Subzone/variant climate analysis

Since many climate variables may be relevant in determining species ranges and tree species composition, we use a canonical discriminant analysis approach to quantify and differentiate subzones/variants. This method builds new variables by linear combinations of original climate variables, so that the variance among subzones/variants is maximized. In addition, non-linear combinations of various climate variables are included (e.g. temperature divided by precipitation as an indicator of dryness). The plot below shows the first two combination-variables that mainly express gradients in continentality (horizontal) and moisture/temperature (vertical). Two more important combination variables that distinguish the sub-boreal ecosystems in the third and fourth dimension are not shown here.

Click on any zone on the map to view subzone/variant labels.