Berkeley artist Todd Gilens made a series of drawings and photographs informed by time spent in the Sierra Nevada with scientists from NRS reserves. He visited Valentine Camp, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory, Yosemite Field Station, and Sagehen Creek Field Station during the 2015-18 field seasons. He’s now assembling this body of work into an […]
Sagehen Creek Field Station
Limited underground water storage make plants less susceptible to drought
Plants accustomed to accessing smaller amounts of moisture stored in underground rock formations are more resilient to drought conditions.
NRS joins Tahoe forest partnership
The UC Natural Reserve System has joined a newly created partnership that seeks to improve the health of the forest ecosystems surrounding Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI) will apply science-based forest and watershed management to reduce wildfire risks, arrest tree die-offs, and bolster forest resilience to threats such as climate change. The partnership […]
Baird award supports research at Berkeley NRS reserves
A new award program has been established to supportresearchby UC Berkeley graduate students at NRS reserves. The Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research will fund UC Berkeley graduate students conducting field research based in or around Angelo Coast Range Reserve, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, Hastings Natural History Reservation, Point Reyes Field Station, and Sagehen Creek […]
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem stability
The idea that natural communities rich in species are healthier and more productive has been an axiom in ecology for decades. The theory has been cited to support conservation programs and other efforts to maintain the complexity of natural systems. But hard evidence for this relationship has been tough to come by. The dynamics of […]
Invisible Barn materializes
Take a forest stroll at the NRS’s Sagehen Creek Field Station, and you will encounter an Invisible Barn. The structure’s edges fade into the open air, until angled glimpses of tree trunks reveal a roof or wall. Surprise, then amusement tickle your brain as it wrestles with the sight of a building disappearing into the […]
NRS draws crowds at Celebrate UCI, Cal Day
Woodpecker granaries, digital weather nodes, and wetland tours were just a few of the attractions offered at NRS 50th anniversary festivities at UC campuses last Saturday. Celebrate UCI At Celebrate UCI, the sesquicentennial party-cum-open house on Irvine campus, dozens of visitors took walking tours San Joaquin Marsh. At the adjacent Arboretum, reserve director Peter Bowler set […]
Digital California plant portal hits 2 million specimens
In a nation where nearly as many people have a cell phone as a TV, social media has replaced social hour, and cars are on the verge of driving themselves, the centuries-old practice of collecting, pressing, and identifying plant specimens can seem somewhat quaint and old-fashioned. Yet these carefully labeled and stored plant specimens are […]