Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Laura C. Streib, Jeffery R. Stone, Eva C. Lyon, Hung H. Quang, Kevin M. Yeager, Susan R. H. Zimmerman, Michael M. McGlue
Summary: This study analyzed lake sediment records from the eastern Sierra Nevada over the past three millennia to reveal ecological changes driven by hydroclimate oscillations. Results showed that hot-dry conditions of the Industrial Era altered lake state, leading to profound impacts on high-elevation lakes and the ecosystem services they provide.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Ziran Zhang, Steven Glaser, Thomas Watteyne, Sami Malek
Summary: Historically, mountain hydrology research has relied on observational data from infrequent manual measurements, but recent advancements in IoT technology have enabled real-time, cost-effective and dense data collection in this field.
IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Micah C. Wright, Phillip van Mantgem, Nathan L. Stephenson, Adrian J. Das, Jon E. Keeley
Summary: The study found that seed production by Abies increased immediately following dry summer conditions during a drought year, while seed production by Pinus was higher during warm spring weather at pollination, and seed production by Calocedrus showed a negative association with wetter conditions two years prior to seed production. Tree basal area was found to be a positive factor influencing seed output across all genera.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Marissa J. Goodwin, Lucy P. Kerhoulas, Harold S. J. Zald, Malcolm P. North, Matthew D. Hurteau
Summary: Climate change is causing more severe and prolonged droughts in forest ecosystems, affecting the ability of trees to survive. The research investigated the water-use patterns of Sierra Nevada conifers during a recent drought using tree ring analysis. The study found no significant changes in water-use patterns during the drought period and identified species-specific variations in water sources. The lack of plasticity in water-use patterns may make Sierra Nevada conifers vulnerable to drought mortality in the future.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jose Luis Diaz-Hernandez, Antonio Jose Herrera-Martinez
Summary: This study focused on the water-bodies of the western sector of the Sierra Nevada massif in Spain, revealing the characteristics and distribution of water bodies formed by different processes. The paradox between the Mediterranean and Atlantic watersheds indicates that formation processes do not determine the characteristics of water bodies.
Article
Ecology
Rebecca B. Wayman, Hugh D. Safford
Summary: The study found that in mixed-conifer forests in California's Sierra Nevada, there is a relationship between wildfire severity and severity of prefire tree mortality, and this relationship may vary under different weather conditions.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Katherine M. Ross, Michael E. Loik
Summary: The study found that conifer saplings have the ability to adapt to changes in meteorological conditions, with elevation having little impact on photosynthesis and growth processes. The heavy snow year in 2017 had varying effects on needle growth, indicating that trees can effectively withstand meteorological variability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shaun Weatherly, Rebecca Lyons
Summary: This study confirms the presence of 4-NP and its major photolysis product 4-NC in ice and snow, and determines the photolysis parameters and reaction rates. The high detection frequency of 4-NC in snowpack and snowmelt indicates its release to downstream areas. 4-NC is more toxic than its precursor, posing amplified concerns for human and wildlife populations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Michael DeNicola, Zunhui Lin, Oscar Quinones, Brett Vanderford, Mingrui Song, Paul Westerhoff, Eric Dickenson, David Hanigan
Summary: This study evaluated the occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in lakes and rivers in the Great Basin region of the United States. The highest concentrations of PFAS were found near sites with known or suspected usage of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). PFAS concentrations were also higher in samples near wastewater treatment plants and urban areas compared to remote areas. Terminal lakes showed higher PFAS concentrations than their inflows, indicating accumulation. Organofluorine concentrations were generally higher than the sum of targeted PFAS, but with considerable variability.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Alissa M. Fogg, L. Jay Roberts, Ryan D. Burnett, Brent R. Campos
Summary: This study examines the effects of salvage logging of fire-killed trees on the bird community in western US conifer forests. The results indicate that salvage activities have negative impacts or no significant impacts on most bird species. Additionally, the statistical support for salvage intensity and salvage activity models is evenly split among different species. The study suggests targeting salvage activities in areas where fire-killed trees pose safety hazards or reforestation is needed to protect the bird community.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hongxiang Yan, Ning Sun, Mark S. Wigmosta, Zhuoran Duan, Ethan D. Gutmann, Bert Kruyt, Jeffrey R. Arnold
