The tiny fridge-filled room in Joshua Tree is one piece of a global effort to collect, categorize and keep the world’s plant seeds — before it’s too late. One of the most well-known examples of this effort is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nicknamed the “doomsday vault,” tucked 100 meters into a mountain in a remote and icy corner of northern Norway. Svalbard holds duplicates of seed samples from around the world, with a goal of backing up seed collections elsewhere “to secure the foundation of our future food supply.”

All too often overlooked for their ecological value, the California’s Mojave and Colorado deserts feature stunning biodiversity, surpassing even many forest ecosystems. More than 2,400 native plant species, 72 occurring nowhere else on earth, reside in the windswept dunes, craggy mountains, life-giving waters, and other habitats that encompass the region. This landscape makes up 27% of the state’s land mass, sequesters 10% of its carbon, and is the nation’s largest relatively intact ecosystem outside of Alaska. This, however, belies the fragility of California’s deserts, which face unprecedented pressures from climate change and development.

The Joshua tree is cherished for its distinctive silhouette and singular role as a linchpin of the Mojave Desert ecosystem. Yet the iconic succulent is losing suitable habitat at a brisk clip due to climate change, worsening wildfires and development, scientists and environmental advocates say.

A new plan by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure the Joshua tree’s survival calls for limiting development in certain areas, including those where the plant may be able to thrive in a future anticipated to be warmer and drier, even as other portions of its range become uninhabitable.

Fall is a great time to plant trees because the winter rains give them a chance to settle in before it gets too hot. Many municipalities and utilities offer free trees to residents to bring more shade and beauty to our urban areas, support wildlife and even reduce energy costs.

More than 2,000 species of native plants are spread across the California desert, which covers around 25% of the state’s geography. Since it started its efforts in 2016, the MDLT Seed Bank has stocked about 940 collections of seeds representing around 250 species. Last year, it added 52 new collections, including its first-ever collection of Indian tobacco.

Patrick G. Emblidge, the seed program manager, calls it an insurance policy against fire and other disasters. The York Fire in 2023 burned more than 90,000 acres of desert, damaging more than 1 million Joshua trees and charring around 500 acres of the MDLT’s own property. Many of the plants on those lands may never return. But having seeds available means species that are wiped out could be quickly repopulated before invasive grasses and weeds take over.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust expects to do much work on the ground, including helping with seed collection and outreach, said Cody Hanford, deputy executive director and chief conservation officer of the nonprofit dedicated to protecting the California desert.

“It will elevate our projects, elevate our goals, which I think in the end will help them become more accomplishable,” he said.