The vegetation of the anthropocene : at the confluence of climate change, wildfire, and conservation ethics
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Across much of the earth's surface, the strong relationship between environmental conditions (climate, disturbances, etc.) and species' distributions has been eroded by recent anthropogenic impacts. The use of carbon-based fuels and short-sighted land management practices over the last two centuries have led to a world with 1.2°C warmer temperatures, an increased frequency in extreme weather events, altered precipitation regimes, and a cascade of other impacts. Scientists have identified a globally coherent redistribution of plant species in response to these environmental changes——with range shifts often poleward or upward in elevation towards cooler, wetter climates. Western North America, in particular, has witnessed a dramatic increase in the frequency of severe drought and wildfire events. Changes like these drive fundamental shifts in the structure, composition, and resilience of vegetation communities that are valued for recreational, cultural, and instrumental purposes. Understanding the compounding impacts of these drivers on the rate and trajectory of the spatial reorganization of vegetation is critical for our transition towards a sustainable future. After an introduction in Chapter 1 to the sensitivity of plant distributions to recent anthropogenic environmental change, I present two projects that further our understanding of ongoing plant redistribution in western North America. Chapter 2 investigates the role of wildfires on the rate of range expansion for montane and coastal tree species, and finds that two species——Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis)——keep closer pace with the rate of climate change in areas that have recently burned. Chapter 3 concerns range contraction——the grim alternative to expansion where populations become locally extinct——in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. We find that up to 20% of conifer forests are expected to transition to different vegetation in the near future, primarily along the warmer, drier, and lower-elevation western slope. The final chapter focuses on the challenges that shifting vegetation pose for land managers and discusses the classical conservation paradigm more broadly. I examine the decreasing utility of the "native" concept in guiding decisions about where species belong, and introduce an updated understanding of nativeness that allows for a more complete assessment of the value of species outside their historical range.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2022; ©2022 |
| Publication date | 2022; 2022 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Hill, Avery |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Field, Christopher B |
| Thesis advisor | Field, Christopher B |
| Thesis advisor | Fukami, Tadashi, 1972- |
| Thesis advisor | Hadly, Elizabeth Anne, 1958- |
| Degree committee member | Fukami, Tadashi, 1972- |
| Degree committee member | Hadly, Elizabeth Anne, 1958- |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biology |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Avery Payton Hill. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2022. |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/yf842xm3360 |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2022 by Avery Hill
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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