Summary: This study improves the next-generation flood design technology by considering the temporal patterns of snowmelt in a snow-dominated basin. It reveals a significant underestimation of floods when using standard rainfall temporal pattern and proposes probabilistic hyetographs to address this issue. The results demonstrate the importance of snowmelt temporal patterns in design flood estimation and their potential implications for future flood projections.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zachary P. Meyers, Marty D. Frisbee, Laura K. Rademacher, Noah S. Stewart-Maddox
Summary: The study analyzed the impact of the 2011-2017 California drought on aridland mountain-front springs and vegetation health using a combination of remote sensing and groundwater residence time data. It found that springs discharging young groundwater showed signs of drying and desiccation, while those discharging old groundwater exhibited little response, indicating the importance of old groundwater in buffering climate change effects.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hongxiang Yan, Ning Sun, Mark S. Wigmosta, Zhuoran Duan, Ethan D. Gutmann, Bert Kruyt, Jeffrey R. Arnold
Summary: This study improves the next-generation IDF curves for a snow-dominated test basin by developing hyetographs that can represent unique patterns of snowmelt temporal dynamics. The results show that the use of standard rainfall hyetographs leads to substantial underestimation of design floods, and the newly proposed snowmelt hyetograph greatly improves the performance of the NG-IDF technology.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
David Garcia-del-Amo, Peter Graham Mortyn, Victoria Reyes-Garcia
Summary: In this study, the researchers found that climate change has various impacts on the Sierra Nevada region in Spain, including changes in snowfall, fauna abundance, freshwater availability, and extreme temperatures. The reports of these impacts differ based on the informants' sociodemographic characteristics and geographical location. Understanding intracultural variation in reports of climate change impacts can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the human dimensions of climate change and guide the development of targeted mitigation and adaptation responses.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Harold S. J. Zald, Chance C. Callahan, Matthew D. Hurteau, Marissa J. Goodwin, Malcolm P. North
Summary: This study examined the growth responses of trees in the southern Sierra Nevada Range in California to thinning, prescribed burning, and extreme drought. The results showed that mechanical thinning improved the growth rate of residual trees, and this response persisted during a decade-long extreme drought. However, prescribed burning did not result in improved tree growth. Various tree-level attributes and environmental conditions also influenced the growth responses.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Gianluca Piovesan, Franco Biondi
Summary: Trees achieve longevity not through programmed senescence, but through specific life history traits and ecological support. Their growth plasticity and modularity are evolutionary advantages that contribute to their longevity. Identifying extremely old trees is crucial for landscape protection and updating ecological theories.
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. P. Williams, K. J. Anchukaitis, C. A. Woodhouse, D. M. Meko, B. I. Cook, K. Bolles, E. R. Cook
Summary: California’s water resources heavily rely on cool-season precipitation in the Sierra Nevada; long-term significant cyclicity in cool-season precipitation indicates potential as seasonal forecasting tools; research suggests that interannual variability of Sierra Nevada cool-season precipitation is not a purely white noise process and aims to diagnose the dynamical drivers of extended periods of cyclicity.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Xinsheng Liu, Franco Biondi
Summary: The sap flow of quaking aspen, Engelmann spruce, and limber pine showed species-specific responses to declining soil moisture, indicating different water use strategies. Conifers like spruce and pine may tap into deeper soil water reservoirs under drought conditions, while deciduous species like aspen may face hydraulic failure and mortality risks. The study highlighted contrasting hydrological niches and physiological strategies between co-occurring tree species in semiarid, high-elevation ecosystems.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
L. Belokopytova, D. M. Meko, D. F. Zhirnova, E. A. Babushkina, E. A. Vaganov
Summary: The growth patterns of Scots pine and Siberian larch under water deficit in a valley in South Siberia are influenced by landscape physiography, species-specific climatic sensitivity, and phenology. Study shows that hot-dry conditions generally reduce growth and there is a spatial grouping of tree-ring chronologies based on physiography and species-specific ecophysiological response to climate. Species composition changes in ecosystems may occur due to the differential ability of species to adapt to climate change.
