Sierra Nevada meadows may cover a relatively small portion of the landscape, but scientists say they play an important role in supporting wildlife, storing water and maintaining biodiversity. Researchers and conservationists recently gathered at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Lake Tahoe campus to discuss what is known about these ecosystems and what still needs to be studied. The workshop, sponsored by the Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability, brought together researchers from different fields to identify gaps in meadow research and explore ways to improve conservation and restoration efforts. … According to the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, the Sierra Nevada contains more than 18,000 individual meadows covering approximately 280,000 acres.