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Paula J. Fornwalt, PhD

Paula J. Fornwalt, PhD

Research Ecologist

Rocky Mountain Research Station

0000-0002-5252-408X

paula.fornwalt@usda.gov

Email

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Treesearch Publications

Adam L. Mahood, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Allison E. Rhea, Scott Ritter, Kevin Barrett, Paula J. Fornwalt, David M. Barnard. 2025. Forest restoration treatments increase native plant diversity but open the door to invasion in the Colorado Front Range
Adam L. Mahood, David M. Barnard, Jacob A. Macdonald, David W. Pittenger, Sarah M. Hall, Paula J. Fornwalt. 2025. Diurnal temperature range drives understory plant community composition in micro-climatically complex temperate montane forests
Maria Vicini, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Jody C. Vogeler, Paula J. Fornwalt. 2025. Bird communities follow alternate recovery trajectories two decades after wildfire
Hannah Farrell, Paula J. Fornwalt, Kyle Rodman, Laura Marshall, Kimberley T. Davis, Zachary Holden. 2025. Survive and thrive: Identifying factors that enhance the growth and survival of tree seedlings planted after wildfire
Trevor A. Carter, Alice E. Stears, Paula J. Fornwalt, David H. Atkins, Kathleen A. Dwire, Jesse R. Fleri, Katherine R. Hayes, Hailey E. Mount, Erin M. Twaddell, Sienna A. Wessel, Brian Buma, Daniel C. Laughlin. 2025. Fine‑root traits coordinate with aboveground strategies yet poorly predict species’ response to spruce mortality
Paula J. Fornwalt, Andreas P. Wion, Anna W. Schoettle, Miranda D. Redmond, Steven Alton, Javier E. Mercado, Brice Hanberry, Jose Negron. 2024. Vulnerability of major Colorado Front Range tree species to climate change (Chapter 5)
Kyle C. Rodman, Paula J. Fornwalt, Zachary Holden, Joseph E. Crouse, Kimberley T. Davis, Laura A. E. Marshall, Michael T. Stoddard, Robert A. Andrus, Marin E. Chambers, Teresa B. Chapman, Sarah J. Hart, Catherine A. Schloegel, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann. 2024. Green is the New Black: Outcomes of post-fire tree planting across the US Interior West
Laura A. E. Marshall, Paula J. Fornwalt, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Kyle C. Rodman, Teresa B. Chapman, Catherine A. Schloegel, Jens Stevens. 2024. What influences planted tree seedling survival in burned Colorado montane forests?
Nehalem C. Clark, Signe Leirfallom, Hannah Farrell, Michael A. Battaglia, Brandon M. Collins, Justin S. Crotteau, Kimberley T. Davis, Paula J. Fornwalt, Paul F. Hessburg, Sharon M. Hood, Eric E. Knapp, W. Keith Moser, Jose Negron. 2024. What do we know about forest treatments and fire? Photos and long-term studies help us understand
Joy Drohan, Paula J. Fornwalt, Laura Marshall. 2024. Anything to conserve moisture: Seedlings planted after wildfire benefit from shade, north aspects, and depressions
Ariel Demarest, Paula J. Fornwalt, Brett Wolk, Sue Miller. 2024. The story in the understory: Mechanical treatments stimulate expansion of native understory plants in dry conifer forests
Michael T. Stoddard, Kyle C. Rodman, David W. Huffman, Paula J. Fornwalt, Rory J. Pedersen, Judith D. Springer, Daniel C. Laughlin, Christopher M. McGlone, Mark L. Daniels, Peter Z. Fule, Margaret M. Moore, Becky K. Kerns, Jens Stevens, Julie E. Korb, Sara Souther. 2024. Increases in understory plant cover and richness persist following restoration treatments in Pinus ponderosa forests
Janet S. Prevéy, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Ian S. Pearse, Seth M. Munson, Jens Stevens, Kevin J. Barrett, Jonathan D. Coop, Michelle A. Day, David Firmage, Paula J. Fornwalt, Katharine M. Haynes, James D. Johnston, Becky K. Kerns, Meg A. Krawchuk, Becky A. Miller, Ty C. Nietupski, Jacquilyn Roque, Judith D. Springer, Camille S. Stevens‑Rumann, Michael T. Stoddard, Claire Tortorelli. 2024. Non‑native plant invasion after fire in western USA varies by functional type and with climate