TREES-STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
David M. Meko, Connie A. Woodhouse, Anabel G. Winitsky
Summary: Tree rings play a crucial role in understanding the variability of the Colorado River's flow. Early research focused on the importance of climate variability in water supply. Modern statistical methods allowed for the reconstruction of annual flows back to the early 1500s, highlighting the unprecedented wetness of the base period for the Colorado River Compact. Recent research has further improved estimates of flow anomalies and emphasized the prolonged drought period in the medieval era.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe, Cody C. Routson, David M. Meko
Summary: The ongoing drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin has been found to be extremely severe, especially when compared to the tree-ring records from as early as 762 CE. Using gridded drought-atlas data and streamflow data, researchers have developed a streamflow reconstruction model for the Lees Ferry gage, revealing a second-century drought that surpasses the severity of the current drought and documented medieval period droughts. Limited data also support the occurrence of this exceptional second-century drought through analysis of individual tree-ring records and other paleoclimatic data.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Ellis Q. Margolis, Christopher H. Guiterman, Raphael D. Chavardes, Jonathan D. Coop, Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, Denyse A. Dawe, Donald A. Falk, James D. Johnston, Evan Larson, Hang Li, Joseph M. Marschall, Cameron E. Naficy, Adam T. Naito, Marc-Andre Parisien, Sean A. Parks, Jeanne Portier, Helen M. Poulos, Kevin M. Robertson, James H. Speer, Michael Stambaugh, Thomas W. Swetnam, Alan J. Tepley, Ichchha Thapa, Craig D. Allen, Yves Bergeron, Lori D. Daniels, Peter Z. Fule, David Gervais, Martin P. Girardin, Grant L. Harley, Jill E. Harvey, Kira M. Hoffman, Jean M. Huffman, Matthew D. Hurteau, Lane B. Johnson, Charles W. Lafon, Manuel K. Lopez, R. Stockton Maxwell, Jed Meunier, Malcolm North, Monica T. Rother, Micah R. Schmidt, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Lauren A. Stachowiak, Alan Taylor, Erana J. Taylor, Valerie Trouet, Miguel L. Villarreal, Larissa L. Yocom, Karen B. Arabas, Alexis H. Arizpe, Dominique Arseneault, Alicia Azpeleta Tarancon, Christopher Baisan, Erica Bigio, Franco Biondi, Gabriel D. Cahalan, Anthony Caprio, Julian Cerano-Paredes, Brandon M. Collins, Daniel C. Dey, Igor Drobyshev, Calvin Farris, M. Adele Fenwick, William Flatley, M. Lisa Floyd, Ze'ev Gedalof, Andres Holz, Lauren F. Howard, David W. Huffman, Jose Iniguez, Kurt F. Kipfmueller, Stanley G. Kitchen, Keith Lombardo, Donald McKenzie, Andrew G. Merschel, Kerry L. Metlen, Jesse Minor, Christopher D. O'Connor, Laura Platt, William J. Platt, Thomas Saladyga, Amanda B. Stan, Scott Stephens, Colleen Sutheimer, Ramzi Touchan, Peter J. Weisberg
Summary: This study investigates fire regimes in North American forests using tree-ring fire scars and reveals important patterns and trends. The study also finds that modern fires are burning in similar climate spaces as historical fires, but disproportionately in warmer regions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Franco Biondi, David M. Meko, Gianluca Piovesan
Summary: The under-utilized International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) in the public domain is valuable for estimating global tree longevity. By using the longest continuous ring-width series in the ITRDB, maximum tree ages for different species and sites were obtained. The analysis of 3689 collections provided longevity estimates for 237 unique tree species, with conifers and angiosperms distributed globally. Many tree species were represented by a small number of collections, and some species had maximum ages exceeding 300 years. Certain conifers had maximum ages over 1000 years, while angiosperms peaked around 500 years. Detailed analysis of the ITRDB holdings is a reliable source of information for ecological studies on tree longevity, particularly in the context of human-induced impacts.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anabel G. Winitsky, David M. Meko, Alan H. Taylor, Franco Biondi
Summary: The year-to-year variability of precipitation has important implications for water management and forest health. This study uses tree ring data from five conifer species in the Sierra Nevada to reconstruct water-year precipitation and track whiplash events. The results show that the reconstructions can effectively track whiplash events, but the ability differs among species and sites. The tracking ability is not related to the variance explained by the reconstructions.
