Wet Vulnerability, Adaptaon Strategies, and Management Implicaons General Informaon: Wet are well distributed across the Sierra Nevada at different elevaons, but account for only 1% of total area. The southern Sierra, with its steeper topography and drier climate, has less meadow area than the northern Sierra. Sierra Nevada wet meadows are largely defined by their hydrology; for example, meadows in mid- to high- elevaons usually receive water supply from snowmelt. Other water sources for meadows include overland flow, surface flow and/or groundwater entering via stream and spring networks, and direct precipitaon. Wet meadows are important ecosystems, providing key for numerous species as well as a variety of services including water filtraon, aenuang floods, aesthec value, and water © Wikimedia storage, among others. Component species include: sedge species ( spp.), rush species (Juncus spp.), and tued hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa).

Ecosystem Vulnerability: Moderate-High Very Low Very High Wet meadows are highly sensive to changes that impact hydrology, as meadow distribuon, type, and vegetaon are determined by local hydrological condions. Climate and climate-driven changes that may affect meadow hydrology include shis from snow to rain, reduced snowpack, earlier snowmelt ming, and increased evapotranspiraon. Non- climate stressors such as water diversions, , recreaonal acvies, and fire suppression can further increase meadow vulnerability by degrading their current condion and/or altering hydrology.

Projected Climate and Impacts on Regional Hydrology Impacts on Wet Meadows Climate-Driven Changes Decreased snowpack (-64% to • Reduced spring and summer moisture • Tree and -87%) encroachment Earlier snowmelt and runoff • Advanced runoff center of mass (1-7 weeks • Erosion of topsoil and moist ming & shis from snow to earlier) peat rain • Flashier runoff, higher flow magnitudes but • Channel incision and reduced mean annual flow erosion leading to meadow • Reduced groundwater recharge drying • Longer dry season • Less water stored for use Increased evapotranspiraon • Increased climac water deficit (i.e., reduced • Tree and shrub soil moisture) by up to 44% encroachment

Although wet meadows occur across a diverse elevaonal range, their vulnerability is increased by low connecvity and Wet meadows fed by northerly exposed non-uniform, fragmented distribuon. In addion, wet watersheds, in cold sinks, or in watersheds meadows are one of the most altered and impacted systems with minimal hydrologic alteraons may be in the Sierra Nevada; a degraded state reduces their ability to more resilient to projected climac condions adapt or be resilient to climate and climate-driven changes. Adaptaon Strategies for Ecosystems Adaptaon Strategy Specific Management Acons Restore floodplain funcon to enhance • Plug and pond (redirect flow from incised channels to stable channel ecosystem integrity and resilience under with broad floodplain) climate change • Establish setbacks • Stabilize banks and headcuts • Restore meanders, and structure • Promote beavers where appropriate to keep water in the system Reduce negave impacts of grazing, as • Increase monitoring to include biological diversity indices that these impacts have the potenal to evaluate climate and non-climate impacts and management acon amplify climate change effects effecveness for key biological parameters • Re-examine livestock densies and grazing intensity, ming, and season in light of climate change predicons Increase role of fire to limit high severity • Restore natural fire regime (wildland fire, prescribed fire, fire fires, insect and disease outbreaks, and reintroducon) to minimize fuel loading and reduce potenal for high moisture stress severity fires • Pracce fuels reducon Reduce negave impacts of recreaon, • Assess and consider removing roads (or altering ming of use) in roads, and trails to help wet meadows sensive meadows areas beer cope with climate change effects • Enhance route designaon plans in light of projected climate change impacts

Prevenng anthropogenic degradaon or hydrological alteraon of wet meadows can enhance resilience to climate change ©Ma Lavin © Wikimedia

Management Implicaons This informaon can be used in a variety of ways: ✔ Forest Plan Revisions ✔ U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Performance Scorecard: Element 6 - “Assessing Vulnerability” and Element 7 - “Adaptaon Acons” ✔ Naonal Park Service Resource Stewardship Strategies, Fire and Fuel Management Plans, General Management Plans, Strategic Plans, and Wilderness Stewardship Plans

Further informaon and citaons can be found in source reports, A Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Focal Resources of the Sierra Nevada and Climate Change Adaptaon Strategies for Focal Resources of the Sierra Nevada, available online at the EcoAdapt Library: hp://ecoadapt.org/library.