Graduation Date
Summer 2026
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources: option Environmental Science and Management
Committee Chair Name
Dr. James Graham
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Christine Davis
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Andrew Stubblefield
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Fourth Committee Member Name
Dr. Gabriel Rossi
Fourth Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Eel River, Watershed, Northern California, Riparian, Riparian areas, Climate refugia, Climate resilience
Subject Categories
Watershed Management
Abstract
Climate change is increasing the need to identify and protect landscapes that support biodiversity through both habitat connectivity and climate refugia. Climate refugia are areas that remain relatively buffered from regional climatic change, enabling species to persist despite shifting environmental conditions. Riparian ecosystems can function as both movement corridors and climate refugia, yet methods for identifying these features and understanding the environmental processes that sustain them remain limited. In California's North Coast region, the identification and conservation of watersheds that may serve as climate refugia for sensitive plant and animal species will be essential for long-term ecosystem management and conservation. This thesis advances approaches for assessing riparian climate resilience and prioritizing conservation and restoration opportunities in the Eel River watershed, California.
In Chapter 1 we replicate an existing riparian climate-corridor method by Krosby et al. (2018) to identify areas that may facilitate species movement and buffer climate impacts. The method assigns an index value to rivers and streams in the Eel River watershed based on integrating riparian area, canopy cover, solar radiation, landscape modification, and ambient air temperature data. Results emphasized the importance of connectivity among tributaries and mainstem rivers but revealed methodological issues that limited utility in providing management recommendations. In Chapter 2 we present a revised framework to calculate a Riparian Climate Refugia (RCR) index value for rivers and streams in the Eel River watershed. The resulting framework provides a more interpretable and management-relevant assessment to improve the identification of riparian climate refugia and support conservation and restoration planning under climate change.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Tyler, Farrah, "A framework for evaluating riparian climate refugia in the Eel River watershed, California" (2026). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2614.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2614
Comments
Additional data and resources are available on the California Trout data portal.