• How do the giant (and not so giant) trees of the sierra survive dry summers, generally shallow, sandy soils, and vastly different amounts of snowpack (or winter precipitation) from one year to the next? 
• How are plot scale measurements taken at a research site in the Kings River Experimental Watershed in the Sierra National Forest applicable to so many other sites in the Sierra? 
• How will climate change affect the species distribution—and indeed the very survival—of this biota along an elevation transect? 
• We will explore these questions and more in a presentation of current research taking place in the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory to help piece together the story of roots, soil and water in the Sierra landscape.

Peter Hartsough
Dept. of Land, Air and Water Resources
UC Davis