Kimberley T. Davis, Marcos D. Robles, Kerry B. Kemp, Philip E. Higuera, Teresa Chapman, Kerry L. Metlen, Jamie L. Peeler, Kyle C. Rodman, Travis Woolley, Robert N. Addington, Brian J. Buma, Alina Cansler, Michael J. Case, Brandon M. Collins, Jonathan D. Coop, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Nathan S. Gill, Collin Haffey, Lucas B. Harris, Brian J. Harvey, Ryan D. Haugo, Matthew D. Hurteau, Dominik Kulakowski, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Lisa A. McCauley, Nicholas Povak, Kristen L. Shive, Edward Smith, Jens Stevens, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Alan H. Taylor, Alan J. Tepley, Derek J. N. Young, Robert A. Andrus, Michael A. Battaglia, Julia K. Berkey, Sebastian Busby, Amanda R. Carlson, Marin E. Chambers, Erich Dodson, Daniel C. Donato, William M. Downing, Paula J. Fornwalt, Joshua S. Halofsky, Ashley Hoffman, Andrés Holz, Jose Iniguez, Meg A. Krawchuk, Mark R. Kreider, Andrew J. Larson, Garrett W. Meigs, John Paul Roccaforte, Monica T. Rother, Hugh Safford, Michael Schaedel, Jason S. Sibold, Megan P. Singleton, Monica G. Turner, Alexandra K. Urza, Kyra D. Clark-Wolf, Larissa Yocom, Joseph B. Fontaine, John L. Campbell. 2023. Reduced fire severity offers near-term buffer to climate-driven declines in conifer resilience across the western United States
Ariel B. Demarest, Paula J. Fornwalt, Brett H. Wolk, Kyle C. Rodman, Miranda D. Redmond. 2023. Mechanical forest restoration treatments stimulate understory plants in the Colorado Front Range
Laura A. E. Marshall, Paula J. Fornwalt, Camille S. Stevens‑Rumann, Kyle C. Rodman, Charles C. Rhoades, Kevin Zimlinghaus, Teresa B. Chapman, Catherine A. Schloegel. 2023. North‑facing aspects, shade objects, and microtopographic depressions promote the survival and growth of tree seedlings planted after wildfire
Kyle C. Rodman, Kimberley T. Davis, Marin E. Chambers, Teresa B. Chapman, Paula J. Fornwalt, Sarah J. Hart, Laura A.E. Marshall, Charles C. Rhoades, Catherine A. Schloegel, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Thomas T. Veblen. 2022. The historic 2020 fire year in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming: A landscape assessment to inform post-fire forest management
Kyle C. Rodman, Robert A. Andrus, Amanda R. Carlson, Trevor A. Carter, Teresa B. Chapman, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Nathan S. Gill, Brian J. Harvey, Ashley E. Hoffman, Katharine C. Kelsey, Dominik Kulakowski, Daniel C. Laughlin, Jenna E. Morris, Jose Negron, Katherine Nigro, Gregory S. Pappas, Miranda D. Redmond, Charles C. Rhoades, Monique E. Rocca, Zoe H. Schapira, Jason S. Sibold, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Thomas T. Veblen, Jianmin Wang, Xiaoyang Zhang, Sarah J. Hart. 2022. Rocky Mountain forests are poised to recover following bark beetle outbreaks but with altered composition
Kyle Rodman, Paula J. Fornwalt, Teresa Chapman, Jonathan Coop, Gloria Edwards, Jens Stevens, Thomas Veblen. 2022. SRRT: A decision support tool to inform postfire reforestation of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in the southern Rocky Mountains
Christopher H. Guiterman, Rachel M. Gregg, Laura A. E. Marshall, Jill J. Beckmann, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Donald A. Falk, Jon E. Keeley, Anthony C. Caprio, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Collin Haffey, R. Keala Hagmann, Stephen T. Jackson, Ann M. Lynch, Ellis Q. Margolis, Christopher Marks, Marc D. Meyer, Hugh Safford, Alexandra Dunya Syphard, Alan Taylor, Craig Wilcox, Dennis Carril, Carolyn A. F. Enquist, David Huffman, Jose Iniguez, Nicole A. Molinari, Christina Restaino, Jens Stevens. 2022. Type conversion in the US southwest: frontline observations and management responses
Trevor A. Carter, Paula J. Fornwalt, Kathleen A. Dwire, Daniel C. Laughlin. 2022. Understory plant community responses to widespread spruce mortality in a subalpine forest
Kamal J. K. Gandhi, Chelsea N. Miller, Paula J. Fornwalt, John M. Frank. 2022. Bark beetle outbreaks alter biotic components of forested ecosystems [Chapter 8]
Josh McDaniel, Paula J. Fornwalt, Jose Iniguez, Michael A. Battaglia, Carolyn H. Sieg, Jeff Underhill, Lloyd "Randy". Fuller. 2021. Resilience test: Can ponderosa pine bounce back after high-severity fire?
