SPECTRUM NEWS 1 - The California Desert makes up about 28% of the state’s land area and contains about 38% of the native plant species within the state.
Researchers say wildfires and climate change can have an enormous impact on desert species. That’s why the Mojave Desert Land Trust has been busy collecting seeds from native desert species to bank them for restoration and research efforts in the future.
Spectrum News goes along with the nonprofit during one of their seed collection hikes in Joshua Tree. Hear from Lynn Sweet, a research ecologist at the University of California, Riverside, about how climate change could affect the desert plant species in Joshua Tree.