Southern Sierra Research Articles

Willingness to Pay for Solid Waste Collection in Bo District, Southern Sierra Leone: An Analysis of Influencing Factors

This study assesses the willingness to pay for solid waste management services in Bo District, Southern Sierra Leone. The research aims to identify the key factors influencing this willingness. Five semi-urban communities were selected based on their population size, and 60 household heads from randomly selected households were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Using logistic regression analysis, we found that factors such as income, education, occupation, and satisfaction with the current waste management system had varying degrees of significance in influencing willingness to pay. However, variables such as mode of waste collection and age were found to have a significant effect. This study suggests that policymakers in Bo District should consider these factors when implementing fee-based waste collection services.

Novel evidence that elk were historically native to the Sierra Nevada, and recent range expansions into the region.

Elk (Cervus canadensis) have been considered non-native to the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California and Nevada. However, elk have steadily increased their range southward from the Cascade Range into the northern Sierra Nevada over the last century. Recent reports also reveal Rocky Mountain elk moving northwards into the southern Sierra Nevada. Dispersals of lone bull elk from 2019-2022 have occurred to the central Sierra Nevada south of Lake Tahoe. These recent range expansions of elk herds and long-distance dispersals of individual elk raised questions about the possible historical presence of elk throughout this mountain range. Herein we conducted a broad investigation into historical newspaper accounts and other early explorer and naturalist observer records, museum specimens, Late Holocene zooarchaeological records, and indirect evidence including toponomastic references and Native American ethnographic and ethnolinguistic information. Taken in total, a variety of data sources suggest elk inhabited portions of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent northwest Great Basin from the Late Holocene through historical times. Positive records were not numerous, suggesting that historically elk were not abundant, and nearly extirpated during the California Fur Rush of the early nineteenth century.

Resistance of four mutant rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties to iron toxicity at Njala inland valley swamp ecology in southern Sierra Leone

Four lowland rice varieties were examined for tolerance to Fe toxicity using morphological traits. In 2021, at the Njala Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), we conducted a field trial at the Inland Valley Swamp (IVS) in Sierra Leone. The four rice varieties, Bina 8, 10, 17, and Early Mutant, were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The variance analysis revealed significant differences in all four rice varieties' traits. Elemental analysis of plant stalk revealed that Early Mutants and Bina 17 had the lowest Fe2+ concentrations (0.4 mg/kg soil and 0.8 mg/kg soil, respectively). On the other hand, Bina 10 and Bina 8 had higher Fe2+ concentrations (3.5 mg/kg soil and 1.5 mg/kg soil, respectively). In contrast, Bina 8 and Bina 10 had higher Fe2+ concentration values in their roots and stalks, indicating a higher accumulation of Fe2+. Thus, these two varieties also had the highest yield, indicating they tolerate Fe toxicity. This finding implies that rice varieties' capacity to withstand Fe toxicity plays a crucial role in sustaining growth and yield in Fe-toxic environments. The study concludes that screening rice varieties for Fe toxicity tolerance is important, but further research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying Fe toxicity tolerance in rice.

Knowledge and Attitude of the Waste Handlers on Healthcare Waste in Bo Government Hospital Southern Sierra Leone

Hospital waste poses risks to patients and waste disposal personnel and poses a threat to public health and the environment. Medical waste management is a new issue that is made worse by a lack of funding, knowledge and training to support solutions. Since these wastes have the potential to directly affect environmental health risks as well as public health risks, their collection and treatment are crucial. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the knowledge and attitude of the waste handlers on healthcare waste generated in Bo Government Hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the health impact of medical waste management at Bo Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. The author used mixed methods to combine semi-structured and self-administered quantitative questionnaires with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, cleaners, and residents. Near the hospital. A sample of 100 medical staff and residents living near the hospital was taken from Bo Government Hospital using a simple random sampling technique to collect data. Raw data come in a variety of forms, including measurements, questionnaire responses, and observations, and results are presented in tables, graphs, and verbatim using the Statistical Package for Science (SPSS) to present and analyze the collected data. All units participated in data collection, with Human Resources (HR) and laboratories identified as generating more waste, followed by Nursing and Main Theater, where nurses accounted for the majority (n = 27) of respondents participating in the survey. research, followed by cleaners. (n = 13) and CHO (10), the majority of whom were between the ages of 40 and 50 (35%). Some cleaners reported placing their hands on what were identified as major risk factors, endangering workers, despite significant efforts being made to ensure bags were securely tied (81.5%) and carts were washed and disinfected (66.2%). Garbage is not emptied during the day with trolleys (58.5%) being the common means of transportation, while 29.2% handle garbage directly, which can pose a risk. However, 62% of respondents had received formal training in medical waste management. It was recommended that the Ministry of Health continues to organize training courses, especially for cleaning personnel and lower-level employees who have direct daily contact with this waste.