Jens Stevens, Collin M. Haffey, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Larissa Yocom, Craig D. Allen, Anne Bradley, Owen T. Burney, Dennis Carril, Marin E. Chambers, Teresa B. Chapman, Sandra L. Haire, Matthew D. Hurteau, Jose Iniguez, Ellis Q. Margolis, Christopher Marks, Laura A. E. Marshall, Kyle C. Rodman, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Andrea E. Thode, Jessica J. Walker. 2021. Tamm Review: Postfire landscape management in frequent-fire conifer forests of the southwestern United States
Sharon M. Hood, Brian J. Harvey, Paula J. Fornwalt, Cameron E. Naficy, Winslow D. Hansen, Kimberley T. Davis, Michael A. Battaglia, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Vicki A. Saab. 2021. Fire ecology of Rocky Mountain forests [Chapter 8]
Charles C. Rhoades, Timothy Fegel, Tahir Zaman, Paula J. Fornwalt, Susan P. Miller. 2021. Are soil changes responsible for persistent slash pile burn scars in lodgepole pine forests?
Kyle C. Rodman, Thomas T. Veblen, Michael A. Battaglia, Marin E. Chambers, Paula J. Fornwalt, Zachary A. Holden, Thomas E. Kolb, Jessica R. Ouzts, Monica T. Rother. 2020. A changing climate is snuffing out post-fire recovery in montane forests
Suzanne M. Owen, Carolyn H. Sieg, Peter Z. Fule, Catherine A. Gehring, L. Baggett, Jose Iniguez, Paula J. Fornwalt, Michael A. Battaglia. 2020. Persistent effects of fire severity on ponderosa pine regeneration niches and seedling growth
Simon Thorn, Anne Chao, Kostadin B. Georgiev, Jorg Muller, Claus Bassler, John L. Campbell, Jorge Castro, Yan-Han Chen, Chang-Yong Choi, Tyler P. Cobb, Daniel C. Donato, Ewa Durska, Ellen Macdonald, Heike Feldhaar, Joseph B. Fontaine, Paula J. Fornwalt, Raquel Maria Hernandez Hernandez, Richard L. Hutto, Matti Koivula, Eun-Jae Lee, David Lindenmayer, Grzegorz Mikusinski, Martin K. Obrist, Michal Perlík, Josep Rost, Kaysandra Waldron, Beat Wermelinger, Ingmar Weiss, Michal Zmihorski, Alexandro B. Leverkus. 2020. Estimating retention benchmarks for salvage logging to protect biodiversity
Jonathan D. Coop, Sean A. Parks, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Shelley D. Crausbay, Philip E. Higuera, Matthew D. Hurteau, Alan Tepley, Ellen Whitman, Timothy Assal, Brandon M. Collins, Kimberley T. Davis, Solomon Dobrowski, Donald A. Falk, Paula J. Fornwalt, Peter Z. Fule, Brian J. Harvey, Van R. Kane, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Ellis Q. Margolis, Malcolm P. North, Marc-Andre Parisien, Susan Prichard, Kyle C. Rodman. 2020. Wildfire-driven forest conversion in western North American landscapes
Charles C. Rhoades, Robert M. Hubbard, Kelly J. Elder, Paula J. Fornwalt, Elizabeth Schnackenberg, Paul R. Hood, Daniel B. Tinker. 2020. Tree regeneration and soil responses to management alternatives in beetle-infested lodgepole pine forests
Julie E. Korb, Paula J. Fornwalt, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann. 2019. What drives ponderosa pine regeneration following wildfire in the western United States?
Jens Stevens, Jesse E. D. Miller, Paula J. Fornwalt. 2019. Fire severity and changing composition of forest understory plant communities
Peter M. Brown, Benjamin Gannon, Michael A. Battaglia, Paula J. Fornwalt, Laurie Huckaby, Antony S. Cheng, Scott Baggett. 2019. Identifying old trees to inform ecological restoration in montane forests of the central Rocky Mountains, USA
Sparkle L. Malone, Paula J. Fornwalt, Michael A. Battaglia, Marin E. Chambers, Jose Iniguez, Carolyn H. Sieg. 2018. Mixed-severity fire fosters heterogeneous spatial patterns of conifer regeneration in a dry conifer forest
Paula J. Fornwalt. 2018. Mulch matters: Mulching fuels treatments promoted understory plant communities in Colorado forests
Jeffery B. Cannon, Kevin J. Barrett, Benjamin M. Gannon, Robert N. Addington, Michael A. Battaglia, Paula J. Fornwalt, Gregory H. Aplet, Antony S. Cheng, Jeffrey L. Underhill, Jennifer S. Briggs, Peter M. Brown. 2018. Collaborative restoration effects on forest structure in ponderosa pine-dominated forests of Colorado
