Tree mortality following drought in the central and southern Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.

•48.9% of trees died.•Pinus ponderosa exhibited the highest levels of mortality (89.6%), with 39.4% of plots losing all P. ponderosa.•Mortality of P. ponderosa was highest at the lowest elevations, concentrated in large trees, and attributed mostly to Dendroctonus brevicomis.•Tree regeneration was dominated by Calocedrus decurrens and Quercus spp., representing a potential shift in composition from forests dominated by P. ponderosa.•Tree mortality was positively correlated with tree density and slope.