The Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve of Stanford University provides resident and visiting investigators with research opportunities in a diverse array of vegetational habitats. The size and spatial arrangements of these different habitats are constantly changing in response to climate variations. Dr. Peter Vitousek proposes to install a microcomputer-based image analysis system at the Jasper Ridge Preserve, with which aerial survey photographs of the Preserve can be analyzed. The Preserve's library of aerial photographs, combined with its meteorological database, will provide an excellent foundation for studying the impact of climate change on vegetational distributions. The proposed equipment purchase will have a significant impact on resident and visiting scientists at the Jasper Ridge Preserve. A variety of research projects will benefit from this state-of-the- art image analysis system. Many of the relevant research projects deal with ecosystem responses to climate change, which is a topic of national importance.
