Article
Plant Sciences
Kyra D. Clark-Wolf, Philip E. Higuera, Kendra K. Mclauchlan, Bryan N. Shuman, Meredith C. Parish
Summary: Wildfires strongly influence forest ecosystem processes, and their resilience can be observed through lake-sediment records of past fire frequencies and accompanying biogeochemical and vegetation responses.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Zoe Schapira, Camille Stevens-Rumann, Donna Shorrock, Chad Hoffman, Amy Chambers
Summary: This study focuses on the effects of epidemic spruce beetle outbreaks, high-severity fires, and subsequent species and structural diversity of subalpine forest regeneration and structure. The research found that wildfires override the effects of repeated disturbances on regeneration, while spruce seedlings show stable survival following beetle outbreaks. High severity fire may prove detrimental for the persistence of spruce-fir species, promoting shifts towards more drought and fire tolerant tree species.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Philip E. Higuera, Bryan N. Shuman, Kyra D. Wolf
Summary: The 2020 fire season in the western United States marked a decades-long trend of increased fire activity, particularly in subalpine forests where fire frequency historically has been low. Observing fire activity over the past 2000 years reveals that the current fire rotation period and burning rates are significantly higher than historical averages. This highlights how extreme events in recent years are shaping new fire regimes as temperatures continue to rise, impacting subalpine forests in the Rocky Mountains.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kyra Clark-Wolf, Philip E. Higuera, Bryan N. Shuman, Kendra K. Mclauchlan
Summary: The increasing area burned across western North America brings up questions about the extent and importance of changes in fire activity compared to historical variability. By analyzing charcoal preserved in sediments, a network of fire-history records in the U.S. Northern Rockies was created to understand the landscape-scale burning over the past 2500 years. The results showed that widespread fire activity in the early 20th century and recent decades falls within the historical range of variability, while the Southern Rockies experienced less frequent burning and surpasses the historical range in the 21st century.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Ecology
D. C. Romualdi, S. L. Wilkinson, P. M. A. James
Summary: This meta-analysis aims to summarize available evidence regarding mountain pine beetle (MPB) and wildfire interactions, and identify environmental and methodological indicators associated with various wildfire responses. The study found that spatial scale, forest fuels, and weather are the main drivers of variation in wildfire response post-outbreak. These findings are crucial for wildfire and forest management agencies, especially in forests newly exposed to this disturbance interaction.
Article
Forestry
Alex Goke, Patrick H. Martin
Summary: Tree mortality rates are increasing due to climate change, especially in high elevation subalpine forests. However, the effects of drought on regeneration processes dependent on species-specific stress tolerances and microsite preferences are not well-understood.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Joseph D. Napier, Melissa L. Chipman
Summary: Rapid climate change is fundamentally altering plant communities globally, with disturbances potentially having a larger impact than climate change. Paleoecological records provide valuable insights into the long-term effects of disturbances on plant dynamics. Integrating paleoecology with genetics and other disciplines can enhance our understanding of disturbance regimes and their influence on global plant dynamics.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Gregory S. Pappas, Daniel B. Tinker, Monique E. Rocca
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes in understory species and communities following severe mountain pine beetle-induced lodgepole pine mortality. The results show that more species appeared than disappeared 5 years after the peak of the outbreak, with new species comprising both early- and late-successional species. There was an increase in the number of highly common species and a decrease in the number of exceedingly rare species. Some species were able to take advantage of the new stand conditions and expand throughout the study area through various dispersal methods. Although shifts in community composition were minimal, there was a slight convergence of plant community groups, indicating a trend towards community homogenization.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Kim Vincent, Hannah Holland-Moritz, Adam J. Solon, Eli M. S. Gendron, Steven K. Schmidt
