Forests Content

Can This Forest Survive? Predicting Forest Death or Recovery After Drought

Andy Fell — August 29, 2023 - 10:30am

How long can trees tolerate drought before the forest dies?

Researchers from 51�ԹϺ�� Davis can now predict which forests could survive despite future drought. Their new method links precipitation to tree growth, and it can help people decide where to put their resources as climate change affects patterns of snow and rainfall that impact the health of forests.

VIDEO ADDED: ‘51�ԹϺ�� Davis LIVE’ on Wildfire and Forests

Andy Fell — May 26, 2022 - 10:45am

How Indigenous Practices Can Help Forests Thrive

Katherine E Kerlin — April 07, 2022 - 11:56am

What's the difference between prescribed burns and cultural burning? A new feature story explains this and explores many more elements of Indigenous burning practices in California.

Carbon Payments Play Pivotal Role in Forest Protection Program

Katherine E Kerlin — February 23, 2022 - 8:00am

When pay-to-conserve programs don’t come through with payments, they don’t conserve, indicates a case study by the University of California, Davis, of a REDD+ Readiness program on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania.

California’s Climate Refugia: Mapping the Stable Places

Katherine E Kerlin — June 08, 2020 - 10:30am

Some landscapes can hold their own against climate change better than others. A study from the University of California, Davis, maps these places, called “climate refugia,” where existing vegetation is most likely to buffer the impacts of climate change through the end of the century.

Lichens Are Losing to Wildfire, Years After Flames Are Gone

Katherine E Kerlin — August 09, 2018 - 2:44pm

As increasingly hot and severe wildfires scorch the West, some lichen communities integral to conifer forests aren’t returning, even years after the flames have been extinguished, according to a study from scientists at the University of California, Davis.

Tahoe: State of the Lake Report Released

Katherine E Kerlin — July 26, 2018 - 1:25pm

After a year marked by extreme weather and plunging clarity levels, the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center today released its annual Tahoe: State of the Lake Report.

The 2018 report summarizes data collected in 2017 as part of the center’s ongoing, decades-long measurement programs, while also presenting current research on emerging issues.

Tahoe State of the Lake Report Released

Katherine E Kerlin — July 27, 2017 - 3:06pm

The 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center today released its annual Tahoe: State of the Lake Report, assessing a year marked by the hottest temperatures on record followed by a winter of unprecedented levels of rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where Lake Tahoe resides.

How Much Drought Can a Forest Take?

Katherine E Kerlin — January 19, 2017 - 1:24pm

Why do some trees die in a drought and others don’t? And how can we predict where trees are most likely to die in future droughts?

Scientists from the University of California, Davis, and colleagues examined those questions in a study published in the journal Ecology Letters.

What the Ancient CO2 Record May Mean for Future Climate Change

Katherine E Kerlin — October 24, 2016 - 11:08am

The last time Earth experienced both ice sheets and carbon dioxide levels within the range predicted for this century was a period of major sea level rise, melting ice sheets and upheaval of tropical forests.

The repeated restructuring of tropical forests at the time played a major role in driving climate cycles between cooler and warmer periods, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis and published today in the journal Nature Geoscience.