Sierra Nevada Global Change Program

Since the distribution and abundance of plant and animal species are to a large degree controlled by interactions of available energy and water, changes in temperature and precipitation can be expected to lead to changes in habitat distribution and ultimately to changes in the composition, structure, and function of plant and animal communities.

Potential climate-induced changes include loss of biological diversity, increased frequency or severity of wildfires, increased mortality of trees, shifts in treeline and other vegetation boundaries, and increased stress on rare species. The objective of the Sierra Nevada Global Change Program is to determine what changes are likely to occur in the structure, compostion, and dynamics of Sierra Nevada forests as a result of anticipated climatic change.