Revised geologic map and structural interpretation of the Mineral King pendant, southern Sierra Nevada, California (USA): Evidence for kilometer-scale folding and structural imbrication of a Permian to mid-Cretaceous volcanosedimentary assemblage

Abstract The Mineral King pendant is an ~15-km-long, northwest-striking assemblage of Permian to mid-Cretaceous metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks that form a steeply dipping wall-rock screen between large mid-Cretaceous plutons of the Sierra Nevada batholith (California, USA). Pendant rocks are generally well layered and characterized by northwest-striking, steeply dipping, layer-parallel cleavage and flattening foliation and steeply northwest-plunging stretching lineation. Northwest-elongate lithologic units with well-developed parallel layering and an absence of prominent faults or shear zones suggests a degree of stratigraphic continuity. However, U-Pb zircon dating of felsic metavolcanic and volcanosedimentary rocks across the pendant indicates a complex pattern of structurally interleaved units with ages ranging from 277 Ma to 101 Ma. We utilize a compilation of 39 existing and new U-Pb zircon ages and four reported fossil localities to construct a revised geologic map of the Mineral King pendant that emphasizes age relationships rather than lithologic or stratigraphic correlations as in previous studies. We find that apparently coherent lithologic units are lensoidal and discontinuous and are cryptically interleaved at meter to kilometer scales. Along-strike facies changes and depositional unconformities combine with kilometer-scale tight folding and structural imbrication to create a complex map pattern with numerous discordant units. Discrete faults or major shear zones are not readily apparent in the pendant, although such structures are necessary to produce the structural complications revealed by our new mapping and U-Pb dating. We interpret the Mineral King pendant to be structurally imbricated by a combination of kilometer-scale tight to isoclinal folding and cryptic faulting, accentuated by, and eventually obscured by, pervasive flattening and vertical stretching that preceded and accompanied emplacement of the bounding mid-Cretaceous plutons. Deformation in the Mineral King pendant represents a significant episode of pure-shear-dominated transpression between ca. 115 Ma and 98 Ma that adds to growing evidence for a major mid-Cretaceous transpressional orogenic event affecting the western U.S. Cordillera.

Comparing social responses to Ebola and Covid-19 in Sierra Leone: an institutional analysis.

This paper compares community responses to Ebola and Covid-19 in two regions of southern and eastern Sierra Leone with reference to the theory of institutional dynamics proposed by the anthropologist Mary Douglas. Institutions, Douglas argued, are conveyed by styles of thought, shaped by the ways human communities, through everyday practices, reinforce systems of classification and denotation. Pandemic advice to 'follow the science' proved problematic, since there is no single institution of science, and institutions never stand alone but are bundled with other institutions, reflecting the manifold and intertwined practices of human social life. The paper explores some of the ways a traumatic epidemic of Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone shaped a distinctive local response to this deadly infectious disease in the absence of an effective vaccine. This local approach emphasised social rules based on ideas about sequestration and testing. Communities then proposed to continue this rules-based approach to the pandemic of Covid-19 and showed little initial enthusiasm for vaccination. With Ebola, the adoption of rules resulted in dramatic drops in infection rates. But Covid-19 spreads in different ways, and good results from the application of social rules were much less apparent. The paper shows how communities began to grapple with this new situation. In some cases, vaccine hesitation was overcome by treating the requirement for vaccination as a new form of social discipline. More generally, it is concluded that epidemiologists need to pay specific attention to institutions and institutional dynamics in order to better understand and anticipate public reactions to new disease threats.

DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN SIERRA MADRE, PHILIPPINES USING GOOGLE EARTH ENGINE AND COMMUNITY MAPPING

Abstract. Google Earth Engine (GEE) has empowered researchers to map and monitor vegetation cover through the utilization of satellite imagery and cloud-computing resources. This study employed such platform to evaluate deforestation and forest degradation (DFD) in the Southern Sierra Madre Mountain range, where historical and current evidence underscores ongoing degradation. This research endeavors to capitalize on GEE to generate land cover maps for the Southern Sierra Madre region, specifically in General Nakar, Quezon, and in Rodriguez, Rizal and to present the changes that occurred during three specific years: 2016, 2019, and 2022. Community mapping activities were also conducted in these municipalities to further validate the results from GEE. The findings indicate that forested lands predominantly encompassed both municipalities, albeit exhibiting a declining pattern for successive years. Analysis of land cover maps revealed that in General Nakar, most of the forest areas converted to shrublands are found in the barangays of Umiray and Pagsangahan while for Rodiguez, most of the forest areas converted to shrublands were found to be in Marikina Watershed Forest Reserve and in Puray. Community mapping unveiled that DFD factors such as kaingin, infrastructure extension, timber poaching, small-scale mining, charcoal making, and natural hazards are also present in these areas. With the availability of these openly available cloud-computing platforms, aided by inputs from members of the communities, efficient monitoring and implementation of interventions may be realized.

Postfire reproduction of a serotinous conifer, the giant sequoia, in the Nelder Grove, California.

The giant sequoia, a serotinous conifer naturally occurring in mixed-conifer forests of the southern and central Sierra Nevada, California, USA, is the world's largest tree species. Giant sequoia reproduction has been severely lacking over the past century, due to fire exclusion, creating a significant conservation threat. Previous research on postfire sequoia reproduction in high-severity fire areas, relative to low- and moderate-severity areas, is limited. At 6 years postfire, we investigated giant sequoia reproduction in a high-severity fire area, and nearby low-/mixed-severity fire areas, in the Nelder Grove, which burned in 2017 in the Railroad fire. Postfire giant sequoia reproduction was positively correlated with fire severity in terms of density, height (growth), and proportion (relative to other conifer species), and sequoia seedling/sapling density was positively correlated with percent shrub cover. There was no correlation between distance to live sequoia seed source and density of sequoia reproduction. More research is needed in other mixed-severity fire areas, with larger high-severity fire patches, to determine whether a similar postfire response occurs elsewhere.

Innovative Management of Non-Communicable Disease in a Low-Income Country: Supporting Nurses and Midwives to Set Up and Manage a Nurse-Led Diabetes Clinic at Bo Government Hospital in Sierra Leone

Recognising the increasing prevalence of diabetes globally and the challenges faced by communities with limited resources, the Organisation of Sierra Leonean Healthcare Professionals Abroad (TOSHPA) proposed the establishment of a nurse/midwife-led clinic for patients with Type 2 and gestational diabetes to be established in Bo Government Hospital (BGH) Southern Sierra Leone. The nurse/midwife-led approach can prove to be an effective and sustainable solution and is done in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and BGH Management Team in Sierra Leone. The project is funded by The Burdett Trust for Nursing, UK. BGH will allow second-motivated registered nurses and midwives who have a passion for community health to be trained/upskilled and capacitated to work in an extended role. The training will focus on patient assessment, investigations, diagnosis, treatment, health promotion, education, cultural competency, effective communication and active follow-up.

