Sagehen Creek Field Station

06 Sep, 05 AM - 07 Sep, 06 AM

The hydrology of mountains streams is showing alarming changes in the pattern of runoff attributable to climate change. Earlier snowmelt, more rain than snow, diminished snow cover, rising snowlines, winter floods, rising temperatures, recurring droughts, and drying of flows threaten the viability of stream ecosystems. Sierra Nevada streams are the life blood of the mountains, supporting productive and diverse ecosystems that are central to sustaining wildlife and interconnected habitats. The high biodiversity and endemism found in alpine headwaters of the Sierra are at the brink of risk to climate change impacts, yet such streams serve as references for judging ecological health, used by management agencies as standards of environmental quality. Aquatic invertebrates play central roles in the food chain and ecological function of streams, and the number and types found have been widely used as indicators of the integrity of habitats we endeavor to conserve. With initial support from the Forest Service, this project seeks to establish a sentinel monitoring network for detecting how climate risk and natural resistance factors interact in responses of Sierran reference stream ecosystems to advancing climate change. Gathering baseline data on invertebrate indicators, flow and thermal regime will provide the foundation for guidance of conservation and management decisions. This project is at the forefront of ecological studies of hydroclimatic impacts on montane streams.

Visit #25053 @Sagehen Creek Field Station

Approved

Under Project # 23675 | Research

AN EARLY-WARNING MONITORING NETWORK FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON STREAM ECOSYSTEMS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

research_scientist - University of California, Santa Barbara

Reservation Members(s)

Group of 3 Research Assistant (non-student/faculty/postdoc) Sep 6 - 7, 2011 (2 days)
David Herbst Sep 6 - 7, 2011 (2 days)

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Day Use 4 Sep 6 - 7, 2011