Ancient ecosystems of Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve yield clues to the planet’s future.
Ancient ecosystems of Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve yield clues to the planet’s future.
Thousands of acres of Stanford University land remain open space, acting as the green “lungs” of the San Francisco Peninsula amid explosive growth and change. A secluded segment of this land is even more special and more protected. Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve was part of the vast property accumulated in the 19th century by Leland Stanford. Today, Jasper Ridge’s geologic and ecological diversity make it a priceless research asset for biologists and other scholars, as well as a natural asset in its own right.
The 1,200-acre preserve contains in microcosm every ecosystem in the Santa Cruz Mountains, from redwood forest to grassland to chaparral. Its flora and fauna have been studied since before the university’s founding. They yield data sets that now offer clues to many scientific problems, including how global warming affects natural life.
Professor Paul Ehrlich’s discoveries about Jasper Ridge butterflies demonstrated the value of long-term research in ecology, and helped foster federal programs to fund such studies. Professors Christopher Field and Harold Mooney established principles that are the foundation of the largest research program now at Jasper Ridge, a study of ecosystem responses to environmental changes taking place around the globe. Many Stanford classes use Jasper Ridge as a field station, and students have submitted for publication more than 400 papers derived from research there.