Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2010-2040 (RCP 8.5)

Five principal components are used to represent the climate variation in an original set of 12 composite climate variables reflecting complex precipitation and temperature gradients. The dataset provides coverage for future climate (defined as the 2010-2040 normal period) under the RCP8.5 emission scenario. Climate variables were chosen based on their known influence on local adaptation in plants, and include: mean annual temperature, summer maximum temperature, winter minimum temperature, annual temperature range, temperature seasonality (coefficient of variation in monthly average temperatures), mean annual precipitation, winter precipitation, summer precipitation, proportion of summer precipitation, precipitation seasonality (coefficient [...]