Ecological Plots Research Articles

Floristic composition and biomass estimate of Rubiaceae in Bangi Permanent Forest Reserve, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia

A study on floristic composition, community structure and biomass of Rubiaceae was carried out in Bangi Permanent Forest Reserve, Selangor. In the 0.45 ha of ecological plots, a total of 17 species from three genera of Rubiaceae was recorded for trees with a diameter ≥ 1.0 cm DBH. Three genera viz. Canthium, Ixora and Urophyllum were represented by two species each, while remaining genera comprised of a single species each. Shrub group represented the largest total number of species with seven species followed by the understorey with four species. The range of tree DBH in the study plot was between 1.0 and 31.3 cm. The genus with highest density was Aidia, viz. 244 trees/ha, represented by Aidia densiflora. Total basal area for Rubiaceae was 1.69 m2/ha, with the genus Aidia, specifically the species Aidia densiflora, contributing the highest basal area of 0.57 m2/ha (33.91%). Total biomass estimate (above ground and below ground) for this family was 16.71 t/ha. At genus level, Timonius contributed the highest total biomass value, viz. 5.82 t/ha (34.85%), represented by the species Timonius wallichianus.

Study on spatiotemporal changes and influencing factors of frozen soil moisture during freeze-thaw period under different ecological construction measures in the loess plateau of China

The climatic conditions and soil characteristics of the Loess Plateau in China make it have a unique freeze–thaw process and the distribution of soil unfrozen water. In order to elucidate the spatio-temporal variation of soil unfrozen water during freeze–thaw period and its influencing factors under different ecological construction measures, The spatial and temporal variation of soil unfrozen moisture and its main influencing factors in five different ecological plots in the Loess Plateau during freeze–thaw period were studied by combining field monitoring and indoor calculation. The results showed that: (1) the spatiotemporal changes of unfrozen water content in soil were different under different vegetation restoration methods. The variation of unfrozen water content in fallow land was the largest at 20cm depth, while the variation in surface 10cm was the largest in the other four plots. (2) The average unfrozen water content of soil in the representative soil layer can be estimated more accurately, and the best representative soil layer in the five sample plots is concentrated in 20–30 cm. (3) During seasonal freeze–thaw period, the main controlling environmental factors of unfrozen water content are air temperature and surface temperature. The results can provide reference for soil protection and water resources management in northwest China, especially in the Loess Plateau.

Ecological and Floristic Plant Surveys of Little Wabash River Nature Preserve, Indiana

Forests in northeastern Indiana are relegated to relatively small fragments and have become important patches in a landscape dominated by agriculture. Little Wabash River Nature Preserve is a property in Allen County, Indiana, closed to the public and protected by ACRES Land Trust. We conducted ecological surveys at 48 regular plots located along seven transects through the property that consisted of identifying and counting individual plants at understory, midstory, and overstory strata and recording several ecological factors. These were augmented by floristic meandering surveys during the growing season of 2019 to record plant species that may not have been encountered at the ecological plots and thereby give a fuller picture of the floristic composition of the property. We encountered a total of 251 identified species during the ecological and floristic surveys. Analysis showed understory abundance, richness, and diversity were positively related to available light (photosynthetically active radiation) and negatively related to canopy cover. The most abundant species in the midstory were non-native species. Juglans nigra had the greatest frequency and dominance in the overstory. In nonmetric multidimensional scaling, there was clear separation of the plant community within the forested portion from the community in the adjacent to the small old-field. Mean C-value for the site was 2.87, which resulted in a 41.56 FQI. The FQI may be an over-estimation of the conservation importance of the site and the Mean C-value may be an under-estimation of that importance. Overall, the Nature Preserve provides an example of the plant diversity can exist in a small, protected forest. While there are some common non-native species, there is habitat for a relatively large pool of species and may be of importance for protection within the surrounding disturbed landscape.

