Treesearch

Wildfires can dramatically modify the hydrologic and erosion response of ecosystems, increasing risks to population and assets downslope of fire affected hillslopes. This applies especially to volcanic areas in fire-prone regions which often exhibit steep terrain and high population densities. However, the effects of fire on key hydrologic and erosion parameters, which are critical for modelling runoff-erosion processes, predicting related post-fire risks and for selecting effective mitigation measures, have not been extensively assessed in this terrain type. Here we evaluate water erosion...

Wildfires have become more severe and have burned larger swaths of the western United States and Canada in recent decades. The smoke from these wildfires contains hundreds of different gases and aerosols, which have significant negative impacts on air quality, climate, and public health.

This six-volume assessment provides information on the current conditions of riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems on the Rogue River-Siskiyou, Klamath, Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Mendocino National Forests of southern Oregon and northern California. We used peer-reviewed literature and national and regional-level data from the forests and their partners to evaluate the status of several key ecosystem characteristics. These characteristics are distribution, hydrologic regimes, water quality, connectivity, instream habitat quality, and riparian reserve condition for...

This six-volume assessment provides information on the current conditions of riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems on the Rogue River-Siskiyou, Klamath, Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Mendocino National Forests of southern Oregon and northern California. We used peer-reviewed literature and national and regional-level data from the forests and their partners to evaluate the status of several key ecosystem characteristics. These characteristics are distribution, hydrologic regimes, water quality, connectivity, instream habitat quality, and riparian reserve condition for...

This six-volume assessment provides information on the current conditions of riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems on the Rogue River-Siskiyou, Klamath, Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Mendocino National Forests of southern Oregon and northern California. We used peer-reviewed literature and national and regional-level data from the forests and their partners to evaluate the status of several key ecosystem characteristics. These characteristics are distribution, hydrologic regimes, water quality, connectivity, instream habitat quality, and riparian reserve condition for...

The escalating climate and wildfire crises have generated worldwide interest in reducing the risk of wildfire-caused carbon loss in forests. The United States (US) is no exception, with billions of US dollars being invested into proactive forest management (e.g. forest thinning, prescribed fire, cultural burning) that mitigates wildfire hazard and promotes fire-resilient forests. In turn, proactive forest management helps forests retain carbon in living vegetation and organic soil after wildfire, which allows forests to help humans with climate-mitigation goals by keeping carbon out of the...

The ForSys spatial planning system was developed by USDA Forest Service Research and Development to modernize agency tools to prioritize forest and fuel management investments and understand tradeoffs among alternative scenarios. ForSys uses inputs on objectives, management restrictions, constraints, and treatment thresholds to organize stands into planning areas that are optimized for one or more objectives. The model has been used in five different countries resulting in published case studies at scales ranging from watersheds to the continental United States, and multiple Federal...

Background: Current guidance for implementation of United States federal wildland fire policy charges agencies with restoring and maintaining fire-adapted ecosystems while limiting the extent of wildfires that threaten life and property, weighed against the risks posed to firefighters. These ostensibly conflicting goals can make it difficult to clearly communicate specific response objectives of a given incident. Inherent ambiguity can expose land management agencies, like the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS), to scrutiny when once remote, lightning-ignited...

Xylem traumatic resin ducts (TRDs) in Douglas-fir form in response to mechanical injury, fire, and root pathogens, but it is unknown if these form at the stem in response to bark-beetleassociated fungi. Meanwhile, TRDs are rarely documented in lodgepole pine. In the southern Rocky Mountains, TRD formation in the two species from sterile (Control) and fungal inoculation treatments (Aggressive, Weak (Douglas-fir only)) were compared; predicting the following: (1) both trees would produce TRDs in response to fungal treatments; (2) in Douglas-fir, Aggressive treatment would promote denser and...

Changes in wildfire frequency and severity are altering conifer forests and pose threats to biodiversity and natural climate solutions. Where and when feedbacks between vegetation and fire could mediate forest transformation are unresolved. Here, for the western United States, we used climate analogs to measure exposure to fire-regime change; quantified the direction and spatial distribution of changes in burn severity; and intersected exposure with fire-resistance trait data. We measured exposure as multivariate dissimilarities between contemporary distributions of fire frequency, burn...