Michael A. Battaglia, Benjamin Gannon, Peter M. Brown, Paula J. Fornwalt, Antony S. Cheng, Laurie Huckaby. 2018. Changes in forest structure since 1860 in ponderosa pine dominated forests in the Colorado and Wyoming Front Range, USA
Charles C. Rhoades, Kristen A. Pelz, Paula J. Fornwalt, Brett H. Wolk, Antony S. Cheng. 2018. Overlapping bark beetle outbreaks, salvage logging and wildfire restructure a lodgepole pine ecosystem
Paula J. Fornwalt, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Byron J. Collins. 2018. Overstory structure and surface cover dynamics in the decade following the Hayman Fire, Colorado
Robert N. Addington, Gregory H. Aplet, Michael A. Battaglia, Jennifer S. Briggs, Peter M. Brown, Antony S. Cheng, Yvette Dickinson, Jonas A. Feinstein, Kristen A. Pelz, Claudia M. Regan, Jim Thinnes, Rick Truex, Paula J. Fornwalt, Benjamin Gannon, Chad W. Julian, Jeffrey L. Underhill, Brett Wolk. 2018. Principles and practices for the restoration of ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range
Paula J. Fornwalt, Charles C. Rhoades, Robert M. Hubbard, Rebecca L. Harris, Akasha M. Faist, William D. Bowman. 2018. Short-term understory plant community responses to salvage logging in beetle-affected lodgepole pine forests
Justin P. Ziegler, Chad M. Hoffman, Paula J. Fornwalt, Carolyn H. Sieg, Michael A. Battaglia, Marin E. Chambers, Jose Iniguez. 2017. Tree regeneration spatial patterns in ponderosa pine forests following stand-replacing fire: Influence of topography and neighbors
Suzanne M. Owen, Carolyn H. Sieg, Andrew J. Sanchez Meador, Peter Z. Fule, Jose Iniguez, Scott Baggett, Paula J. Fornwalt, Michael A. Battaglia. 2017. Spatial patterns of ponderosa pine regeneration in high-severity burn patches
Jennifer S. Briggs, Paula J. Fornwalt, Jonas A. Feinstein. 2017. Short-term ecological consequences of collaborative restoration treatments in ponderosa pine forests of Colorado
Adrianna C. Foster, Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Herman H. Shugart, Kathleen A. Dwire, Paula J. Fornwalt, Jason Sibold, Jose Negron. 2017. Validation and application of a forest gap model to the southern Rocky Mountains
Paula J. Fornwalt, Monique E. Rocca, Michael A. Battaglia, Charles C. Rhoades, Michael G. Ryan. 2017. Mulching fuels treatments promote understory plant communities in three Colorado, USA, coniferous forest types
Marin E. Chambers, Paula J. Fornwalt, Sparkle L. Malone, Michael A. Battaglia. 2016. Patterns of conifer regeneration following high severity wildfire in ponderosa pine - dominated forests of the Colorado Front Range
Paula J. Fornwalt, Laurie Huckaby, Steven Alton, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Peter M. Brown, Antony S. Cheng. 2016. Did the 2002 Hayman Fire, Colorado, USA, burn with uncharacteristic severity?
Peter M. Brown, Michael A. Battaglia, Paula J. Fornwalt, Benjamin Gannon, Laurie Huckaby, Chad Julian, Antony S. Cheng. 2015. Historical (1860) forest structure in ponderosa pine forests of the northern Front Range, Colorado
Sue Miller, Charles C. Rhoades, Liz Schnackenberg, Paula J. Fornwalt, Eric Schroder. 2015. Slash from the past: Rehabilitating pile burn scars
Paula J. Fornwalt. 2015. Does smoke promote seed germination in 10 Interior West Penstemon species?
Charles C. Rhoades, Paula J. Fornwalt, Mark W. Paschke, Amber Shanklin, Jayne L. Jonas. 2015. Recovery of small pile burn scars in conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range
Charles C. Rhoades, Paula J. Fornwalt. 2015. Pile burning creates a fifty-year legacy of openings in regenerating lodgepole pine forests in Colorado
Scott Abella, Paula J. Fornwalt. 2015. Ten years of vegetation assembly after a North American mega-fire
Yvette L. Dickinson, Rob Addington, Greg Aplet, Mike Babler, Michael A. Battaglia, Peter Brown, Tony Cheng, Casey Cooley, Dick Edwards, Jonas Feinstein, Paula J. Fornwalt, Hal Gibbs, Megan S. Matonis, Kristen A. Pelz, Claudia Regan. 2014. Desirable forest structures for a restored Front Range
Paula J. Fornwalt, Merrill R. Kaufman. 2014. Understorey plant community dynamics following a large, mixed severity wildfire in a Pinus ponderosa-Pseudotsuga menziesii forest, Colorado, USA
