Abstract
A discriminant model was produced that predicts North American plant formations with basic climatic variables (monthly mean temperatures, monthly precipitation, and latitude). The model is based on data from 176 weather stations. Climatic variables from 30 additional randomly-selected weather stations were used to test the model. The predicted formation and actual formation at each site were compared; four sites were classified into the wrong formations (87% accuracy). This predictive model indicates a strong correlation between climate and formations in North America. Vegetation-climate models produced by canonical discriminant analysis may be useful in detecting geographical localities where non-climatic factors are particularly influential.
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I thank Dr D. M. Henderson for his assistance with the research and preparation of the manuscript and Dr R. L. Wallace for his review of the manuscript.
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Sowell, J.B. A predictive model relating North American plant formations and climate. Vegetatio 60, 103–111 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00040353
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00040353