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Intro paragraph (edited version)

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Variations in average annual precipitation across a defined range can constitute an environmental gradient.

An environmental gradient, or climate gradient, is a change in abiotic (non-living) factors through space (or time). Environmental gradients can be related to factors such as altitude, depth, temperature, soil humidity and precipitation. Often times, a multitude of biotic (living) factors are closely related to these gradients; as a result of a change in an environmental gradient, factors such as species abundance, population density, morphology, primary productivity, predation, and local adaptation may be impacted.[1]

 

Abiotic Influence (edited version)

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The species distribution along environmental gradients has been studied intensively due to large databases of species presence data (e.g. GBIF). The abiotic factors that environmental gradients consist of can have a direct ramifications on organismal survival. Generally, organismal distribution is tied to those abiotic factors, but even an environmental gradient of one abiotic factor yields insight into how a species distribution might look. For example, aspects of the landscape such as soil composition, temperature, and precipitation all factor in to an accurate idea of habitable territory a plant species might occupy; information on one of those factors can help form an environmental gradient by which a proximate species distribution may be generated.[2] Similarly, along the upstream-downstream gradient of a river, fish assemblages (groupings) can vary in species and trait diversity; upstream habitats, which tend to be at higher elevations, have been observed to develop greater species and trait diversity. With elevated regions most intensely feeling the effects of climate change and these effects being linked to increased species diversity in impacted regions, this is a key consideration in prioritizing habitats for conservation efforts.[3] At an ecotone, species abundances change relatively quickly compared to the environmental gradient.

Impact of Climate Change

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Current models predict that as climate change intensifies, certain environmental gradients may experience the effects as changing rates of natural processes or impacts on distribution and characteristics of species within them.[4][5][6] Given the interconnectedness of abiotic factors, long-term disturbances of one gradient have the possibility of affecting other gradients.

Soil characteristics

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Soil respiration, the process of soil naturally releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, acts as an example of this. In areas where soil moisture is not limiting (with moisture being a key part of the respiration process), soil respiration increases with rising temperatures; thus, respiration patterns form the gradient, and higher emissions are observed in warmer ecosystems. Similarly, rate of precipitation has a positive correlation with respiration (as moisture no longer becomes a limiting factor). Thus, it not only is its own gradient (average precipitation across a range), but also connects with the respiration gradient and impacts it.[7]

Altitude

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Altitude gradients are a key consideration in understanding migration patterns due to the effects of global warming. As temperatures increase, trees adapted to warmer climates will migrate uphill for access to sunlight, and thus populations of temperate or cold-adapted trees and the habitats suitable for them will shrink.[8]

Environmental gradients in society

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The distribution of radiation traveling outward from the site of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster formed a man-made environmental gradient on the Honshu island of Japan.

Environmental gradients are not limited to naturally occurring variations in environmental factors across a range; they have also been created by human activity and industrialization. Air pollution is present as an environmental gradient in areas containing power plants, factories, and other pollutant-emitting facilities, as are environmental toxins, such as heavy metals, radiation, and pesticides; generally speaking, concentration decreases as distance from origin site increases.[9][10][11] Differences in exposure to these elements across populations due to proximity to the origin site has become a major concern of environmental and public health activists, who cite health disparities linked to these gradients as an environmental justice concern.[12][13]

  1. ^ Floret, C.; Galan, M. J.; LeFloc'h, E.; Orshan, G.; Romane, F. (1990). "Growth forms and phenomorphology traits along an environmental gradient: tools for studying vegetation?". Journal of Vegetation Science. 1 (1): 71–80. doi:10.2307/3236055. ISSN 1654-1103. JSTOR 3236055.
  2. ^ Kirkman, L. K.; Mitchell, R. J.; Helton, R. C.; Drew, M. B. (November 2001). "Productivity and species richness across an environmental gradient in a fire-dependent ecosystem". American Journal of Botany. 88 (11): 2119–2128. doi:10.2307/3558437. ISSN 0002-9122. JSTOR 3558437. PMID 21669643.
  3. ^ Buisson, Laëtitia; Grenouillet, Gaël (2009). "Contrasted impacts of climate change on stream fish assemblages along an environmental gradient". Diversity and Distributions. 15 (4): 613–626. doi:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2009.00565.x.
  4. ^ Pardi, Melissa I.; Graham, Russell W. (2019). "Changes in small mammal communities throughout the late Quaternary across eastern environmental gradients of the United States". Quaternary International. 530–531: 80–87. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2018.05.041.
  5. ^ Wehn, Sølvi; Lundemo, Sverre; Holten, Jarle I. (2014). "Alpine vegetation along multiple environmental gradients and possible consequences of climate change". Alpine Botany. 124 (2): 155–164. doi:10.1007/s00035-014-0136-9. ISSN 1664-2201.
  6. ^ Henry, P.; Russello, M. A. (2013). "Adaptive divergence along environmental gradients in a climate‐change‐sensitive mammal". Ecology and Evolution. 3 (11): 3906–3917. doi:10.1002/ece3.776. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 3810883. PMID 24198948.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
  7. ^ Reynolds, Lorien L.; Johnson, Bart R.; Pfeifer‐Meister, Laurel; Bridgham, Scott D. (2015). "Soil respiration response to climate change in Pacific Northwest prairies is mediated by a regional Mediterranean climate gradient". Global Change Biology. 21 (1): 487–500. doi:10.1111/gcb.12732. ISSN 1354-1013.
  8. ^ Ruiz-Labourdette, Diego; Nogués-Bravo, David; Ollero, Helios Sáinz; Schmitz, María F.; Pineda, Francisco D. (2012). "Forest composition in Mediterranean mountains is projected to shift along the entire elevational gradient under climate change: Forest dynamics under climate change". Journal of Biogeography. 39 (1): 162–176. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02592.x.
  9. ^ Semenova, Yuliya; Pivina, Lyudmila; Zhunussov, Yersin; Zhanaspayev, Marat; Chirumbolo, Salvatore; Muzdubayeva, Zhanna; Bjørklund, Geir (2020). "Radiation-related health hazards to uranium miners". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 27 (28): 34808–34822. doi:10.1007/s11356-020-09590-7. ISSN 0944-1344.
  10. ^ Tsai, Wen-Tien (2005). "An overview of environmental hazards and exposure risk of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)". Chemosphere. 61 (11): 1539–1547. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.03.084.
  11. ^ Ameh, Thelma; Sayes, Christie M. (2019). "The potential exposure and hazards of copper nanoparticles: A review". Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. 71: 103220. doi:10.1016/j.etap.2019.103220.
  12. ^ Evans, Gary W.; Kantrowitz, Elyse (2002). "Socioeconomic Status and Health: The Potential Role of Environmental Risk Exposure". Annual Review of Public Health. 23 (1): 303–331. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.23.112001.112349. ISSN 0163-7525.
  13. ^ Lauriola, Paolo; Crabbe, Helen; Behbod, Behrooz; Yip, Fuyuen; Medina, Sylvia; Semenza, Jan C.; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Kass, Dan; Zeka, Ariana; Khonelidze, Irma; Ashworth, Matthew (2020-03-17). "Advancing Global Health through Environmental and Public Health Tracking". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17 (6): 1976. doi:10.3390/ijerph17061976. ISSN 1660-4601. PMC 7142667. PMID 32192215.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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