Climate Change Effects

Featured Fire Work

• By identifying which fire regime and ecosystem components are most likely to be affected by climate, and which treatments are able to mitigate impacts, the FireCLIME Vulnerability Assessment  can provide information critical for planning under changing fire regimes and fuel conditions. The FireCLIME Vulnerability Assessment tool scores ecosystems based on current and future expected climate-fire-vegetation relationships as they relate to user inputs about desired future conditions. This tool provides inference on the mechanisms driving vulnerability and which management strategies may be most effective for reducing risk under changing climate conditions.
• Will long-lived tree species, such as aspen, migrate on their own as fast as the climate is changing? Research by Rocky Mountain Research Station and collaborators addressed this question and found that fire can be a useful tool for promoting migrations of shade-intolerant wind dispersed species such as aspen.
• Researchers are determining why, when, and where severe wildfires are likely to occur and how they may lead to forest conversion.