Restoration of landscapes affected by uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires in California requires a science-based framework to address a complexity of issues and concerns. The authors describe a set of ecological restoration principles, a landscape assessment process, and a framework for decision-making to plan and implement restoration projects.
Read MoreThis study uses historical patterns of burn windows to predict burn window likelihood to inform prescribed burning planning and budgeting.
Read MoreThis synthesis summarizes six papers that use a variety of methods to reconstruct the historic forest structure and composition of the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada.
Read MoreEmploying a robust before-after-control-impact (BACI) study design, researchers assessed how thinning in forests altered forest structural conditions in the short- and longer-term in the Sierra Nevada.
Read MoreA variety of terms are applied to changes in ecosystems around the world to describe some aspect of long-lasting changes in plant communities. Here we evaluate a representative list of analogous terms for processes and patterns involved in vegetation type-conversion, highlighting similarities and differences.
Read MoreThis study compares post-drought forests to historical forests to understand if the recent tree mortality event shifted forests closer to or further from resilient conditions.
Photo credit: Historic conditions in a ponderosa pine stand circa 1917. Source: Sierra National Forest Photo HP0313
Read MoreGiven the changing disturbance regimes and climate, there is a critical need to take decisive and extensive actions in the next 1-2 decades to conserve Sierra Nevada forests. This synthesis provides a summary of how climate change and fire are impacting our Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer forests and how active management can help mitigate some of these impacts.
Read MoreIn this study, researchers examined the effects of backburning operations in a heavily stocked ponderosa pine plantation during the 2012 Mill Fire.
Read MoreOn a burned site in the northeastern Mojave Desert that is conservation-priority habitat for federally listed desert tortoises, a field experiment was conducted to test different treatments for outplanting greenhouse-propagated seedlings of the native perennial brittlebush (Encelia virginensis).
Read MoreAuthors studied the recovery of plant communities, soil properties, soil biocrusts and grass as plant fuel on 31 wildfires in the eastern Mojave Desert that had between 1980 and 2007.
Read MoreNon-native annual grasses, such as red brome (Bromus rubens), have increased the amount and continuity of fine fuels in drylands of the southwestern U.S. Where herbicide is not allowed or may have undesirable non-target effects, one of the alternative treatments that has been proposed and used in more mesic habitats is carbon addition.
Read MoreThe SSPM can help guide management decisions in mixed conifer/ yellow pine forests of the western US/ California that wish to return forests to historical (pre-European) conditions or prepare them for a changing climate and an uncertain future.
Read MorePlants often have characteristics that make them well suited to the common type, frequency, and/or severity of disturbance in ecosystems where they occur. Plant species richness was found to be affected by historical fire regime and severity in coniferous forests of the Western US.
Read MoreThis study focused on better understanding the role of stand characteristics and burn entry number in fuel consumption.
Read MoreIn December 2019, partners from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Arizona, and EcoAdapt hosted a two-day workshop in Sacramento, California, to discuss observations of and management options for fire-caused vegetation type conversion (VTC). A summary of this workshop and a call for resources (through 2021) are included in this summary.
Read MoreTwo years after the 2015 Wragg Fire burned the Reserve, a restored public trail was reopened for use. The authors used surveys to determine public perceptions of fire in this chaparral ecosystem.
Read MoreIn our changing world, community change may be a resilience response indicating a process of adaptation rather than of failure. Falk and colleagues (2019) argue that resilience goals should be updated to better apply to 21st century ecosystems.
Read MoreThis research suggests that collaborative learning among stakeholders (aka knowledge coproduction) would be a good way to develop context specific resiliency metrics and goals, making the term more useful by operationalizing it.
Read MoreAlthough the causes of the fires vary by ecoregion and require location- and driver-specific management tools, there are effective ways to reduce both structure exposure and structure sensitivity to fire across all of California.
Read MoreA comparison study of different liability lows shows how gross negligence coupled with some key additional regulations would likely result in prescribed fire being more available to managers while also providing safety assurance to the public.
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The California Fire Science Consortium is divided into 4 geographic regions and 1 wildland-urban interface (WUI) team. Statewide coordination of this program is based at UC Berkeley.
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This regional Fire Science Exchange is one of 15 regional fire science exchanges.
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