Dust storms ahead: Climate change, green energy development and endangered species in the Mojave Desert

Smith, Christopher Irwin; Sweet, Lynn C.; Yoder, Jeremy B.; McKain, Michael R.; Heyduk, Karolina; Barrows, Cameron W.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109819

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…Increasingly, the Mojave Desert is stressed by anthropogenic change (Randall et al, 2010) and impacts to desert plants are widespread (Agha et al, 2020; Lovich & Bainbridge, 1999; Tanner et al, 2021). As the Mojave Desert is progressively subjected to land‐use and land‐cover change, it is critical to understand and anticipate their impacts on plant species diversity (Smith et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of Mojave milkweed and mirrors: The population genomic structure of a species impacted by solar energy development

Wade

Moore‐O’Leary

Grodsky

et al. 2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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A rapid renewable energy transition has facilitated the development of large, ground-mounted solar energy facilities worldwide. Deserts, and other sensitive aridland ecosystems, are the second most common land-cover type for solar energy development globally. Thus, it is necessary to understand existing diversity within environmentally sensitive desert plant populations to understand spatiotemporal effects of solar energy siting and design. Overall, few popula-

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of Mojave milkweed and mirrors: The population genomic structure of a species impacted by solar energy development

Wade

Moore‐O’Leary

Grodsky

et al. 2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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“…In most of the plant communities where they occur, Joshua trees are the largest plants on the landscape (reproductive individuals grow >2 m tall), which has facilitated the collection of unusually comprehensive presence records to inform species distribution models (Godsoe et al, 2009;Cole et al, 2011;Smith et al, 2011). The trees' association with the Mojave Desert more broadly has made them a focal species for the use of SDMs to predict plant community shifts in response to projected climate change (Cole et al, 2011;Barrows and Murphy-Mariscal, 2012;Sweet et al, 2019;Smith et al, 2023) as well as historical distribution changes since the last glacial maximum (Smith et al, 2011). However, even in the case of these wellstudied, conspicuous species, SDMs published to date have significant limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding Joshua trees' climate requirements has become more urgently necessary to plan for their conservation in the face of a suite of interlocking threats to the natural communities of the Mojave Desert (Smith et al, 2023). Recruitment of Joshua trees requires that seedlings survive a gauntlet of life history challenges (Reynolds et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, increasingly frequent wildfires fueled by invasive introduced grasses (Loik et al, 2000;DeFalco et al, 2010;Reynolds et al, 2012;St. Clair et al, 2022), land use changes (Esque et al, 2020b;Esque et al, 2020c;Smith et al, 2023;State of California, 2023) and climate change (Dole et al, 2003;Cole et al, 2011;Barrows and Murphy-Mariscal, 2012;Sweet et al, 2019) all complicate conservation and management. Slow growing and long-lived plant species with wide distributions are frequently left out of conservation planning (Kwit et al, 2004), but widespread concern for Joshua tree populations has prompted petitions to the California Fish and Game Commission and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect them (WildEarth Guardians, 2015; Study area, placenames, and area of obscured imagery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unprecedented distribution data for Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana) reveal contemporary climate associations of a Mojave Desert icon

Esque,

Shryock,

Berry

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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IntroductionForecasting range shifts in response to climate change requires accurate species distribution models (SDMs), particularly at the margins of species' ranges. However, most studies producing SDMs rely on sparse species occurrence datasets from herbarium records and public databases, along with random pseudoabsences. While environmental covariates used to fit SDMS are increasingly precise due to satellite data, the availability of species occurrence records is still a large source of bias in model predictions. We developed distribution models for hybridizing sister species of western and eastern Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana, respectively), iconic Mojave Desert species that are threatened by climate change and habitat loss.MethodsWe conducted an intensive visual grid search of online satellite imagery for 672,043 0.25 km2 grid cells to identify the two species' presences and absences on the landscape with exceptional resolution, and field validated 29,050 cells in 15,001 km of driving. We used the resulting presence/absence data to train SDMs for each Joshua tree species, revealing the contemporary environmental gradients (during the past 40 years) with greatest influence on the current distribution of adult trees.ResultsWhile the environments occupied by Y. brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana were similar in total aridity, they differed with respect to seasonal precipitation and temperature ranges, suggesting the two species may have differing responses to climate change. Moreover, the species showed differing potential to occupy each other's geographic ranges: modeled potential habitat for Y. jaegeriana extends throughout the range of Y. brevifolia, while potential habitat for Y. brevifolia is not well represented within the range of Y. jaegeriana.DiscussionBy reproducing the current range of the Joshua trees with high fidelity, our dataset can serve as a baseline for future research, monitoring, and management of this species, including an increased understanding of dynamics at the trailing and leading margins of the species' ranges and potential for climate refugia.

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Role of Extreme Climate Events in Amplification of Plant Invasion

Laishram,

Shakya

2023

Plant Invasions and Global Climate Change

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Dust storms ahead: Climate change, green energy development and endangered species in the Mojave Desert

Cited by 11 publications

References 115 publications

Of Mojave milkweed and mirrors: The population genomic structure of a species impacted by solar energy development

Of Mojave milkweed and mirrors: The population genomic structure of a species impacted by solar energy development

Unprecedented distribution data for Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana) reveal contemporary climate associations of a Mojave Desert icon

Role of Extreme Climate Events in Amplification of Plant Invasion

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