Global Climate Change & Sierran Ecosystems - Friends of the Chico State Herbarium, Nov. 3

Saturday, November 3, 2012, 5 pm.

FROM MOUNTAIN TOPS TO CANYON BOTTOMS: CLIMATE’S VARIABLE EFFECT OF SIERRAN ECOSYSTEMS.

A talk by Dr. Connie Millar

At CSU, Chico, Holt Hall room 268

Free and everyone is invited.

For more details, please go to the Friends of the Chico State Herbarium web page:

Everyone is also invited to visit the Friends of the Herbarium Open House and Fall Photo Contest display (3-4 pm) and Annual Meeting (4-5 pm) in Holt Hall room 129.

About Dr. Millar's talk:

"If you have spent much time in mountains, you recognize that different environments have unique climate personalities: Meadows in early mornings can be cold, dank places to awake in a tent; the shady canopy of forest is welcome relief from direct heat of summer sunlight but high humidities favor swarms of mosquitoes; mountain tops are windy, windy places that also attract lightning. These direct experiences witness to the mosaic of climatic processes that operates from micro- (small) to meso- (mid) to macro scales across mountain landscapes.  Interesting in themselves, climate also affects mountain plants and animals in varying ways, many of which are little recognized. In this talk, Dr. Millar will summarize some of these climate processes as they influence Sierra Nevada environments, and illustrate how they define habitats for Sierran creatures. Most importantly, she will discuss the interactions of mico- and meso-scale mountain climate with global climate change, and offer some surprising suggestions for the potential fate of flora and fauna in our mountains."

Dr. Connie Millar is a Senior Research Scientist with the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, in Albany, California.

For more information about Friends of the Chico State Herbarium please visit the web site or contact Friends of the Herbarium at friendsoftheherbarium@gmail.com.