Date of Award
Summer 8-23-2025
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. in Biological Sciences
Organizational Unit
College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Biological Sciences
First Advisor
Patrick Martin
Second Advisor
Anna Sher
Third Advisor
Julie Morris
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Climate change, Montane forests, Recruitment patterns, Conifers, Forest resilience
Abstract
Climate change is reshaping montane forests in the western US, yet effects on tree recruitment and the role of local adaptation in resilience to climate stressors remain poorly studied. Seeds of five common conifers, including 3-5 populations per species, were sown in situ along climate gradients in the Colorado Front Range. Sown seeds were monitored for three years for germination and survival. Models were used to detect thresholds in recruitment and project spatially-explicit risks to future recruitment under warming scenarios.
Higher temperatures, when combined with adequate precipitation, increased germination across species, but markedly reduced survivorship for two species even with high rainfall. In some species, local adaptation increased resilience. Projections indicate future contractions in recruitment suitability: in high emissions scenarios, < 60% of the species’ current distributions will be suitable by 2100. Overall, these results highlight how the earliest phases of recruitment are likely to constrain forest resilience to climate change.
Copyright Date
8-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Nicholas Bither
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
76 pgs
File Size
1.9 MB
Recommended Citation
Bither, Nicholas, "Altered Recruitment Patterns in Southern Rocky Mountain Conifers in a Changing Climate" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2543.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2543