THE IMPACTS OF DRIVERS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE AND LAND-USE CHANGES ON FORESTS IN THE EASTERN US

The world's climate is warming in ways not seen for several thousand years.The post-1850 increases in greenhouse gases and abrupt global warming are clearly affecting tree physiology and many other ecosystem processes, and provide vast research opportunities for tree physiologists and other environmental scientists. These topics are now the dominant focus worldwide, but have the potential, in our opinion, to minimize the role of other important factors, particularly among those who are intent on finding climate signals. Human populations and their role as a disturbing agent in ecosystems have also changed dramatically along with the recent changes in climate. Comprehending past and future impacts of climate change on vegetation requires more complete understanding of the human-climate-vegetation dynamic. Vegetation models should include changes in disturbance regimes, and not rely solely on climate change or bigeochemical factors. New research endeavors that combine multidisciplinary data, as outlined in this article, in other locales and with other disciplines should greatly increase our understanding of global change impacts as we move further into the twenty-first century.