ВЗАЄМОЗВ’ЯЗОК ІННОВАЦІЙНОГО ТА СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕТИЧНОГО МАРКЕТИНГІВ ЯК ДЖЕРЕЛА ФОРМУВАННЯ КОНКУРЕНТНИХ ПЕРЕВАГ

The article examines the issue of using the concepts of innovative marketing and social-ethical marketing as related elements to increase the competitiveness of the enterprise. The purpose of the article is to study the possibility of combining the concepts of innovative marketing and socio-ethical marketing for the formation of sustainable competitive advantages of enterprises on domestic and global markets. The authors identified the main trends in consumer behavior in 2023 according to the report of the research company Euromonitor International and the possibility of using these trends for the implementation of innovative activities of the enterprise. It has been established that the needs of modern consumers are based on the principles of sustainable development and social responsibility. The main features of innovative marketing and socio-ethical marketing in terms of marketing complexes are established and synergistic connections between the two concepts are proposed. Also, as an idea for the development of the farm, the fragmentation of sown areas into ecological plots was proposed, where measures to improve the component qualities of products will be maximally observed. The authors proposed innovative steps of the company’s activity using the principles of social and ethical marketing. On the example of the farm company “Batkivshchyna” of the Krasnopilska community of the Sumy region, the possibility of combining the principles of innovative and socio-ethical marketing in its activities was considered. In the study, the authors proposed the production of pellets to improve the innovative and ecological indicators of the area of the Krasnopilska community and provide the population with energy resources for heating. The authors determined the amount of expenses for the farm to purchase equipment and the level of profitability of the activity of producing the pellets. It was determined that the introduction of innovation into the company’s activities will create certain positive social effects in the future, which will lead to the improvement of the economic condition of business and the development of the territorial community.

Composition and Diversity of Tree Species with DBH of 5 cm and above at Pulau Banding, Gerik, Perak, Malaysia

A total of 92 individual trees with DBH of 5 cm and above comprising 21 families, 28 genera and 35 species were measured, identified and recorded. This study aimed to enumerate the tree species composition and estimate the diversity index of trees with DBH of 5 cm and above at Pulau Banding, Perak. An ecological plot size of 70 m x 70 m or 0.49 ha was established and divided into three subplots. The data collection was collected to determine the number of species, number of individuals and DBH within the plots. The Shannon Diversity Index was estimated at H’ = 2.98 (H’max = 3.53) while the Simpson’s Index (D) was 0.10 and Species Evenness (E) was 0.85. Murraya paniculata (Rutaceae) was the most important species with an IV i (Important Value Index) of 24.7%, while Dipterocarpaceae was the dominant family for the study area with an IV i of 45.36%. The total aboveground biomass of all trees with a DBH of 5 cm and above in a 0.49 ha plot in Pulau Banding was estimated at 66.2 t/ha. Hence this study is providing preliminary data on tree species composition at Pulau Banding, Perak for conserving the remaining valued timber trees that are still in the regeneration phase.

New Varieties of Coffee: Compromising the Qualities of Adaptive Agroforestry? A Case Study From Southern Mexico

The most recent wave of coffee leaf rust, and its interaction with climatic variability, caused severe crop losses in shade-grown coffee areas in Latin America during the 2010–14 production cycles and beyond. Fungal attack on traditional Arabica varieties led to a process of substitution with new coffee varieties that are tolerant or resistant to the pathogen. The adaptation literature classifies this type of intervention as an incremental adaptation, with the potential to lead the system toward sustainable transformation. This research explores the initial consequences of introducing certain hybrid varieties into the transboundary area of the Tacaná Volcano, located between Chiapas and Guatemala, with the objective of identifying aspects that put the potential for adaptive agroforestry at risk. We hypothesize that the interaction of a range of economic, political, and ecological factors leads to ambiguous results in terms of both production and environmental adaptation. Ecological and management variables were analyzed in a case study of 30 producers. Quantitative data, collected through ecological plot sampling and application of a socio-productive survey, was complemented with ethnographic data. We conclude that, for our case study, the manner in which these new coffee varieties were introduced raises new sources of vulnerability that could be compromising the local and ecological benefits of agroforestry systems, as well as diminishing their capacity to cope with the future impacts of climate change.

Inverse probability weighting for selection bias in a Delaware community health center electronic medical record study of community deprivation and hepatitis C prevalence

To demonstrate how selection into a healthcare facility can induce bias in an electronic medical record-based study of community deprivation and chronic hepatitis C virus infection, in order to more accurately identify local risk factors and prevalence. We created a catchment model that attempted to define the probability of selection into a retrospective cohort. Then using the inverse of this probability, we compared naïve unweighted and weighted models to demonstrate the impact of selection bias. ZIP code-level ecological plots of the cohort demonstrated that there was a pattern of the community deprivation, hepatitis C outcome, and distance to the health center (an intuitive proxy for being within catchments). The naïve multilevel analysis found that living in an area with greater deprivation resulted in 1.25 times greater odds of HCV (95% CI: 1.06, 1.48), whereas the weighted analysis found less certainty of this effect due to a selection bias. We observed that selection into the catchment area of the studied healthcare facility may bias the association of community deprivation and hepatitis C. This may be mitigated through inverse probability weighting.

