Relationships between expanding pinyon–juniper cover and topography in the central Great Basin, Nevada

Land-cover change is a major component of global change (Foley et al., 2005). Many forms of land-cover change, such as deforestation and urbanization, are directly associated with land use. Other land-cover changes, such as melting of permafrost, may be indirectly associated with human activity via anthropogenically induced climate change. Further changes in land cover, such as the expansion of woody plants, may be caused by a combination of natural climate variability, anthropogenic land use and climate change. Our ability to understand and mitigate the anticipated effects of continued global climate change (Vitousek et al., 1997) will benefit from examining ecosystems in Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, CA, USA