Fire Ecology and Management: Past, present, and future of U.S. forested ecosystems
Fire shapes forest structure, composition, and biodiversity. Driven by a variable climate and a history of fire exclusion, wildfires are growing more frequent and severe, reshaping forest ecosystems and creating new management challenges. Land managers are in need of comprehensive syntheses of fire ecology to help reduce wildfire risk while supporting healthy forests.
A new book meets this challenge by examining the driving forces, historical patterns, and future management challenges of fire in a variety of forested ecosystems across the United States. The book covers fire ecology of every major forest type in the United States, including fire regimes, land use history, ecosystem restoration, and the impacts of fire suppression and climate. It provides accessible information to help understand how fire histories, behavior, and impacts differ between major ecosystems and future directions for forest management. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists contributed to the book alongside other experts from the Forest Service, universities, and other federal agencies.
Forest Service scientists helped author several chapters, including: Fire in Floodplain Forests of the Southeastern USA; Fire Ecology of Rocky Mountain Forests; Fire Ecology and Management of Southwestern Forests; and Fire and Forests in the 21st Century: Managing Resilience Under Changing Climates and Fire Regimes in USA Forests. Fire Ecology and Management: Past, Present, and Future of US Forested Ecosystems provides information on fire ecology for every major forested ecosystem type in the United States. For each region, the book discusses fire frequencies and severities; the role of fire in maintaining forest composition and structure; historic and current fire regimes; and fire management. The book provides management options for reducing wildfire risk while supporting healthy, resilient ecosystems in the context of climate change.