Foothill oak woodlands are among the most familiar ecosystems in California. Supporting deer and squirrels, acorn woodpeckers and oak moths, these habitats occupy tens of thousands of acres across the state. Yet change is coming to these widespread habitats. Like much of the West, California’s foothills are predicted to experience shifts in climate in coming […]
California Heartbeat Initiative
California Heartbeat Initiative soars ahead
A University of California project to study the availability of water in California’s ecosystems is off to a soaring start. The California Heartbeat Initiative (CHI) uses drones, sap flow meters, and other remote sensing techniques to monitor the water status of plants across large swaths of the landscape. The project aims to interpret water status […]
Tracking water through California ecosystems
OAKLAND, California—The University of California Natural Reserve System has received a $2.179 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to monitor the pulse of water through state ecosystems. The California Heartbeat Initiative-Freshwater (CHI-Freshwater) will link plant responses to environmental conditions such as heat waves, rainstorms, and drought on a landscape scale. The results […]