Article
Environmental Studies
Jordan Palli, Michele Baliva, Franco Biondi, Lucio Calcagnile, Domenico Cerbino, Marisa D'Elia, Rosario Muleo, Aldo Schettino, Gianluca Quarta, Nicola Sassone, Francesco Solano, Pietro Zienna, Gianluca Piovesan
Summary: In the Mediterranean basin, agriculture and human land use have had a significant impact on the environment for centuries. Despite the prevalence of modern agricultural systems, ancient varieties of fruit trees have survived in less intensively managed rural areas. This study in southern Italy identified some of the oldest scientifically dated fruit trees in the world and highlighted their importance for genetic preservation and biodiversity conservation.
Article
Forestry
Emanuele Ziaco, Xinsheng Liu, Franco Biondi
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between xylem anatomy, plant hydraulic functioning, and stem growth in two western US conifers. The study found that the xylem structure plays a key role in water conductivity and embolism resistance. The anatomical parameters and hydraulic proxies differed significantly between species, and hydraulic efficiency was a better predictor of basal area increment than safety.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gianluca Piovesan, Angelo Rita, Franco Biondi, Michele Baliva, Marco Borghetti, Michele Brunetti, Giuseppe De Vivo, Alfredo Di Filippo, Anna Dinella, Tiziana Gentilesca, Maurizio Maugeri, Jordan Palli, Andrea Piotti, Emanuele Presutti Saba, Francesco Ripullone, Aldo Schettino, GiovanniG. Vendramin
Summary: We investigated the dendroclimatic response of a Pinus heldreichii metapopulation in the southern Italian Apennines, and found that wood growth along an elevational gradient is non-linearly related to air temperature. Through three years of fieldwork, we collected wood cores from 214 pine trees and used a combination of tree-ring and genetic methods to reveal factors involved in growth acclimation. Our study revealed a divergent growth response between the top and the bottom of the elevation gradient, with increased tree growth in the upper subalpine belt and a positive link between pine growth and April mean temperature at all elevations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xinsheng Liu, Emanuele Ziaco, Franco Biondi
Summary: The integration of whole-plant stomatal regulation and xylem hydraulics is crucial for predicting species response to drought stress. However, the intraspecific variability of stomatal and hydraulic traits and their interactions are still largely unknown. This study found evidence of stomatal-hydraulic coordination within species, with different adjustments observed in limber pine and Engelmann spruce. Deciphering this variability contributes to understanding drought tolerance and vulnerability in tree species across different landscapes.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Luis Fernando Arencibia Aguilar, Priscila Rodriguez Rodriguez, Franco Biondi
Summary: The development of stem heartwood and its relationship with site- and tree-level variables were investigated in Pinus canariensis plantations. The study found that stem diameter was the most correlated variable with heartwood radius, and accounting for spatial variability improved the model. These findings have implications for forest management and carbon-conscious policies.