Our Mission

The Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) was established in 2007 as the first Organized Research Unit (ORU) at UC Merced.

The San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada regions of California are legendary for their vast natural resources, physical and biological diversity and cultural heritage. These regions lead the nation in agricultural production and in several natural resource and recreation industries. However, rapid population growth, competition for natural resources, air, water and soil pollution, climate change and competing land uses pose serious threats to the sustainability of these regions.

Faculty, researchers and students at the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) conduct basic and applied research on these issues, using the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada as their "outdoor laboratory." Currently 46 UC Merced faculty are members of SNRI.

Research Areas

Recent News

Members of the Earth Institute posed next to a branded sign
September 15, 2026

UC Merced is deepening its investment in the fight against climate change, uniting scientific expertise across campus to help confront the effects of a changing planet.  Leading that effort is the...

A landscape of burned-out trees near Lake Almanor in October 2025.
August 4, 2026

Wildfire is reshaping the forests of California's Sierra Nevada and affecting the water those forests supply to downstream users. A paper published in Hydrology and Earth System Science reports...

Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe and 'Groundswell' co-Director Joshua Tickell
June 18, 2026

A leading expert in soil biogeochemistry and environmental engineering, UC Merced Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, brings her research and perspective to a global conversation about the future of our...

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