Looking into the past: How reconstructing historical forest conditions can help future restoration efforts

Abstract

In the western United States, many forests that had adapted to survive frequent fire look much different than they used to. Past and current management practices ranging from fire exclusion to timber harvesting and grazing have altered species composition and left forests with greater tree density. These changes leave extensive areas vulnerable to uncharacteristic high-intensity wildfire killing trees that had survived fires over centuries. How can we restore ponderosa pine-dominated forests today to make them more resilient to future fires especially given this quandary: no one alive today remembers what these places looked like in the past, and records about these forests are limited?

Citation

Battaglia, Mike; Cheng, Tony. 2020. Looking into the past: How reconstructing historical forest conditions can help future restoration efforts. Connected Science, November 2020. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.