What mediates tree mortality during drought in the southern Sierra Nevada?

We used high-fidelity imaging spectroscopy (HiFIS) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) to estimate the effect of forest dieback on species composition in response to drought stress in Sequoia National Park. Our aims were: (1) to quantify site-specific conditions that mediate tree mortality along an elevation gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains; (2) to assess where mortality events have a greater probability of occurring; and (3) to estimate which tree species have a greater likelihood of mortality along the elevation gradient. The data-set include dead trees and highly stressed trees that were identified in 2015 in the forests of Sequoia National Park (SNP), along an elevation gradient in California’s southern Sierra.