Mapping local climates in highly heterogeneous mountain regions: Interpolation of meteorological station data vs. downscaling of macroclimate grids

摘要: Topography modulates air and soil temperature and gives rise to local climates that may strongly deviate from regional macroclimates. These local climatic conditions determine the distribution of many organisms but are hardly accounted for by coarse-grained macroclimate grids. Downscaling macroclimate grids or interpolating high-resolution climate surfaces from weather station data has thus become a staple in ecological research. Against this background, topographically complex territories pose a challenge, as downscaling and interpolation techniques are susceptible to high topographic heterogeneity. Simultaneously, these regions will act as refugia and preserve biodiversity amidst the challenges of climate change. This contrast renders choosing the technique to derive local climatic conditions under high topographic complexity critically relevant.In this study, we compared how interpolation and …