Potential Impact of Climate Change on California Vegetation | Golden Gate Park

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Speaker: Thomas Parker, Ph.D.

Humans are the principal drivers of climate change. This talk will focus on two different extremes, chaparral and tidal wetlands, to provide examples of climate change impact. The specific processes are very different for each case, but ultimately root from the same source, the warming of the planet by increasing CO2 concentration. For chaparral, the issue is a trend toward a reduced rainy season length, with greater potential for drying soils. Wildfire then becomes an increasing issue. For tidal wetlands, sea level rise is occurring at increasing rates, although wetlands should be able to keep up for a few decades. Other issues include how climate change will impact the state’s overall hydrology, leading to lower rates of freshwater flow into the Delta, especially in the summer.

Tom Parker is a professor of biology at San Francisco State University. Tom is an evolutionary ecologist focused on the role of plants in ecological communities. He specializes in the dynamics of plant communities and has conducted research principally on tidal wetlands and chaparral.

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