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A new study finds that the giant sequoia, a fixture of California's Sierra Nevada forests for the past 2.6 million years, might be in jeopardy from the effects of drought and climate change. The iconic trees, which only grow in some 70 groves scattered over an area of about 55 square miles on the western slopes of California's Sierra Nevada mountains, were spared the widespread tree mortality that recently occurred in California forests, claiming 102 million trees over a period coinciding with the state's 2011-2015 drought.
However, scientists found that sequoia groves are showing signs of stress, suggesting even these normally resilient trees are becoming increasingly vulnerable to multi-year droughts, which are projected to continue increasing in severity because of climate change.Image credit: National Park Service