BIOLOGICAL TOOLS FOR CONTROLLING THE MAIN PESTS OF SWEET CHERRY

The paper presents the data collected from an ecological plot of sweet cherries with an area of 0.5 ha, where different methods of monitoring and combating the main pests were tested: European cherry fruit fly - Rhagoletis cerasi L. and black cherry aphid - Myzus cerasi F. The study took place during the years 2019-2020. European cherry fruit fly monitoring - Rhagoletis cerasi L. was performed with both atraCERAS optical panels and Decis Trap devices, with both a warning and control role, the results obtained highlighting a similar flight dynamics. The control of the European cherry fruit fly, carried out by direct control with the help of Decis Trap devices, the dose of 100 traps / ha, proved to be effective, the Abbott effectiveness indicator registering values between 83.4 - 90.5% in 2019, respectively 81.6 - 87.8% in 2020, depending on the studied variety. To control the black cherry aphid - Myzus cerasi F., the product Prev-Am was mainly used, based on orange oil, which was used with good results for the first attacks observed.

Preliminary Study on Tree Species Composition, Diversity and Biomass of Dipterocarpus and Hopea genera of Bukit Bakar Forest Eco Park, Machang, Kelantan

A study on species composition, diversity and biomass of genera Dipterocarpus and Hopea at Bukit Bakar Forest Eco Park, Machang, Kelantan was conducted. A total of 5 ecological plots with measurement of 20 m x 20 m were established. All trees with diameter at breast height (dbh) less than 5.0 cm were tagged, measured and collected for specimen identifications and voucher specimen’s preparations. The floristic composition of Bukit Bakar Eco Park consists of 135 individuals represented by 1 family, 2 genera and 17 species. The most abundance species recorded was Dipterocarpus crinitus Dyer with 23 individuals were recorded. Dipterocarpus crinitus (Dipterocarpaceae) was the most important species according to Important Value index (IVi) calculated at IVi = 17.73%. Dipterocarpaceae was the most high species diversity according to Shannon Wiener Index, H’=2.02 (H’ max =2.30) for Dipterocarpus spp. and H’=1.90 (H’ max =1.94) for Hopea spp. and Simpson’s Index of Diversity for Dipterocarpus spp. is 0.85 and 0.86 for Hopea spp.. Whilst Hopea had a slightly higher Species Evenness Index (EH=0.98) compared to Dipterocarpus (EH=0.87). Total tree biomass estimation in the study area was at 145.18 t/ha.

Evidence and Ecology of Historic Human Settlements in Kibale National Park, Uganda

Ecosystem conservation often focuses on protecting wild places, but many remote forests and expansive savannahs have a deep human history of ecosystem management. Here we document grinding stones in the center of a high conservation-value forest, Kibale National Park, Uganda, indicating a historic human presence. Grinding stones were found at a minimum density of one per 0.57 km2 and in a range of forest types. Ecological plots around grinding stones were dominated by late successional tree species, although forest structure was comparable to formerly logged areas of Kibale. Building a more comprehensive understanding of human land-use before 1932, when protection policies began, will help explain current habitat heterogeneity. Future work should combine archaeology and ethnography to study the history and lifestyle of people who lived in Kibale. Understanding the role of people in this forest—and the role of the forest in local cultures—may elucidate contemporary ecology.

Ecosystem turnover in palaeoecological records: The sensitivity of pollen and phytolith proxies to detecting vegetation change in southwestern Amazonia

Identification of ecosystem turnover in the palaeo-vegetation record is important for understanding the resilience of ecosystems to past environmental change. There is uncertainty over the ability of different types of palaeo-vegetation proxies to detect ecosystem turnover. The aim of this paper is to compare the sensitivity of two palaeo-vegetation proxies – pollen and phytoliths – to changes within and between three key tropical South American ecosystems: evergreen forest, dry forest and savannah. A quantitative approach is used to assess the sensitivity of these two proxies to vegetation changes, based on the variability of proxy assemblages from 1-ha ecological plots in ecotonal south-west Amazonia. This modern dataset of proxy variability within evergreen forest, dry forest and savannah plots is then used to define thresholds for proxy variability which differentiate floristic changes within an ecosystem from ecosystem turnover. These thresholds are applied to two palaeo-vegetation records from NE Bolivia. Our results show that pollen is more sensitive than phytoliths to changes within evergreen forest, but phytoliths are more sensitive than pollen to changes within dry forest. Both proxies were equally sensitive to changes within the savannahs. These are important considerations for palaeoecologists selecting proxies for the study of ecosystem turnover in the palaeo-record. Application of the thresholds to the palaeo-record demonstrated the utility of this quantitative approach for assessing the magnitude of vegetation change in the palaeo-record. This quantitative approach is therefore a useful tool to improve the identification of ecosystem turnover in the palaeo-record.

