Waiting on a mule deer crossing…
Snowmelt is a vital spring water source and also cues the phenology (life cycle event timing) of subalpine plants. Climate change is causing snowmelt to happen earlier in the spring and precipitation to become more variable, which can affect plant-pollinator interactions, plant reproduction, and plant survival; over time, these impacts could threaten plant species persistence in mountain areas. In my research, I experimentally changed both snowmelt timing and precipitation amount to understand the consequences of climate change for subalpine plants. Specifically, I used shade cloth set out in early spring to cause earlier snowmelt and rain out shelters to reduce precipitation and then measured the flowering timing, plant and flower size, flower rewards (nectar and pollen), pollinator visitation frequency, drought stress, survival, and number of seeds of four subalpine plant species. My preliminary results from conducting these experiments from 2021-2023 suggest that while earlier snowmelt causes a consistent shift to earlier flowering timing in all species studied, it has both negative and positive effects on pollinator visitation, plant size and fruit number depending on the seasonality of the year and the species. For example, some species had reduced plant size and fruit number in the earlier snowmelt treatment but other species did not, and these trends were not consistent across both years. Understanding the impacts of early snowmelt and reduced precipitation and which species may be more vulnerable to climate alterations will allow us to better predict climate changes impacts on mountain ecosystems.