Vegetation-Climate Mismatch

The dichotomous understanding of ’nativeness’ traditionally used to describe species (e.g. a species is either native or non-native to a place) becomes confusing and less useful as the climate and environment change and species move locations in response. A new, gradient-based conception of nativeness (where a species is more native or less native to a location based on the environmental conditions there) is compatible with the traditional understanding but also provides a clear, unifying re-framing of nativeness to help us understand where species belong in a rapidly changing world.

Warming climatic conditions over the last century have led to observable shifts in the spatial organization of dominant tree species in California’s Sierra Nevada. Little is known, however, about the extent to which these shifts have tracked the magnitude of climate change. This study maps Vegetation Climate Mismatch in the Sierra Nevada—areas where climate change has left trees in climatic conditions where they have not historically occurred. Different vegetation types support different wildfire regimes, ecosystems, and ecosystem services. Our maps will be useful for anticipating vegetation transitions and informing long-term wildfire and ecosystem management across the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.

Due to climate change, plant populations experience environmental conditions to which they are not adapted. Our understanding of the …

Wildfires are passing the threshold from existential necessity to existential threat for ecosystems around the world.

Identifying Vegetation-Climate Mismatch in Sierra Nevada conifer forests and its impact on vegetation transitions and fire regime.