Local ecological knowledge indicators for wild plant management: Autonomous local monitoring in Prespa, Albania

Broad consensus affirms the need to better understand the status and trends of biodiversity and the important role that local ecological knowledge (LEK) plays in establishing successful monitoring programs. Although often present, autonomous local monitoring systems are frequently ignored by externally-driven community-based or participatory conservation projects. Here we explore the autonomous LEK-led monitoring carried out by local medicinal plant harvesters to guide the management and harvesting of six locally useful medicinal plant species in Prespa National Park, Albania. Open and semi-structured interviews with harvesters (n = 22), National Park staff (n = 2) and scientific advisors (n = 2) were combined with participatory mapping, joint plot assessments with key informants and a science-led ecological plot survey. Results suggest that harvesters possessed detailed LEK and adopted a variety of socio-economic, management, ecological and environmental indicators to assess wild resources and inform their harvest practices. LEK- and science-led plot assessments generally agreed on most monitoring aspects, suggesting that LEK indicators were relevant and LEK-based perceptions were accurate and could be used to assess the status and trends of useful species. However, while LEK focused on the harvestable resource; i.e. certain individuals and plant parts, the science-based approach assessed plant populations as a whole. Official monitoring based on existing LEK-led monitoring appears to be feasible, but LEK may be more appropriate for monitoring resources for wild harvesting or certification purposes than for ‘pure’ conservation monitoring of plant populations.

Application of a dynamic model using agronomic and economic data to evaluate the sustainability of the olive grove landscape of Estepa (Andalusia, Spain)

In the Andalusia region (Spain), olive grove agro-systems cover a wide area, forming social-ecological landscapes. Recent socioeconomic changes have increased the vulnerability of these landscapes, resulting in the abandonment and intensification of farms. The provision of the main ecosystem services of these landscapes have thus been degraded. To analyse the sustainability of an olive grove social-ecological landscape in Andalusia. Specifically, to develop a quantitative model proposing land planning and management scenarios, considering abandonment, production and economic benefits of olive crops in different conditions of erosion and management. We applied a dynamic model using agronomic and economic data, to evaluate different types of olive management. We considered different levels of erosion, the loss of production related to this erosion, and useful life spans for each type of management. We simulated scenarios for the long-term assessment of dynamics of crops, abandonment rate, production and benefits. (a) There was a loss of productive lands and benefits in the medium term in the more intensive crops. (b) Scenarios that partially incorporated ecological management proved to be more sustainable without economic subsidies. (c) The spatial combination of integrated, intensive and ecological plots was sustainable, and was well balanced from an economic, productive and ecological point of view. Scenarios that partially incorporate ecological management allowed the best economic and environmental balance. However, to ensure the sustainability of olive landscapes, farmers should be financially rewarded for their role in the conservation of ecosystem services through landscape stewardship and direct environmental payments.

Distribution, Diversity and Spatial Analysis of Tree Species in a Long-Term Ecological Research Plot in Molawin-Dampalit Watershed, Mount Makiling Forest Reserve