Geologic Controls on Apparent Root‐Zone Storage Capacity

AbstractThe water storage capacity of the root zone can determine whether plants survive dry periods and control the partitioning of precipitation into streamflow and evapotranspiration. It is currently thought that top‐down, climatic factors are the primary control on this capacity via their interaction with plant rooting adaptations. However, it remains unclear to what extent bottom‐up, geologic factors can provide an additional constraint on storage capacity. Here we use a machine learning approach to identify regions with lower than climatically expected apparent storage capacity. We find that in seasonally dry California these regions overlap with particular geologic substrates. We hypothesize that these patterns reflect diverse mechanisms by which substrate can limit storage capacity, and highlight case studies consistent with limited weathered bedrock extent (melange in the Northern Coast Range), toxicity (ultramafic substrates in the Klamath‐Siskiyou region), nutrient limitation (phosphorus‐poor plutons in the southern Sierra Nevada), and low porosity capable of retaining water (volcanic formations in the southern Cascades). The observation that at regional scales climate alone does not “size” the root zone has implications for the parameterization of storage capacity in models of plant dynamics (and the interrelated carbon and water cycles), and also underscores the importance of geology in considerations of climate‐change induced biome migration and habitat suitability.

Human influence on late Holocene fire history in a mixed-conifer forest, Sierra National Forest, California

BackgroundUnderstanding pre-1850s fire history and its effect on forest structure can provide insights useful for fire managers in developing plans to moderate fire hazards in the face of forecasted climate change. While climate clearly plays a substantial role in California wildfires, traditional use of fire by Indigenous people also affected fire history and forest structure in the Sierra Nevada. Disentangling the effects of human versus climatically-induced fire on Sierran forests from paleoecological records has historically proved challenging, but here we use pollen-based forest structure reconstructions and comparative paleoclimatic-vegetation response modeling to identify periods of human impact over the last 1300 years at Markwood Meadow, Sierra National Forest.ResultsWe find strong evidence for anthropogenic fires at Markwood Meadow ca. 1550 – 1750 C.E., contemporaneous with archaeological evidence for fundamental shifts in Indigenous lifeways. When we compare our findings to five other paleoecological sites in the central and southern Sierra Nevada, we find evidence for contemporaneous anthropogenic effects on forest structure across a broad swath of cismontane central California. This is significant because it implies that late 19th and early twentieth century forest structure – the structure that land managers most often seek to emulate – was in part the result anthropogenic fire and precolonial resource management.ConclusionWe consequently suggest that modern management strategies consider (1) further incorporating traditional ecological knowledge fire practices in consultation with local tribal groups, and (2) using pollen-based reconstructions to track how forest composition compares to pre-1850 C.E. conditions rather than the novel forest states encountered in the late 20th and early twenty-first centuries. These strategies could help mitigate the effects of forecast climate change and associated megafires on forests and on socio-ecological systems in a more comprehensive manner.

The effect of shrub cover on conifer water-use patterns, growth and response to precipitation variability in the southern Sierra Nevada.

As wildfires increase in size and severity, large areas of forest are undergoing substantial increases in shrub cover. In forests where water is the limiting resource, the partitioning of soil water between shrubs and young trees may determine how shrubs affect tree growth and water-stress. Here we evaluated juvenile trees (average age=32years) of two dominant conifer species in the southern Sierra Nevada of California (Abies concolor (white fir) and Pinus jeffreyi (Jeffrey pine)) growing in the presence or absence of shrubs. The two shrub species included Arctostaphylos patula and Ceanothus cordulatus, a nitrogen-fixing species. We analyzed the δ2H and δ18O values of xylem water for both tree and shrub species to assess how shrub cover affects the water-uptake patterns of conifers and whether there is niche partitioning between trees and shrubs. We found that growing near shrubs did not have a significant effect on the water source dynamics of either tree species, with similar source water contributions calculated for conifers growing in both the presence and absence of shrubs. Using a tree-ring analysis of growth and δ13C from 2016 to 2021, a period of high precipitation variability, we found that shrub cover had a positive effect on tree growth while decreasing carbon discrimination, which may be due to increased nitrogen availability from Ceanothus cordulatus. Overall, our results suggest that growing in the presence of shrubs does not alter the water uptake patterns of white fir and Jeffrey pine and instead may have a positive effect on the growth rates of these species during both wet and dry years.