Summary: This study investigates the composition of bacterioplankton communities in alpine and subalpine lakes. The results show that there are differences in bacterial communities between the two types of lakes in the early summer, but these differences disappear by the end of the summer. Several environmental factors, including dissolved organic carbon, pH, chlorophyll-a, and total dissolved nitrogen, are found to be correlated with the community divergence in the early summer. The timing of increased hydrologic connections with the terrestrial environment, due to springtime snowmelt, may contribute to the observed patterns.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jeffrey E. Stenzel, Crystal A. Kolden, Polly C. Buotte, Kristina J. Bartowitz, Eric W. Walsh, Tara W. Hudiburg
Summary: Novel climates and disturbances in the 21st century pose a threat to western U.S. forests, increasing their vulnerability. However, the exact timing and extent of these vulnerabilities are uncertain and can vary across the region. Using a dynamic vegetation model coupled to an Earth Systems Model, the study examines the impacts of climate change and management strategies on the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains forests. Results show that forest carbon stocks and canopy cover are projected to decline after 2090 due to drought, fire mortality, and reduced primary production. However, the mid-century vulnerability to fire and drought is not consistently projected across climate models. Increased timber harvest diminishes forest carbon stocks and increases mortality, despite some reductions in stress in the late century.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Pierre-Luc Couillard, Serge Payette, Martin Lavoie, Mathieu Fregeau
Summary: The dynamics of boreal forests during the Holocene have been influenced by various disturbances, with stable environmental conditions favoring forest regeneration and potential shifts to alternative states if post-disturbance recovery fails. Although fire is a major disturbance factor, the long-term resilience of most forest ecosystems remains largely unknown. Most closed-crown forests show resilience post-fire, but some forests have transformed into lichen woodlands after fire, indicating precarious resilience.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Crystal N. H. McMichael, Mark B. Bush, Juan C. Jimenez, William D. Gosling
Summary: Human activities have modified landscapes worldwide, including the Amazon rainforest, which was previously believed to have had little human impact. These modifications have created ecological legacies that can persist over time and affect the resilience of modern forests to ongoing changes.
Review
Forestry
Andrew J. Larson, Sean M. A. Jeronimo, Paul F. Hessburg, James A. Lutz, Nicholas A. Povak, C. Alina Cansler, Van R. Kane, Derek J. Churchill
Summary: The article introduces ecologically-based post-fire management principles, including protecting large-diameter trees and fire refugia, anticipating future fuel accumulation, maintaining stabilizing fire-vegetation feedbacks, adjusting species composition and structure for future fire regimes and climate. In large burned landscapes, these principles can be implemented through post-fire landscape evaluations and prescriptions, helping to adapt landscapes to future conditions.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Sabine Prader, Lindsey Gillson, Brian M. Chase, M. Timm Hoffman
Summary: Fynbos and afrotemperate forest coexist as stable states in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. In recent decades, there has been an expansion of afrotemperate forest in parts of Table Mountain National Park. This study aimed to investigate the drivers of this change and determine whether it is a recovery from previous forest clearance or a result of fire suppression policies. Analysis of sediments from Orange Kloof revealed fluctuations in forest cover over the past 3690 years, influenced by climate and human activities. The expansion of forest in the 20th century is likely due to fire suppression and recovery from past clearance, calling for appropriate fire management to prevent further expansion.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Qunjun Li, Meiqi Dai, Fen Luo
Summary: This research investigated the response characteristics of soil microbial community structure to different degrees of tourism disturbance. The study found significant differences in the composition and structure of the soil microbial community under different interference levels. The relative abundance of certain microbial phyla, including Chloroflexus, GAL15, Rokubacteria, and Blastomonas, showed significant differences between the interference groups.
