When it comes to climate change, one big question is how are ecosystems adapting to shifting weather patterns, heavier precipitation events, and hotter temperatures for longer periods of time?  Are some plants better equipped to withstand these changes than others?  And if yes, then why and how? 

Jacob Levine is a Wilkes Center Postdoctoral scholar here at the University of Utah.  He is interested in how climate change is impacting plant ecosystems.  Specifically, when rainstorms occur less frequently, but more intensely than before – as they have in California -- how are plants responding?  So far, he says, his findings are intriguing.    

Dr. Levine has also been interested in how high severity wildfires are impacting publicly managed forest lands in California compared with privately managed lands for timber harvesting.  The goal of his research is to understand what types of forest management are beneficial for ecosystems and which types are not.  This question has been subject to a rancorous policy debate between forest managers.   For his part, Levine hopes his research can better inform better forest management practices overall, in ways that benefit and improve forestry for timber and supporting healthy ecosystems overall. 

So, here is my conversation with Jacob Levine.

wilkescenter.utah.edu/podcast/29-how-are-plant-ecosystems-adapting-to-the-shifting-climate/

(Featured image: University of California Sedgwick Natural Reserve in northern Santa Barbara County California. Photo Courtesy of Jacob Levine)