The last two decades have revealed the imprtance of non-linear ecosystem responses to climate change, so called 'ecological surprises'. One these key surprises is massive forest mortality evens that have been documented worldwide following particularly hot droughts, or 'climate change-type droughts'. We study the ecohydrology and ecophysiology behind climate-induced tree die-off. Past work has focused on Sudden Aspen Decline in the Rocky Mountains, but are expanding to new study systems such as conifers in the southern Sierras of California.
