Articles

Modeled scenarios suggest that aggressive forest restoration activities coupled with expanded use of managed wildfire in the southwestern United States may restore old growth forest structure and stabilize carbon in the long term – but must be weighed against short-term trade-offs.

Restoring the Snake River migratory corridor would increase Chinook salmon survival along their migration route and boost population growth throughout the Middle Fork Salmon River.

Scientists analyzed the success of current native seed supply systems from around the world to provide guidance and inspiration for future native seed markets.

The loss of nonstructural carbohydrates after fire may be the link between fire-caused injury and tree mortality.

In just two years, one hundred vertebrate species experienced burning over at least 10 percent of their ranges.

Lower income households may have the most to gain from wildfire mitigation cost-share programs, as they have the greatest financial need and tend to be the most vulnerable to wildfire hazards. New research sees if financial incentives alone can encourage low-income household participation.

This 15-year dataset of daily summaries of wildland fire activity across 10 geographical regions in the U.S. enables researchers and practitioners to study historical wildfire activity and resource use across regions and time, examine fire management perceptions, evaluate strategies for fire prioritization and fire resource allocation, and exploit other broader usage to improve wildfire management and response in the United States.

In May and June of 2023, a group of scientists from the Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Czech Academy of Science's Institute of Botany documented important belowground plant structures on the Great Plains.

Learn about historical and contemporary fire regimes in Sonoran desert scrub communities and how individual plant species respond to fire through recently published syntheses in the Fire Effects Information System.

Geospatial data on historic fire disturbance can be used to forecast future seed needs for restoration and conservation planning.

Despite dry and hot summers, denitrifiers endure through months in deserts and produce large nitrous oxide emissions after rainfall.

A new assessment provides information on the current conditions of riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems on five national forests in northern California and southern Oregon, including the drivers, primary and secondary stressors, and ecological integrity markers.

Latitude of genotype origin predicts susceptibility to insect herbivory and level of physical defenses across populations of switchgrass.

Soil nutrients, herbivores, and pathogens impact seedling success primarily through their ability to influence the resident plant community and the availability of other resources, like light and water.

After two dams were removed, location-specific genetic differences related to migration timing changed in Steelhead populations, but not in Chinook salmon.

Caterpillars are important ecosystem engineers. They build shelters that provide habitat for other arthropods, influencing arthropod communities. However, the benefits of these structures are modified by the quality of the host plants.

Belowground plant traits, such as fine roots and belowground organs and buds, can play a crucial role in the response of grasslands to aridification.

Does timber harvesting near a campsite cause campers to recreate elsewhere? This study suggests that yes, it does, and the decline in campsite use can last up to a year following the year of timber harvest operations.

Dr. Dave Calkin, a research forester at the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, has been recognized for sustained excellence as a wildland fire scientist. Calkin accepted the Ember Award on May 17 at the 2023 International Wildland Fire Conference in Porto, Portugal. The International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) presents the prestigious award to recognize sustained achievement in wildland fire science.

Unmanned aerial systems (drones) hold the potential to characterize both traditional and less-traditional forest inventory metrics for restoring ponderosa pine forests.