A two-hectare long-term ecological plot (LTERP) was established to generate data for biodiversity resource assessment, monitoring and evaluation of Mo- lawin-Dampalit watershed for adaptive management. The plot was subdivided into fifty 20mx20 subplots where species identification, diameter at breast height (DBH) and total tree height measurements and geographic location of all trees were conducted. Growth parameters such as DBH and height were used to mon- itor and evaluate the area. The study recorded a total of 1,266 tree individuals comprising with 135 species distributed among 95 genera and 58 families. Of the 135 species recorded, 87 species are native or indigenous and 4 species are exotic or introduced in the area and 44 species are endemic to the Philippines giving an overall endemism profile of 32% for the whole study area. Three most dominant species include Diplodiscus paniculatus Turcz, Celtis luzonica Warb. and Pinanga insignis Becc based on Species Importance Value.  A total of 29 threatened species were recorded in the area. The study revealed dominance of threatened  species in the LTERP area. Out of 10 dominant species, 7 are threat- ened species and 3 of which are critically endangered species such as Parashorea malaanonan (Blanco) Merr and Diospyros blancoi A. DC. Tree diversity analysis showed a high species richness (135), evenness (0.71), Simpson diversity index (0.91) and Shannon Diversity Index (3.52) indicating a more diverse area, pre- served and intact MMFR.  Spatial analysis was correlated with the clustering of species using ordination method. Results showed species composition  is affected by spatial distribution and each subplot may have different site requirements and unique floral characteristics.  K e ywords : Biodiversity resource assessment, dominant species, critically endan- gered species, abundant and tree diversity

Testing potassium limitation on soil microbial activity in a sub-tropical forest

Because potassium (K) is a rock-derived essential element that can be depleted in highly-weathered tropical soils, K availability may limit some portion of soil microbial activity in tropical forest ecosystems. In this paper we tested if K limits microbial activity in the condition of sufficient labile C supply. An incubation experiment was performed using surface soil samples (0–10 cm depth) obtained from four permanent ecological research plots in a natural sub-tropical forest in southern China. Soil samples were taken in September 2016. Heterotrophic soil respiration rates and microbial biomass were measured after the addition of glucose (both D and L) with and without K (potassium chloride). We did not observe any effects of K addition on soil microbial respiration, suggesting that K does not limit the microbial activity in the condition of sufficient labile C supply. The lack of microbial response to added K can be attributed to the high mobility of K in forest ecosystems, which may have provided sufficient K to microbes in our soil samples (already provided at the beginning of the incubation). However, at the present stage, we cannot conclude that K is not a limiting factor of soil microbial activity in other tropical forest ecosystems because of the heterogeneity of tropical forest ecosystems and few observations. The hypothesis needs to be tested in larger numbers of tropical forests.

A Case Study for Connecting Collections and Ecological Research

Integration of ecological research and specimen collection has recently been a topic of focus in the literature (i.e. Morrison et al. 2017) and within organizing groups such as Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio). Pairing these two fields only stands to benefit biodiversity science, as one’s weakness is the other’s strength. For example, ecological studies often lack the verifiable proof of the taxonomy of its subjects, which is offered by voucher specimens. Conversely, museum collections are often lacking detailed site descriptions or are completely disjointed from plot sampling datasets. Researchers at the Denver Botanic Gardens are addressing this disconnect by conducting a case study that melds ecological plot sampling and floristic documentation. We center our study design and methods around the objective of producing a deliverable data package in the form of a Darwin Core Archive. Moreover, our aim is to use the Darwin Core to its full potential, ultimately publishing a package on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) that includes extensive metadata, voucher specimens, genomic quality tissue samples, plot sampling data, in-situ, ex-situ, and habitat level images. Here I present an update on the ongoing field work, our intentions, any evaluation, and the overall workflow of the process.

A practical method for creating a digital topographic surface for ecological plots using ground-based measurements

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are widely used in landscape ecology to link topographic features with biotic and abiotic factors. However, to date, high-resolution, affordable, and easy to process elevation data are not available for many regions. Here we propose a field-based method for efficiently and inexpensively collecting or analysing already existing slope data. We compare the field approach to two commonly used remote sensing techniques to test the similarly of the DEMs using different methods. To provide an ecological example of the method, we selected four 1-ha forest plots and compared the DEM generated by using our field method with those derived from: (i) coarse (~ 30 m pixel) data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and (ii) high-resolution (~ 1 m) data from Light Detection and Ranging devices (LiDAR). Field- and LiDAR-based DEMs showed strong concordance in two of the four sites. The sites where field-based and LiDAR DEMs substantially differed, suffered from relatively few LiDAR sampling points. Diagnostic tests suggested that the field–LiDAR discrepancy was due to dense over-storey vegetation, which reduced LiDAR’s accuracy due to a failure to penetrate the forest canopy adequately in some areas. Our method has the advantage of being quick and cheap to collect yet able to produce small-scale (plot-scale) DEMs of high quality. By using the R-code we have provided, ecologists will be able to use slope data (collected using any means) to generate a DEM without the need of specific skills in spatial sciences.

