Severe drought drives pulse of snags and fuel loads
/
This study analyzes tree death in Yosemite National Park and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park following the 2012-2016 drought.
Read More
Wildfire effects on upslope conifer species migration
/
This study investigates whether wildfire enables the upslope migration of upper montane conifers into the current range of subalpine conifers in the Sierra Nevada, California.
Read MoreHeading fires consume more fuels than backing fires
/
Researchers from Michigan State University and the USFS Fire Behavior Assessment Team used 15 years of immediate pre- and post-fire fuel and wildfire behavior data to identify the role of fire advancement mode and pre-fire environmental drivers (e.g., topography, fire weather, and fuel loadings) on fuel consumption and fire effects in California mixed-conifer forests.
Read MorePost-fire Mastication Effects on Shrub Regrowth
/
In California’s dry mixed conifer forests, increasingly large high severity wildfires threaten to convert significant areas of forested land into shrub dominated landscapes in the absence of active reforestation, including control of competing vegetation. Previous studies have found that salvage logging and other methods used to prepare a site for reforestation may reduce shrub cover after wildfire. This study investigated the effect of masticated fuel depth on shrub growth where salvage logging and mastication followed high severity wildfire.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreTree recruitment over centuries: influences of climate and wildfire
/
This study uses tree cores gathered at three 4-hectare plots to make inferences about temporal aspects of tree recruitment in pine-dominated ecosystems of the California Sierra Nevada and the Sierra San Petro Martir in northwestern Mexico.
Read MoreMega-disturbances & declining mature forest habitat
/
In this paper, the authors quantify change in the extent of mature conifer forests in the southern Sierra Nevada of California during 2011-2020, a decade and ecoregion characterized by compounding severe wildfires and drought follow prolonged fire exclusion.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreMountain quail: the lucky beneficiaries of high-severity fire
/
This study uses bio-acoustical monitoring to characterize the habitat of mountain quail in the California Sierra Nevada. Findings include that high severity wildfires may promote vegetation structures that are beneficial for mountain quail.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreShaded fuel breaks create wildfire-resilient forest stands in the Sierra Nevada
/
This study leveraged data collected from 20-year-old forest monitoring plots within fuel treatment units that captured a range of wildfire occurrence (i.e., not burned, burned once, or burned twice) following application of initial thinning treatments and prescribed fire.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreWhat Makes Wildfires Destructive in California? Study Points to Distance to Human Development and Fire Weather.
/
A new paper by USGS and partners investigated why some California wildfires are destructive and others are not.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreMixed-conifer forest resilience: from theory to practice: Research Synthesis
/
This synthesis summaries a set of papers the explore the relationship between landscape-level forest resilience and disturbance regimes and provides strategies for the effective forest management of Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests
Read MoreBlister rust, beetles, and fire threaten white pines: Research Brief
/
In recent decades white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, and fire have increased in extent and caused tree mortality across the western USA. This study used long-term monitoring plots to determine mortality of four white pine species in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Read MoreFire and climate change: conserving seasonally dry forests is still possible: Research Brief
/
A recent paper by Scott Stephens and co-authors asserts that conservation of western forests is still possible, and describes sensible, evidence-based strategies to improve forest ecosystem resilience.
Read MoreBurn weather and fuel structure help to determine post-fire tree mortality: Research Brief
/
Understanding post-fire tree mortality is important for planning restoration fire treatments that modify fire behavior and effects and models that reflect multiple spatial and temporal scales are effective tools.
Read MoreForest Restoration and Fuels Reduction: Convergent or Divergent? Research Brief
/
Do fuel reduction treatments result in restored conditions that align with those found in historically frequent-fire forests of the west? A recent paper sets out to answer that question by examining the principles behind fuel reduction and forest restoration projects and identifying situations where the two approaches align and where they may diverge.
Read MoreForest mid-story interactions with prescribed fire behavior: Research Brief
/
The study used models to predict fire behavior differences according to two primary factors: mid-story density (i.e. the ladder fuel layer) and live fuel moisture. This is relevant for prescribed burns because both of these factors can be modified when conducting burns.
Read MoreDrought and bark beetle induced tree mortality elevates wildfire severity of California’s Sierra Nevada forests: Research Brief
/
This article uses field data from two wildfires (the 2015 Rough Fire and 2016 Cedar Fire) that burned in areas of recent severe tree mortality to examine whether and under what conditions the pre-fire tree mortality affected wildfire severity.
Read MoreCosts of alternative fuel reduction treatments: Research Brief
/
This study compares the costs of prescribed fire and thinning treatments while putting treatment costs in the context of treatment effectiveness.
Read MorePost-fire Restoration Framework for California’s National Forests: Research Brief
/
Restoration of landscapes affected by uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires in California requires a science-based framework to address a complexity of issues and concerns. The authors describe a set of ecological restoration principles, a landscape assessment process, and a framework for decision-making to plan and implement restoration projects.
Read MoreAnalysis of past burn windows can help land managers plan and prioritize future burns : Research Brief
/
This study uses historical patterns of burn windows to predict burn window likelihood to inform prescribed burning planning and budgeting.
Read MoreEarly 1900’s forest structure in the mixed conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, California: Research Synthesis
/
This synthesis summarizes six papers that use a variety of methods to reconstruct the historic forest structure and composition of the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada.
Read More
