Climate change has had a significant effect on mountain
vegetation at low elevations in the past 60 years, according to
a study done by the University of California at Davis,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, and U.S. Geological Survey.
This information may guide future conservation efforts in
helping decision makers develop regional landscape predictions
about biological responses to climate changes. These findings
support recent predictions that climate change stresses
ecosystems at lower elevations more than higher elevations.
Scientists examined vegetation changes during the past 60 years
in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon, an area that harbors 131
plant species found nowhere else in the world. The study can be
found online at the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences website. “This study shows the possibility for
successfully predicting specific ecosystem responses to climate
change,” said USGS scientist Jim Grace. “We are not accustomed
to predicting the behavior of complex ecological systems,