Sekaa
@sekaamodel
sekaamodel Joshua trees have been migrating to higher elevation parts of the park with cooler weather and more moisture in the ground. In hotter, drier areas, the adult trees aren't producing as many younger plants, and the ones they do produce aren't surviving. Researchers atΒ UC Riversideβs Center for Conservation BiologyΒ found that only 19% ofΒ Joshua Tree National ParkβsΒ Joshua tree habitat would survive past 2070 β even with major efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. In the worst case, with no reduction in carbon emissions, the park would retain a mere 0.02 percent of its Joshua tree habitat An additional finding of this study is that in the cooler, wetter parts of the park the biggest threat other than climate change is fire. Fewer than 10 percent of Joshua trees survive wildfires, which have been exacerbated in recent years by smog from car and industrial exhaust. The smog deposits nitrogen on the ground, which in turn feeds non-native grasses that act as kindling for wildfires. Joshua trees as a species have existed since the Pleistocene era, about 2.5 million years ago, and individual Joshua trees commonly live a few hundred years, although one has been dated to be 1000 years old! In October 2019, the Center for Biological DiversityΒ petitionedΒ the California Fish and Game Commission to protect western Joshua trees under the California Endangered Species Act. However, Joshua Trees are yet to receive protection under a "threatened" status. photo by @thomasholmphoto during his workshop @psphotofestival 2019
