Research Alert
Newswise — Each year, WCS scientists author or co-author nearly 300 peer-reviewed studies and papers. “WCS 3 Sentence Science” is a regular tip-sheet – in bite sized helpings – of some of this published work.
1. Climate change is altering the conditions for tree recruitment, growth, and survival, and impacting forest community composition.
2. Researchers found that climate-induced forest mortality of Alaska yellow-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis) is driving alternate successional pathways that are likely to lead to long-term shifts in forest community composition and stand dynamics.
3. The analysis fills a critical knowledge gap on forest ecosystem response and rearrangement following the climate-driven decline of a single species, providing new insight into stand dynamics in a changing climate.
WCS Media Contact: Stephen Sautner, 7182203682, [email protected]
Study and Journal: "From canopy to seed: Loss of snow drives directional changes in forest composition " from Ecology and Evolution
WCS Co-Author(s): Lauren Oakes , Conservation Scientist and Adaptation Specialist