Past, present, and future impacts of climate on the vegetation communities of the greater yellowstone ecosystem across elevation gradients

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) poses distinct environmental challenges to plant life. From lower elevations that routinely experience prolonged dry periods during warm summer months to higher elevations that are often covered in snow and below freezing for more than half of the year, plant growth is severely limited by climate in different ways across the GYE. As a result, many plant species found here are survivors-that is, they are better adapted to survive the poor growing conditions in their part of the ecosystem than are other species. This is reflected in distinct vegetation communities that change across zones of elevation along with climate, from generally hot and dry conditions at lower elevations to cold and wet conditions at higher elevations (chap. 4).