The bien r package: A tool to access the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database

Abstract There is an urgent need for large‐scale botanical data to improve our understanding of community assembly, coexistence, biogeography, evolution, and many other fundamental biological processes. Understanding these processes is critical for predicting and handling human‐biodiversity interactions and global change dynamics such as food and energy security, ecosystem services, climate change, and species invasions. The Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database comprises an unprecedented wealth of cleaned and standardised botanical data, containing roughly 81 million occurrence records from c. 375,000 species, c. 915,000 trait observations across 28 traits from c. 93,000 species, and co‐occurrence records from 110,000 ecological plots globally, as well as 100,000 range maps and 100 replicated phylogenies (each containing 81,274 species) for New World species. Here, we describe an r package that provides easy access to these data. The bien r package allows users to access the multiple types of data in the BIEN database. Functions in this package query the BIEN database by turning user inputs into optimised PostgreSQL functions. Function names follow a convention designed to make it easy to understand what each function does. We have also developed a protocol for providing customised citations and herbarium acknowledgements for data downloaded through the bien r package. The development of the BIEN database represents a significant achievement in biological data integration, cleaning and standardization. Likewise, the bien r package represents an important tool for open science that makes the BIEN database freely and easily accessible to everyone.

The discovery of the Amazonian tree flora with an updated checklist of all known tree taxa.

Amazonia is the most biodiverse rainforest on Earth, and the debate over how many tree species grow there remains contentious. Here we provide a checklist of all tree species collected to date, and describe spatial and temporal trends in data accumulation. We report 530,025 unique collections of trees in Amazonia, dating between 1707 and 2015, for a total of 11,676 species in 1225 genera and 140 families. These figures support recent estimates of 16,000 total Amazonian tree species based on ecological plot data from the Amazonian Tree Diversity Network. Botanical collection in Amazonia is characterized by three major peaks, centred around 1840, 1920, and 1980, which are associated with flora projects and the establishment of inventory plots. Most collections were made in the 20th century. The number of collections has increased exponentially, but shows a slowdown in the last two decades. We find that a species’ range size is a better predictor of the number of times it has been collected than the species’ estimated basin-wide population size. Finding, describing, and documenting the distribution of the remaining species will require coordinated efforts at under-collected sites.

Climatic characterization of forest zones across administrative boundaries improves conservation planning

Aim This paper demonstrates methods to extend standardized vegetation zone descriptions and mapped distributions across political boundaries. An extended climate niche for North America's Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) forest zone is determined and projected to evaluate its potential distribution under a changing climate and to identify climate refugia for conservation planning. Location Pacific Northwest temperate rain forest in British Columbia (BC), CA, and nearby Washington (WA) and Oregon (OR), US. Methods Using a combination of ecosystem polygon mapping and ecological plot data with climate interpolation tools, forests characterized as CDF under BC's biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification system were identified in the neighbouring US. Current (baseline) limits to CDF distribution were identified and used to map its potential distribution and climate refugia under future climate conditions using ensemble Global Climate Model projections. Results The extended CDF climate niche covers 76 725 km2 under baseline conditions, with the majority of the area in the Pacific Northwest US. The extended CDF forest zone includes a vegetation assemblage consistent with existing definitions of BC's CDF moist maritime subzone, but also an additional vegetation assemblage representing a drier maritime subzone. Projections of future climate suggest a northerly shift (~150 km) and a decrease (−91.5%) in overall CDF area. Climate refugia are projected for discontinuous patches of CDF forest on Vancouver Island and adjacent mainland. Conclusions This project combined georeferenced ecological plot data and digital maps, thereby facilitating the international mapping of ecosystem distributions in adjacent administrative areas that do not currently use the same ecosystem classification and mapping systems. This approach and the concept of climate niche definition, distribution and persistence are applicable to the management, restoration and conservation of plant communities, particularly in evaluating future ecosystem range shifts and disruptions associated with a changing climate. The potential for dramatic reductions in the range of the Coastal Douglas-fir zone, with persistence in <15% of its current area, suggest that most of the extended CDF zone is marginally suitable for the characteristic CDF ecosystems and that slight shifts in climate or disturbance regime may greatly alter the character of the vegetation. The full climatic niche for British Columbia's Coastal Douglas-fir forest zone is determined from its mapped distribution and georeferenced plot data in the neighbouring USA. A new subzone is characterized, and the potential distribution of the extended zone is projected under a changing climate to identify climate refugia. For sensitive ecosystems with multi-jurisdictional distributions, this approach helps focus conservation efforts.