DOI: https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2021.35
Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2601
Date of Award
3-2021
Degree Name
MS in Biological Sciences
Department/Program
Biological Sciences
College
College of Science and Mathematics
Advisor
Dena Grossenbacher
Advisor Department
Biological Sciences
Advisor College
College of Science and Mathematics
Abstract
Plants of alpine regions around the world are threatened by climate warming. In alpine regions, climate warming has been predicted to cause ‘greening’ and plant community shifts towards species from warmer climates. However, slow growth rates coupled with limited dispersal in alpine habitats may lead to considerable lags in community level responses. Here we took advantage of a historical survey conducted on 105 plots in the alpine of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, USA. We found that over a 30-year period, plots display, on average, a 21% increase in herbaceous plant cover, a 25% increase in species richness, and the community shifts towards species with affinities for higher maximum summer temperatures.
RcodeRichness (1).R (6 kB)
RcodeCover (1).R (11 kB)
clim.JCODE.mean.csv (16 kB)
GBIFoccurrences.csv (87234 kB)
Mean_annual_and_seasonal_data_Sadro.csv (8 kB)
MetadataContemporary.csv (31 kB)
MetadataHistoric.csv (539 kB)
quad.csv (851 kB)
transect.csv (38 kB)