Impact of Different Sources of Organic Fertilizer on Growth and Yield Parameters of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

This study investigates the impact of different organic fertilizer sources on the growth, phenology, and yield parameters of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Njala, Moyamba District, Southern Sierra Leone. The treatments included NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer, goat dung, pig dung, and poultry manure in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Results revealed significant differences in morphological characteristics, with poultry manure enhancing plant height (63.29 cm), stem girth (0.88 cm), leaf number (69.23 leaves), and leaf area (352.94 cm²) compared to other treatments. In terms of phenology, poultry manure also resulted in the earliest flowering (30.14 days) and fruit set (33.05 days), indicating its superior role in promoting rapid reproductive development. Moreover, yield parameters showed that poultry manure produced the highest fresh fruit number (442.21 fruits) and weight (502.04 kg/ha), outperforming goat dung (309.06 fruits; 444.55 kg/ha) and significantly surpassing pig dung (203.13 fruits; 108.69 kg/ha). NPK fertilizer demonstrated moderate effects, producing 353 fruits and 360.13 kg/ha, but did not match the performance of organic fertilizers. These findings underscore the effectiveness of organic manure, particularly poultry manure, in enhancing the growth and yield of tomato plants, suggesting its potential as a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers. This study highlights the importance of integrating organic fertilizers into local agricultural practices to improve food security and promote sustainable farming in Sierra Leone. Therefore, it is recommended that vegetable farmers within Njala Community should incorporate the use of poultry manure and Goat dung at 5t/ha rate into their activities to achieve high yield potential of tomato production

Assessing the Reasons and Adverse Effects of Self-Medication in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sierra Leone. A Case Study of Moriba Town Section.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare resources has led to an increase in self-medication as a coping mechanism. The purpose of the study is to investigate the prevalence of self-medication, the reasons behind it, and its potential consequences during the pandemic. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Moriba Town, Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone. Using a multistage systematic sampling technique, 246 adult participants were selected. Data were collected using Kobo collect electronic platform and analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. Out of the 246 adult residents who were sampled, 63 (26%) practiced self-medication. Among them, females (33 or 52%) were more prevalent than males (30 or 48%). The most dominant age groups for self-medication were 38-47 (22 or 35%) and 28-37 (18 or 29%). The major reasons for self-medication were fear of infection (189 or 77%), fear of quarantine (199 or 81%), and stigma (189 or 77%). Delays in treatment (113 or 46%) and unavailability of Covid-19 medications (92 or 37%) were also cited. However, a majority of respondents (162 or 66%) denied the influence of friends or media (168 or 68%) on their decision to self-medicate. Reasons like "delay in receiving treatment" and "influence of friends" showed significant association with self-medication (pValue <0.05). More than half of the respondents 177 (72%) did not practice self-medication before the pandemic. Adverse reactions due to self-medication included skin rashes and blisters 29 (45%) and drowsiness 24 (38%). The prevalence of unsupervised medication before and after the pandemic was minimal suggesting little impact of the pandemic. Fear and social stigma were the main drivers for self-medication. To promote safety and informed health decisions, regulatory measures, and awareness campaigns are essential to control unsupervised medication sales, improve drug labeling, and educate the public about the dangers of self-medication.

Traditional medicines containing animal parts: Use in Kowa and Dasse chiefdoms, Southern Sierra Leone

Traditional medicines containing animal parts: Use in Kowa and Dasse chiefdoms, Southern Sierra Leone

Assessing the Hindrances to Female Education in the Korie Chiefdom, Southern Sierra Leone, A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Assessing the Hindrances to Female Education in the Korie Chiefdom, Southern Sierra Leone, A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Emergency due to COVID-19 in the Southern Sierra of Oaxaca and the agenda 2030 for sustainable development

Emergency due to COVID-19 in the Southern Sierra of Oaxaca and the agenda 2030 for sustainable development

Development of a non-invasive method for species and sex identification of rare forest carnivores using footprint identification technology

