Authors: |
Constance I. Millar, Wallace B. Woolfenden |
Year: |
1999 |
Type: |
Miscellaneous Publication |
Station: |
Pacific Southwest Research Station |
Source: |
Trans. of the 64th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, 31 p. |
Abstract
The prospect of human-induced global warning has received centerstage attention from ecologists concerned about future ecosystems. While such effects deserve critical analysis, they are best understood in the context of natural climate change. Anthropogenic atmospheric effects are often discussed as if background climates were stable (Mahlman 1997). Even in the recent past, however, climates have changed at similar rates and magnitudes to predicted anthropogenic changes, catalyzing significant natural changes in terrestrial ecosystems. With or without the complication of human effects, implications of climate change to conservation and management planning are great. Over the past twenty years, advances in Quaternary sciences have significantly imr proved our understanding of historic climate and its influence on biota and planetary systems.
Citation
Millar, Constance I.; Woolfenden, Wallace B. 1999. Sierra Nevada forests: Where did they come from? Where are they going? What does it mean?. Trans. of the 64th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, 31 p.