Article
Ecology
Tyler J. Hoecker, Philip E. Higuera, Ryan Kelly, Feng Sheng Hu
Review
Plant Sciences
Kendra K. McLauchlan, Philip E. Higuera, Jessica Miesel, Brendan M. Rogers, Jennifer Schweitzer, Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Alan J. Tepley, J. Morgan Varner, Thomas T. Veblen, Solny A. Adalsteinsson, Jennifer K. Balch, Patrick Baker, Enric Batllori, Erica Bigio, Paulo Brando, Megan Cattau, Melissa L. Chipman, Janice Coen, Raelene Crandall, Lori Daniels, Neal Enright, Wendy S. Gross, Brian J. Harvey, Jeff A. Hatten, Sharon Hermann, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Leda N. Kobziar, Jennifer B. Landesmann, Michael M. Loranty, S. Yoshi Maezumi, Linda Mearns, Max Moritz, Jonathan A. Myers, Juli G. Pausas, Adam F. A. Pellegrini, William J. Platt, Jennifer Roozeboom, Hugh Safford, Fernanda Santos, Robert M. Scheller, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Kevin G. Smith, Melinda D. Smith, Adam C. Watts
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2020)
Letter
Biodiversity Conservation
Philip E. Higuera, John T. Abatzoglou
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Kyra D. Wolf, Philip E. Higuera, Kimberley T. Davis, Solomon Z. Dobrowski
Summary: The study indicates that wildfires have significant impacts on forest microclimate, particularly affecting the growth and recovery of tree species and understory vegetation. In high elevations and severity of fires, the influence of wildfires on temperature and vapor pressure deficit is pronounced.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Philip E. Higuera, Bryan N. Shuman, Kyra D. Wolf
Summary: The 2020 fire season in the western United States marked a decades-long trend of increased fire activity, particularly in subalpine forests where fire frequency historically has been low. Observing fire activity over the past 2000 years reveals that the current fire rotation period and burning rates are significantly higher than historical averages. This highlights how extreme events in recent years are shaping new fire regimes as temperatures continue to rise, impacting subalpine forests in the Rocky Mountains.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Meredith C. Parish, Kyra D. Wolf, Philip E. Higuera, Bryan N. Shuman
Summary: The wettest portion of the interior of western North America is centered on the mountainous region spanning western Montana, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alberta. Changes in hydroclimate in this region over the Holocene have been investigated using a lake-level reconstruction from Silver Lake on the Montana-Idaho border. The study revealed substantial changes in moisture, with wet conditions before 7000 cal yr BP, drier conditions from 7000-2800 cal yr BP, and an increase in water levels from 2800-2300 cal yr BP.
QUATERNARY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Kyra Clark-Wolf, Philip E. Higuera, Kimberley T. Davis
Summary: By studying the post-fire seedling demography, this research reveals the mechanisms of post-fire tree regeneration and forest resilience to wildfires. The study found that moderate post-fire climate conditions and diverse microsites facilitate the regeneration of conifer seedlings and enhance their survival.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jamie L. Peeler, Lisa Mccauley, Kerry L. Metlen, Travis Woolley, Kimberley T. Davis, Marcos D. Robles, Ryan D. Haugo, Karin L. Riley, Philip E. Higuera, Joseph E. Fargione, Robert N. Addington, Steven Bassett, Kori Blankenship, Michael J. Case, Teresa B. Chapman, Edward Smith, Randy Swaty, Nathan Welch
Summary: The increasing climate and wildfire crises have sparked global interest in employing proactive forest management to reduce the risk of carbon loss caused by wildfires. By evaluating the interactions between wildfire hazard and carbon exposure and vulnerability, we identified areas with high potential for reducing the risk of carbon loss. California, New Mexico, and Arizona have the highest proportion of carbon highly vulnerable to wildfire-caused loss relative to their total forest area. Furthermore, there are widespread opportunities in the western US to use proactive forest management to mitigate wildfire-caused carbon loss and protect human communities.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kyra Clark-Wolf, Philip E. Higuera, Bryan N. Shuman, Kendra K. Mclauchlan
