Biodiversity and Carbon Storage in California

Biodiversity and Carbon Storage in California

California is both a global biodiversity hotspot and home to forest ecosystems with the highest aboveground carbon storage per unit of land area on earth. Warming temperatures and changing precipitation patterns threaten California’s forests and their ecosystem services. Asner Lab is working to map patterns of forest species composition, forest functional diversity, and carbon stocks in order to understand better how these properties respond to variation in water availability, climate, and soils.

Studies are being conducted at spatial scales ranging from individual trees to the entire state, with the intention of identifying forests that are likely to be resilient to future climate change. Our lab works with local and state non-profits, foundations, and government agencies to ensure that our results help to guide land management decisions that support the biodiversity and carbon storage of Californian ecosystems as the climate changes. 

Funders:

US Forest Service
David and Lucille Packard Foundation
Save the Redwoods League
National Park Service

Partners:

US Forest Service
National Park Service