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 MoreThis study compares the costs of prescribed fire and thinning treatments while putting treatment costs in the context of treatment effectiveness.
Read MoreRestoration 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 MoreThis study uses historical patterns of burn windows to predict burn window likelihood to inform prescribed burning planning and budgeting.
Read MoreThis 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 MoreEmploying a robust before-after-control-impact (BACI) study design, researchers assessed how thinning in forests altered forest structural conditions in the short- and longer-term in the Sierra Nevada.
Read MoreThis study compares post-drought forests to historical forests to understand if the recent tree mortality event shifted forests closer to or further from resilient conditions.
Photo credit: Historic conditions in a ponderosa pine stand circa 1917. Source: Sierra National Forest Photo HP0313
Read MoreGiven the changing disturbance regimes and climate, there is a critical need to take decisive and extensive actions in the next 1-2 decades to conserve Sierra Nevada forests. This synthesis provides a summary of how climate change and fire are impacting our Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer forests and how active management can help mitigate some of these impacts.
Read MoreIn this study, researchers examined the effects of backburning operations in a heavily stocked ponderosa pine plantation during the 2012 Mill Fire.
Read MoreThe SSPM can help guide management decisions in mixed conifer/ yellow pine forests of the western US/ California that wish to return forests to historical (pre-European) conditions or prepare them for a changing climate and an uncertain future.
Read MorePlants often have characteristics that make them well suited to the common type, frequency, and/or severity of disturbance in ecosystems where they occur. Plant species richness was found to be affected by historical fire regime and severity in coniferous forests of the Western US.
Read MoreThis synthesis summarizes the findings from four different research articles which explore different aspects of how the fire history of the Illilouette Creek Basin in Yosemite National Park has affected its water resources.
Read MoreThis synthesis draws recommendations from four studies that are relevant to prescribed burning as a fuels reduction method in young stands. Most studies also looked at potential effects of mastication as a fuels treatment in comparison to prescribed burning.
Read MoreThis Overview Article summarizes research relevant to understanding short- and longer-term effects of massive tree mortality in what were historically frequent fire forests of California, presents results on fire severity from a recent wildfire that burned through severe tree mortality, and makes management recommendations for reducing future tree mortality and increasing forest resilience and adaptation to climate change.
Read MoreThis paper compares tree mortality patterns in treated (thinned and/or burned) forested stands to untreated stands and how these treatments affect forest response to drought.
Read MoreIn light of climatic trends, historic fire suppression, increasing incidence of large wildfires, and shrinking budgets, the authors propose a planting strategy that prioritizes accessibility, while reducing efforts within the dispersal range of seed trees and in areas with a high cost to probability-of-success ratio.
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In the Sierra Nevada most historical stand structure studies have focused on drier pine-dominated forests. This paper helps to fill a gap by contributing information on historical structure in more mesic forests with more moderate amounts of moisture.
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A 2019 study by Meyer and others showed that the reestablishment of natural fire regimes can be highly effective at restoring the structure and understory diversity of red fir forests but have little effect on the health of red fir under increasing moisture stress associated with drought and warming climate.
Read MoreMany of California’s research natural areas exhibit high to moderate departure from their natural fire regime. Without restoration or maintenance of the natural fire regime, the ecological integrity of some natural areas could be lost.
Read MoreLocating forest treatments in the right places can make them as or more effective than treating everywhere, shows new research out by Krofcheck et al. 2018. The authors found that restoring less acres strategically can have the same impacts as treating more area indiscriminately in terms of reducing high severity wildfire risk and carbon instability.
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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.
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