JFSP Fire Science Exchange Network
To revegetate disturbed desert lands, practitioners often reestablish fertile islands as a first step in restoring native plants and associated fauna on disturbed desert sites. This research brief discusses the pros and cons of this approach considering native and non-native species.
Read MoreDr. Biswell's influence on the development of prescribed burning in California was paramount in so many of our actions today. Here’s a throwback to his work, where he leads a prescribed fire and discussion in Southern California in May 1983.
Read MoreThis brief describes the various patterns and drivers of chaparral plant diversity, including community- (alpha), successional- (beta), and landscape-scale (gamma) drivers.
Read MoreThough often inconspicuous, lichens play critical ecological roles in many terrestrial ecosystems. This paper discusses how lichens respond to fire severity and how fast lichens recolonize after fire.
Read MorePresenter: Janet Franklin (UC Riverside)
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Presented at the 3rd California Chaparral Symposium: Global Change and the Vulnerability of Chaparral Ecosystems. May 14-16, 2018. Arcadia, CA.
Presenter: Stephen Davis (Pepperdine Univ.)
View Powerpoint PDF >
Presented at the 3rd California Chaparral Symposium: Global Change and the Vulnerability of Chaparral Ecosystems. May 14-16, 2018. Arcadia, CA.
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Presented at the 3rd California Chaparral Symposium: Global Change and the Vulnerability of Chaparral Ecosystems. May 14-16, 2018. Arcadia, CA.
To help managers make science-based decisions that incorporate wildlife information, this study experimentally compared the effects of two pre-fire vegetation reduction treatments (prescribed burning and shrub mastication) on the chaparral bird community.
Read MoreSmoke cued germination occurs in an incredible diversity of plants in widely separated, fire-prone Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems around the world. This research suggests that convergent evolution might be the explanation.
Read MoreWith rising temperatures, future droughts and subsequent extreme fire weather forecasted, how will management, carbon storage and emissions and fire severity interact?
Read MoreTake a walk down memory lane as we explore the history of collaboration vs. competition in taxonomy of manzanita and the characters behind the discovery.
Read MoreAbstract
The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the area where houses and wildland vegetation meet or intermingle, and where wildfire problems are most pronounced. Here we report that the WUI in the United States grew rapidly from 1990 to 2010 in terms of both number of new houses (from 30.8 to 43.4 million; 41% growth) and land area (from 581,000 to 770,000 km2; 33% growth), making it the fastest-growing land use type in the conterminous United States. The vast majority of new WUI areas were the result of new housing (97%), not related to an increase in wildland vegetation. Within the perimeter of recent wildfires (1990–2015), there were 286,000 houses in 2010, compared with 177,000 in 1990. Furthermore, WUI growth often results in more wildfire ignitions, putting more lives and houses at risk. Wildfire problems will not abate if recent housing growth trends continue.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers with the Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Geological Survey showed that, across the U.S. on landscapes dominated by humans, climate has played a relatively small role in determining wildfire activity.
Read MoreThis brief describes potential effects of two fuel treatment types for Northern California chaparral. Different scenarios involving prescribed fire, mastication and season (fall, winter, or spring) were explored to determine effects on chaparral and findings include recommendations on when and how to use treatments where necessary.
Read MoreThis brief describes the advantages and evolution of postfire epicormic resprouting, where trees resprout from the trunk or stem of trees. This form of resprouting is more rare than resprouting from the base of plants and occurs in Australia and South Africa, as well as in California, the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands in the northern hemisphere.
Read MoreThis research brief discusses national trends in rebuilding and new development after wildfire, as well as policy choices and adaptation measures local governments and communities pursued after fire, through case studies.
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Land managers, researchers, and conservationists gathered to share the latest in invasive plant biology and management at the California Invasive Plant Council (CAL IPC). 2017 Symposium presentations are now online.
Read MoreBumble bees are important pollinators of native plant species. This brief provides information that can support managers in making nuanced decisions to benefit bumble bees during post-fire management.
Read MoreAuthors analyzed the 2013 Rim Fire to see how fire severity varied with factors. Potential factors included the proportion of the landscape previously treated or burned, fire weather, vegetation, and water balance.
Read MoreFuture moderate and high-severity fires may pose a substantial threat to the long-term persistence of the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis).
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The California Fire Science Consortium is divided into 4 geographic regions and 1 wildland-urban interface (WUI) team. Statewide coordination of this program is based at UC Berkeley.
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This regional Fire Science Exchange is one of 15 regional fire science exchanges sponsored by Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP).
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