Forest Tree Genetic Conservation Status Report 1: In situ conservation status of all indigenous BC species

Resource 2. Subzone/variant climate analysis

– Discriminant 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.

Zoom in to view subzone/variant labels for AT BG BWBS CWH ESSF ICH IDF MH MS PP SBPS SBS and SWB zones.

Zoom in to view subzone/variant labels for AT BG BWBS CWH ESSF ICH IDF MH MS PP SBPS SBS and SWB zones.