Treesearch

Genetic rescue, specifically translocation to facilitate gene flow among populations and reduce the effects of inbreeding, is an increasingly used approach in conservation. However, this approach comes with trade-offs, wherein gene flow may reduce fitness when populations have adaptive differentiation (i.e., outbreeding depression). A better understanding of the interaction between isolation, inbreeding, and adaptive divergence in key traits, such as life history traits, will help to inform genetic rescue efforts. Stream-dwelling salmonids, such as the westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchu...

1. Climate change is expected to induce shifts in the composition, structure and functioning of Arctic tundra ecosystems. Increases in the frequency and severity of tundra fires have the potential to catalyse vegetation transitions with far-reaching local, regional and global consequences. 2. We propose that post-fire tundra recovery, coupled with climate change, may not necessarily lead to pre-fire conditions. Our hypothesis, based on surveys and literature, suggests two climate–fire driven trajectories. One trajectory results in increased woody vegetation under low fire frequency; the...

The process of fairly allocating limited recreation opportunities across, and within, a broad range of user groups presents a challenging task to recreation managers, planners, and policy makers. The practice of recreation allocation can be controversial. Recreationists share deep values toward access to high-quality recreation opportunities, and recreationists tend to examine decisions of recreation allocation with a serious level of scrutiny when a use limit is implemented. Despite the controversy that recreation allocation decisions can generate, research-based guidance to inform...

Objective: Digital representations of stream networks are integral components of spatial analyses to describe species distributions and habitat extents, but users should understand their strengths and weaknesses. Here, we used two resolutions of the publicly available and widely applied National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) with large fish and amphibian occurrence data sets to highlight patterns of habitat occupancy relative to availability as described by the NHD.Methods: Data sets consisting of 37,318 occurrences for 10 species were linked to NHD reaches, attributed with reach slope and...

The area burned in the western United States during the 2020 fire season was the greatest in the modern era. Here we show that the number of human‐caused fires in 2020 also was elevated, nearly 20% higher than the 1992-2019 average. Although anomalously dry conditions enabled ignitions to spread and contributed to record area burned, these conditions alone do not explain the surge in the number of human‐caused ignitions. We argue that behavioral shifts aimed at curtailing the spread of COVID‐19 altered human‐environment interactions to favor increased ignitions. For example, the number of...

Accounting for the effects of fire suppression and containment efforts has posed a challenge in wildfire modeling. Fire suppression is a complex phenomenon depending on factors such as resource availability, weather, terrain, and fire suppression priorities in a given place and time. Suppression is an influential factor in wildfire growth though, and should be considered in models. We developed a generalized model of fire containment by utilizing daily reports on size and percent containment of wildfires in the United States. We used this model to support wildfire risk analysis simulations...

Background: Fuel moisture content is a key driver of fuel flammability and subsequent fire activity and behavior worldwide. Dead fuels passively exchange moisture with the atmosphere while live fuel moisture is confounded by a mixture of seasonal carbon and water cycle dynamics. Despite the significance of live fuel moisture content (LFMC) on wildland fire potential, attempts to model its variations seasonally and between species are often inconclusive or unsuccessful.Results: Here we present a mechanistic LFMC model that uses easily measured live fuel physiological and morphological...

In forests across the western United States, large, severe wildfires are creating treeless patches that are unlikely to reforest naturally due to a lack of seed sources and a warming climate. Active reforestation through tree planting has the potential to help forest ecosystems recover after wildfire.

The Wildfire Research (WiRē) team, supported by USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, is no stranger to engaging with residents and communities in fire-prone areas. They’ve been at it for over a decade - regularly refining their approach to reach the most people. Still, midway through a project in Lake County, Colorado, the WiRē team received almost no survey responses from households in three mobile home communities.

Aims: Fine-root traits are important for understanding the strategies plant species use to coexist in communities and persist in resource-limited environments. The extent to which aboveground and belowground strategies are coordinated is a continued subject of debate, and the role of fine-root traits in determining species responses to disturbance is largely unknown. … Methods: We measured fine-root traits representing the conservation and collaboration axes of the root economics space and leaf traits associated with the leaf economics spectrum of 56 understory species across 75 plots that...