Resplendent mountain wildflowers are gorgeous for sure. They’re also signs of environmental health.
During spring and summer, Sierra Nevada meadows burst into a breath-taking display of wildflowers. Plus, they’re good for the birds and the bees.
Invasive aquatic plants threaten Lake Tahoe’s clear waters
The plants look like seaweed, rising from the shallow areas of Lake Tahoe to the surface. But in this fresh-water, high-mountain lake with a $5-billion recreation economy, invasive plants threaten both the environment and an international tourist destination.
Meadow ‘sponges’ can help store water as snowpack shrinks
A project to restore a damaged meadow in the Sierra Nevada shows the possibilities for improving an important mountain ecosystem. It can also store precious groundwater as climate change shrinks mountain snowpack, a vital source of fresh water in the American West.
Trees move uphill as Sierra Nevada climate warms
Warming Sierra Nevada temperatures mean young trees of cold-adapted species are growing at elevations hundreds of feet higher than trees counted 80 years ago — taking entire habitats with them.
Shrinking Sierra snowpack: Warming temperatures shift snow to rain, forcing water agencies to adapt
As wintertime temperatures warm in the Sierra Nevada, precipitation shifts from snow to rain. That means snowpack is shrinking — and changing the entire foundation for people’s water supply across the American West.
