California's 'zombie forests' are 'cheating death' as the climate has changed so drastically it's no longer able to support them

• A new study found some of the forests in California's Sierra Nevada no longer match their climate.
• About 20% of conifers in the Sierra Nevada are experiencing "vegetation climate mismatch."
• The lead author said the trees are "cheating death" but that they won't survive a major disturbance.

Some of the forests in California's Sierra Nevada mountains are at risk of disappearing as the climate they are in can no longer support them, according to a new study.

In a paper published last week in PNAS Nexus, researchers at Stanford University found a fifth of the conifer forests in the mountain range are now stuck in weather that is too warm for them.