J. Ortega, A. Turnipseed, A. B. Guenther, T. G. Karl, D. A. Day, D. Gochis, J. A. Huffman, A. J. Prenni, E. J. T. Levin, S. M. Kreidenweis, P. J. DeMott, Y. Tobo, E. G. Patton, A. Hodzic, Y. Y. Cui, P. C. Harley, R. S. Hornbrook, E. C. Apel, R. K. Monson, A. S. D. Eller, J. P. Greenberg, M. C. Barth, P. Campuzano-Jost, B. B. Palm, J. L. Jimenez, A. C. Aiken, M. K. Dubey, C. Geron, J. Offenberg, Michael G. Ryan, Paula J. Fornwalt, S. C. Pryor, F. N. Keutsch, J. P. DiGangi, A. W. H. Chan, A. H. Goldstein, G. M. Wolfe, S. Kim, L. Kaser, R. Schnitzhofer, A. Hansel, C. A. Cantrell, R. L. Mauldin, J. N. Smith. 2014. Overview of the Manitou Experimental Forest Observatory: Site description and selected science results from 2008 to 2013
Paula J. Fornwalt. 2013. The 2002 Hayman Fire - ecological benefit or catastrophe? An understory plant community perspective
Paula J. Fornwalt. 2013. Invasive Species Science Update (No. 6)
Karl Malcolm, Charles C. Rhoades, Michael A. Battaglia, Paula J. Fornwalt, Robert M. Hubbard, Kelly J. Elder, Byron Collins. 2012. From death comes life: Recovery and revolution in the wake of epidemic outbreaks of mountain pine beetle
Paula J. Fornwalt, Charles C. Rhoades. 2011. Rehabilitating slash pile burn scars in upper montane forests of the Colorado Front Range
Paula J. Fornwalt, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Thomas J. Stohlgren. 2010. Impacts of mixed severity wildfire on exotic plants in a Colorado ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir forest
Paula J. Fornwalt. 2009. Lessons from the Hayman Fire: Forest understory responses to the scarify-and-seed postfire rehabilitation treatment
Paula J. Fornwalt, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie Huckaby. 2009. Effects of past logging and grazing on understory plant communities in a montane Colorado forest
Paula J. Fornwalt. 2009. Disturbance impacts on understory plant communities of the Colorado Front Range
Dan Binkley, Daniel M. Kashian, Suzanne Boyden, Margot W. Kaye, John B. Bradford, Mary A. Arthur, Paula J. Fornwalt, Michael G. Ryan. 2006. Patterns of growth dominance in forests of the Rocky Mountains, USA
Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie Huckaby, Paula J. Fornwalt, Jason M. Stoker, William H. Romme. 2003. Using tree recruitment patterns and fire history to guide restoration of an unlogged ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir landscape in the southern Rocky Mountains after a century of fire suppression
Laurie Huckaby, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Paula J. Fornwalt, Jason M. Stoker, Chuck Dennis. 2003. Field guide to old ponderosa pines in the Colorado Front Range
Laurie Huckaby, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Paula J. Fornwalt, Jason M. Stoker, Chuck Dennis. 2003. Identification and ecology of old ponderosa pine trees in the Colorado Front Range
Paula J. Fornwalt, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie Huckaby, Jason M. Stoker, Thomas J. Stohlgren. 2003. Non-native plant invasions in managed and protected ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of the Colorado Front Range
Paula J. Fornwalt, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie Huckaby, Jason M. Stoker. 2002. Using the Forest Vegetation Simulator to reconstruct historical stand conditions in the Colorado Front Range
Merrill R. Kaufmann, Paula J. Fornwalt, Laurie Huckaby, Jason M. Stoker. 2001. Cheesman Lake-a historical ponderosa pine landscape guiding restoration in the South Platte Watershed of the Colorado Front Range
Laurie Huckaby, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Jason M. Stoker, Paula J. Fornwalt. 2001. Landscape patterns of montane forest age structure relative to fire history at Cheesman Lake in the Colorado Front Range

Data and Tools

University of Delaware, Newark, DE, B.S., Environmental Science, 1996
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, M.S., Forest Sciences, 1999
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Ph.D., Ecology, 2009

Last updated March 10, 2026

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