Research and Publications
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We developed a non-parametric index of fire regime departure that quantifies distributional changes to fire regime attributes between time periods using the Earth Mover’s Distance. We used this departure metric to compare fire frequency and burn severity between historical (~1600–1880) and contemporary (1985–2021) time periods in western US forests. In addition, we compared the proposed metrics with a standard suite of measures of central tendency. Departure metrics based on measures of central tendency reported lower relative departures within frequent fire forests and higher relative departures within infrequent fire forests than the EMD-based method. We found that 89% of western US forests are experiencing less frequent and more severe wildfires than historical baselines. Large departures are associated with increased human land-use intensity, and landscapes prioritized by the Wildfire Crisis Mitigation plan are on average, more departed than non-priority landscapes.
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Wildland firefighters were aware of commonly identified hazards of their work, including smoke exposure, heat, and “human factors” such as fatigue and diet. Firefighters experience additional hazards that are rarely discussed. Routine but generally unacknowledged hazards include non-vegetation smoke, dust, chemicals in gear and equipment, and fuels and exhaust. Incident- and location-specific hazards include food and water quality concerns, hazards in government housing, and military, radiation, industrial, and mining hazards. Addressing these hazards is challenging because of both practical and cultural barriers.
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Study highlights the mental health risks of conducting wildfire research, in which both direct and secondary traumatic experiences can often be compounded by feelings of climate anxiety and ecological grief. We then reflect on our own experiences conducting interdisciplinary and community-engaged research in western North America during and after recent wildfire seasons, including the challenges of recognizing and addressing the psychological impacts of this work. Finally, we synthesize actionable recommendations, and share practical frameworks and tools, for individual researchers, supervisors, and institutions to support researcher mental health and wellbeing in wildfire-related research.
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Efforts to understand, assess, and address diversifying recovery needs have growing relevance as wildfires continue to impact communities. However, little is known about social experiences navigating gaps in assistance funding and support or “unmet needs” in post-fire spaces, particularly for indirect impacts like smoke damage. Determining how affected residents access available information and make decisions related to unmet needs can aid the development of resources and programs that support rapid identification of, and response to, emergent or undocumented impacts during recovery processes. This study explores household experiences with smoke damage as an unmet need during recovery following the 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado, USA. Semi-structured interviews with residents and professionals who dealt with smoke damage revealed a wide spectrum of impacts. Decisions to act on smoke damage were influenced by risk perceptions and personal capacity to undertake self-guided recovery in the absence of a formalized process for navigating remediation. These experiences underscored a distinct absence of scientific and management expertise, legal protections or standards, and assistance related to smoke damage identification and remediation, catalyzing distrust in officials and ambiguity regarding whether smoke damaged homes could become safe again. Together, these conditions created cascading uncertainties for residents with smoke damaged homes that motivated long-term health concerns. Unmet needs after wildfire appeared to emerge because of misconceptions about impact severity, limited professional capacity, and adherence to rigid recovery structures that restrict professionals’ ability to identify and incorporate non-traditional impacts into existing processes. Findings informed suggestions for improving smoke damage recovery processes, inviting consideration of policy and more inclusive assistance to support recovery from indirect wildfire impacts.
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Since 2015, the Fishlake National Forest and partners have been restoring pre-colonial disturbance cycles, on a large-landscape scale.
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A new set of tools developed by the Rocky Mountain Research Station and partners can answer managers complex, spatially related questions in minutes. Raster Tools uses numerous lines of code and mathematical functions that empowers any analyst to model outcomes and create custom tools for natural resource planning and management. For example, managers can use it to determine the cost of specific wildfire treatments, transporting materials, or harvesting on their landscape.
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Seed pellets improved seedling emergence in both experiments, with 136% and 56% higher odds of emergence from seed pellets compared to broadcast seeding in the first and second experiments, respectively. Composition and activated carbon additions without herbicide treatment had limited effects. Following aminopyralid herbicide treatment, we found significantly higher emergence from seed pellets containing activated carbon. Seed pellets with activated carbon may be an effective seeding method in dryland ecosystems where herbicide treatment and reseeding are needed. Varying clay content and activated carbon additions had limited impacts without herbicide treatment.
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Seed coating designed to accelerate germination strongly increased emergence in species with high dormancy requirements, while seed coating designed to delay germination decreased emergence in species with low dormancy by about half and postponed emergence by up to 15 days. These coatings altered emergence timing regardless of watering regime, suggesting that seed coating could expand emergence windows under variable precipitation regimes. Seedling growth and total biomass were less dependent on seed coating and were more driven by the average amount of soil moisture provisioned to the developing plant. While seed coating designed to accelerate germination increased the emergence of two grass species, growth decreased during late periods of water availability, suggesting a trade-off in seedling performance.
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Researchers at UC Berkeley and the US Forest Service sought to evaluate the influence of forest structure and composition, topography, and weather on fire severity in a third successive fire. They investigated the structural conditions emerging after successive burns, whether these conditions contributed to fire severity, and how these conditions compared to historical estimates. Their study utilized a network of Forest Service field plots in the Plumas and Lassen National Forests that had been initially burned in the Storrie and Rich Fires in 2000 and 2008, reburned in the Chips Fire in 2012, and were then subject to a second reburn in the 2021 Dixie Fire. Plots were sampled in 2017 and 2018 following the Chips Fire and in 2023 following the Dixie Fire.