environment interactions define ecotones in Canada and South America, finding that while climate warming can push treelines upward in the Andes, human disturbances and water scarcity often counteract these trends. In the Gran Chaco, deforestation is driven by land use and market demands, and in both Canada and Brazil, the growth-boosting effects of increased CO2 are being offset by decreasing water availability.

• In the Andes, the boundary between forest and páramo is determined by temperature and its extremes affecting trees and seedling success; however, human disturbance can push this ecotone downward, opposing climate trends.
• The Gran Chaco dry forest has experienced 80% deforestation, primarily driven by land use linked to remote markets, such as soybeans, and aided by an increase in rainfall.
• Increased atmospheric CO2 has boosted tree productivity in Canada and Brazil, but this effect is now being countered by a decrease in water availability, resulting in declining tree growth.
• Sediment cores from Southern Brazil indicate that forest-grassland boundaries have shifted repeatedly over centuries in response to variable climate conditions.

APA

Sarmiento, G., Rada, F., Sarmiento, L., Acevedo, D., Llambi, L. D., Chacon, E., Schwartzkopf, T., Romero, L., Smith, J., García, C., Cabido, M., Renison, D., Cingolani, A. M., Pillar, V., Dillenburg, L., Behling, H., Roig, F. A., Carretero, E. M., Orloci, L., ... Ablan, M. (2010). From landscape to ecosystem: across-scales functioning in changing environments (CRN2005). Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_5.pdf

Chicago

Sarmiento, Guillermo, Fermin Rada, Lina Sarmiento, Dimas Acevedo, Luis Daniel Llambi, Eulogio Chacon, Teresa Schwartzkopf, et al. From landscape to ecosystem: across-scales functioning in changing environments (CRN2005). Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2010. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sarmiento |first1=Guillermo |last2=Rada |first2=Fermin |last3=Sarmiento |first3=Lina |last4=Acevedo |first4=Dimas |last5=Llambi |first5=Luis Daniel |last6=Chacon |first6=Eulogio |last7=Schwartzkopf |first7=Teresa |last8=Romero |first8=Liccia |last9=Smith |first9=Julia |display-authors=etal |title=From landscape to ecosystem: across-scales functioning in changing environments (CRN2005) |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |date=February 2010 |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sarmiento2010from, author = {Sarmiento, Guillermo and Rada, Fermin and Sarmiento, Lina and Acevedo, Dimas and Llambi, Luis Daniel and Chacon, Eulogio and Schwartzkopf, Teresa and Romero, Liccia and Smith, Julia and García, Carlos and Cabido, Marcelo and Renison, Daniel and Cingolani, Ana María and Pillar, Valerio and Dillenburg, Lúcia and Behling, Herman and Roig, Fidel A. and Carretero, Eduardo Martinez and Orloci, Lazlo and Anand, Madhur and Ablan, Magdiel}, title = {{From landscape to ecosystem: across-scales functioning in changing environments (CRN2005)}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2010}, month = feb, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }