Potential Influence of Climate Change on the Acid-Sensitivity of High-Elevation Lakes in the Georgia Basin, British Columbia
Table 2
Elevation, climate, vegetation, and soil characteristics of the Coastal Western Hemlock (CWH), Mountain Hemlock (MH), and Mountain-heather Alpine (AT) biogeoclimatic zones in the Georgia Basin, British Columbia [17]. (MAT = mean annual temperature, MAP = mean annual precipitation, and MMT = mean monthly temperature).
Biogeoclimatic zone
Elevation (m)
Climate
Dominant vegetation communities
Soil regime
CWH
900–1050
MAT = 8°C MAP = 1000–4400 mm MMT >10°C for 4–6 months
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), amabilis fir (Abies amabilis), yellow cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis)
Humoferric podzols, ferrohumic podzols
MH
900–1800
MAT = 0–5°C MAP = 1700–5000 mm MMT <0°C for 1–5 months and >10°C for 1–3 months
Mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), amabilis fir (Abies amabilis), yellow cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis)
Podzols, folisols
AT
>1650
MAT = −4–0°C MAP = 700–3000 mm MMT <0°C for 7–11 months