Summary: The increasing area burned across western North America brings up questions about the extent and importance of changes in fire activity compared to historical variability. By analyzing charcoal preserved in sediments, a network of fire-history records in the U.S. Northern Rockies was created to understand the landscape-scale burning over the past 2500 years. The results showed that widespread fire activity in the early 20th century and recent decades falls within the historical range of variability, while the Southern Rockies experienced less frequent burning and surpasses the historical range in the 21st century.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Melissa R. Jaffe, Mark R. Kreider, David L. R. Affleck, Philip E. Higuera, Carl A. Seielstad, Sean A. Parks, Andrew J. Larson
Summary: High-severity fires and short-interval reburns have significant impacts on forest structure and composition, potentially leading to non-forest conditions. Understanding the long-term effects of these fires is crucial, especially with the recent increase in burned area and severity in the western US. By studying fire history and conducting field sampling in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, we investigated the influence of fire frequency on forest structure, conifer regeneration, and fuel loading.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Arash Modaresi Rad, John T. Abatzoglou, Erica Fleishman, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff, Yavar Pourmohamad, Megan Cattau, J. Michael Johnson, Philip Higuera, Nicholas J. Nauslar, Mojtaba Sadegh
Summary: Understanding of the vulnerability of populations exposed to wildfires is limited. A study assessed the social vulnerability of populations exposed to wildfire in California, Oregon, and Washington from 2000 to 2021 using an index from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results showed a substantial increase in the number of people exposed to fire, with the highest increase observed among those with high social vulnerability.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Philip E. Higuera, Maxwell C. Cook, Jennifer K. Balch, E. Natasha Stavros, Adam L. Mahood, Lise A. St Denis
Summary: Structure loss has increased significantly due to the wildfire crisis in the western United States. The increase in structure loss is not solely due to the expansion of burned areas, but also the increased destructiveness of wildfires. Human-related ignitions, such as backyard burning and power lines, are the primary drivers of structure loss. Annual structure loss can be explained by the area burned from human-related ignitions, while decadal structure loss is influenced by the abundance of structures in flammable vegetation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Jennifer K. Balch, Rebecca T. Barnes, Philip E. Higuera, Christopher I. Roos, Dylan W. Schwilk, E. Natasha Stavros, Tirtha Banerjee, Megan M. Bela, Jacob Bendix, Sandro Bertolino, Solomon Bililign, Kevin D. Bladon, Paulo Brando, Robert E. Breidenthal, Brian Buma, Donna Calhoun, Leila M. V. Carvalho, Megan E. Cattau, Kaelin M. Cawley, Sudeep Chandra, Melissa L. Chipman, Jeanette Cobian-Iniguez, Erin Conlisk, Jonathan D. Coop, Alison Cullen, Kimberley T. Davis, Archana Dayalu, Fernando De Sales, Megan Dolman, Lisa M. Ellsworth, Scott Franklin, Christopher H. Guiterman, Matthew Hamilton, Erin J. Hanan, Winslow D. Hansen, Stijn Hantson, Brian J. Harvey, Andres Holz, Tao Huang, Matthew D. Hurteau, Nayani T. Ilangakoon, Megan Jennings, Charles Jones, Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson, Leda N. Kobziar, John Kominoski, Branko Kosovic, Meg A. Krawchuk, Paul Laris, Jackson Leonard, S. Marcela Loria-Salazar, Melissa Lucash, Hussam Mahmoud, Ellis Margolis, Toby Maxwell, Jessica L. McCarty, David B. McWethy, Rachel S. Meyer, Jessica R. Miesel, W. Keith Moser, R. Chelsea Nagy, Dev Niyogi, Hannah M. Palmer, Adam Pellegrini, Benjamin Poulter, Kevin Robertson, Adrian V. Rocha, Mojtaba Sadegh, Fernanda Santos, Facundo Scordo, Joseph O. Sexton, A. Surjalal Sharma, Alistair M. S. Smith, Amber J. Soja, Christopher Still, Tyson Swetnam, Alexandra D. Syphard, Morgan W. Tingley, Ali Tohidi, Anna T. Trugman, Merritt Turetsky, J. Morgan Varner, Yuhang Wang, Thea Whitman, Stephanie Yelenik, Xuan Zhang
Summary: Fire is a crucial element in ecosystems globally, but altered fire regimes due to global change are causing devastating impacts. Addressing the increasing fire danger requires interdisciplinary and inclusive partnerships, as well as integration of diverse knowledge and data for more predictive and adaptive approaches.
Article
Ecology
Robin Rank, Marco Maneta, Philip Higuera, Zachary Holden, Solomon Dobrowski
Summary: Forests are at increasing risk due to drought and heat stress caused by climate change. Studying the effects of environmental variables on seedling survival and forest regeneration potential can help predict future forest distribution.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Julie Gauzere, Bertrand Teuf, Hendrik Davi, Luis-Miguel Chevin, Thomas Caignard, Berangere Leys, Sylvain Delzon, Ophelie Ronce, Isabelle Chuine