Treesearch

Data on wildfire growth are useful for multiple research purposes but are frequently unavailable and often have data quality problems. For these reasons, we developed a protocol for collecting daily burned area time series from the InciWeb website, Incident Management Situation Reports (IMSRs), and other sources. We apply this protocol to create the Warehouse of Multiple Burned Area Time Series (WoMBATS) data, which are a collection of burned area time series with cross-check data for 514 wildfires in the United States for the years 2018–2020. We compare WoMBATS derived distributions of...

Current forest monitoring technologies including satellite remote sensing, manned/piloted aircraft, and observation towers leave uncertainties about a wildfire's extent, behavior, and conditions in the fire's near environment, particularly during its early growth. Rapid mapping and real-time fire monitoring can inform in-time intervention or management solutions to maximize beneficial fire outcomes. Drone systems' unique features of 3D mobility, low flight altitude, and fast and easy deployment make them a valuable tool for early detection and assessment of wildland fires, especially in...

Modern forest management generally relies on thinning treatments to reduce fuels and mitigate the threat of catastrophic wildfire. They have also been proposed as a tool to augment downstream flows by reducing evapotranspiration. Warming climates are causing many forests to transition from snow-dominated to rain-dominated precipitation regimes—in which water stores are depleted earlier in the summer. However, there are relatively few studies of these systems that directly measure the hydrologic impacts of such treatments during and following snow-free winters. This work compares the...

Fishes include some of the most threatened vertebrate species globally. As such, efforts to effectively conserve and manage fish populations and their habitats are vast. Here, we present conceptual tools from behavioural ecology to establish a framework for studies of fish conservation and management, connecting questions relevant to managers and practitioners with behavioural theories and methodologies. We apply predictions developed from a theory to diet choice, patch use, habitat selection, movement, and social behaviours. We present questions and issues in fisheries management and...

Heavy metal concentrations often vary at small spatial scales not captured by air monitoring networks, with implications for environmental justice in industrial-adjacent communities. Pollutants measured in moss tissues are commonly used as a screening tool to guide use of more expensive resources, like air monitors. Such studies, however, rarely address environmental justice issues or involve the residents and other decision makers expected to utilize results. Here, we piloted a community science approach, engaging over 55 people from nine institutions, to map heavy metals using moss in...

Maps of species composition are important for assessing a wide range of ecosystem functions in forested landscapes, including processes shaping community structure at broader (e.g., climate) and finer (e.g., disturbance) scales. Incorporating recently available remotely sensed datasets has the potential to improve species composition mapping by providing information to help predict species presence and relative abundance. Using USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data and the gradient nearest neighbor imputation modeling approach in eastern Washington, USA, we developed...

High elevation and arid wilderness areas generally lack epiphytic lichen species used for air quality biomonitoring. We assessed the potential of saxicolous lichens to serve as bioindicators of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) deposition by examining relationships among deposition, environmental variables, and elemental concentrations in the saxicolous lichens Umbilicaria phaea (n = 51), Rhizoplaca melanophthalma (n = 20), and the epiphytic lichen Letharia vulpina (n = 16) in the southern Sierra Nevada (SN) and San Bernardino Mountains (SBM) of California, USA. Lichen samples were collected...

Forested stream ecosystems involve complex physical and biotic pathways that can influence fish in numerous ways. Consequently, the responses of fish communities to disturbance can be difficult to understand. In this study, we employed a food web model that links biotic (e.g., physiology, predator–prey interactions) and abiotic (e.g., temperature, sunlight) attributes to address fish responses to changes in stream-riparian ecosystems. We modeled responses to food web dynamics in four streams, using scenarios that included responses to riparian disturbance, climate change, and shifts in top...

Background: Historically, wildfire regimes produced important landscape-scale disturbances in many regions globally. The “pyrodiversity begets biodiversity” hypothesis suggests that wildfires that generate temporally and spatially heterogeneous mosaics of wildfire severity and post-burn recovery enhance biodiversity at landscape scales. However, river management has often led to channel incision that disconnects rivers from their floodplains, desiccating floodplain habitats and depleting groundwater. In conjunction with predicted increases in frequency, intensity and extent of wildfires...

Survival of planted seedlings following a regeneration harvest can be challenging and early interventions through silvicultural treatments may be required for successful stand establishment. We tested the influence of soil amendment (biochar plus compost, compost-only, or control) and vegetation control (VC; applied either initially or annually for five years using brush saws) on the growth and survival of jack pine at three sites in northern Minnesota. Application of the biochar plus compost soil amendment increased seedling survival by 30% relative to the control in the first year, but...