Many wildlife species have sex specific habitat requirements. Due to the unique requirements for birthing and raising offspring, female reproductive habitat is often a limiting factor for a population and has been identified as a priority for conservation. Therefore, the ability to detect where females persist on the landscape and identify these potential reproductive areas is essential in creating effective conservation strategies. Here we describe the development of a non-invasive method to identify species and sex based on track images collected at track plate stations using footprint identification technology (FIT). We developed this technique using data from the southern Sierra Nevada fisher (Pekania pennanti) population and a co-occurring species of conservation concern the Pacific marten (Martes caurina). We coupled track plate footprints with non-invasive genetic samples and camera trap images to create a reference dataset of known species for fisher and marten and known sex for fisher. We used FIT to geo-reference 167 marten and 367 fisher tracks (34 males, 27 females) using 7 landmark points and then extracted 124 morphometric variables (distances, angles, and areas) for use in identifying species and sex for fisher using linear discriminant analyses. Using a single variable, we found species classification accuracy >99% in distinguishing fisher from marten. For fisher sex identification our most parsimonious model consisting of only 2 variables achieved an accuracy of 94.0% for the training set and 89.4% for the test set. We also report a method to quantify classification uncertainty for each track. This method provides a rapid, cost effective, entirely non-invasive method to accurately identify sex that can easily be implemented in field studies.

Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa

The spread of Lassa virus (LASV) in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which together are named the Mano River Union (MRU) area, was examined phylogeographically. To provide a reliable evolutionary scenario, new rodent-derived, whole LASV sequences were included. These were generated by metatranscriptomic next-generation sequencing from rodents sampled between 2003 and 2020 in 21 localities of Guinea and Sierra Leone. An analysis was performed using BEAST to perform continuous phylogeographic inference and EvoLaps v36 to visualize spatio-temporal spread. LASV was identified as expected in its primary host reservoir, the Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis), and also in two Guinean multimammate mice (Mastomys erythroleucus) in northern Sierra Leone and two rusty-bellied brush-furred mice (Lophuromys sikapusi) in southern Sierra Leone. This finding is consistent with the latter two species being secondary host reservoirs. The strains in these three species were very closely related in LASV lineage IV. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the most recent common ancestor of lineage IV existed 316-374 years ago and revealed distinct, well-supported clades from Sierra Leone (Bo, Kabala and Kenema), Guinea (Faranah, Kissidougou-Guekedou and Macenta) and Liberia (Phebe-Ganta). The phylogeographic scenario suggests southern Guinea as the point of origin of LASV in the MRU area, with subsequent spread to towards Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone at a mean speed of 1.6 to 1.1 km/year.

Satellite-based solar-induced fluorescence tracks seasonal and elevational patterns of photosynthesis in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains

Robust carbon monitoring systems are needed for land managers to assess and mitigate the changing effects of ecosystem stress on western United States forests, where most aboveground carbon is stored in mountainous areas. Atmospheric carbon uptake via gross primary productivity (GPP) is an important indicator of ecosystem function and is particularly relevant to carbon monitoring systems. However, limited ground-based observations in remote areas with complex topography represent a significant challenge for tracking regional-scale GPP. Satellite observations can help bridge these monitoring gaps, but the accuracy of remote sensing methods for inferring GPP is still limited in montane evergreen needleleaf biomes, where (a) photosynthetic activity is largely decoupled from canopy structure and chlorophyll content, and (b) strong heterogeneity in phenology and atmospheric conditions is difficult to resolve in space and time. Using monthly solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) sampled at ∼4 km from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), we show that high-resolution satellite-observed SIF followed ecological expectations of seasonal and elevational patterns of GPP across a 3000 m elevation gradient in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. After accounting for the effects of high reflected radiance in TROPOMI SIF due to snow cover, the seasonal and elevational patterns of SIF were well correlated with GPP estimates from a machine-learning model (FLUXCOM) and a land surface model (CLM5.0-SP), outperforming other spectral vegetation indices. Differences in the seasonality of TROPOMI SIF and GPP estimates were likely attributed to misrepresentation of moisture limitation and winter photosynthetic activity in FLUXCOM and CLM5.0 respectively, as indicated by discrepancies with GPP derived from eddy covariance observations in the southern Sierra Nevada. These results suggest that satellite-observed SIF can serve as a useful diagnostic and constraint to improve upon estimates of GPP toward multiscale carbon monitoring systems in montane, evergreen conifer biomes at regional scales.