Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park. Credit: Jon Keeley (USGS)
Project Summary
Principal Investigator(s):
- Jennifer Balch (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Christian Giardina (US Forest Service)
- Scott Rupp (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
- Jeremy Littell (USGS Alaska CASC)
- Omkar Joshi (Oklahoma State University)
- Soloman Dobrowski (University of Montana)
- Beth Rose Middleton (University of California, Davis)
- Hugh Stafford (US Forest Service)
- Adam J Terando (USGS Southeast CASC)
- Jaime Collazo (North Carolina State University)
Fiscal Year: 2020
Start Date: 06/01/2021
End Date: 05/31/2023
Project Overview
Summary:
Abundant scientific research has characterized the relationships between climate and fire in ecosystems of the United States, and there is substantial evidence that the role of fire in ecosystems is likely to change with a changing climate. Changing fire patterns pose numerous natural resource management challenges and decision makers in natural-resource management increasingly require information about potential future changes in fire regimes to effectively prepare for and adapt to climate change impacts. An effective forward-looking fire science synthesis is urgently required to reflect the changing dimensions of human fire management, recognizing that fire causes, effects, impacts, and management are all interrelated components of a social-ecological-hydrological system with the potential for profound ecological transformation.
To meet this need, the project team will conduct a synthesis of changing fire dynamics across the United States and will relate these changes to natural resource management. Through this project, post-doctoral fellows will be engaged to lead this research and will conduct an assessment of: 1) the state of the science on how climate change is currently affecting and projected to transform fire processes; 2) how projected changes fit within the context of national patterns and trends; 3) the implications of these changes for natural resource management and climate change adaptation efforts. Products will include one or more peer reviewed manuscript(s) on the regional findings; one or more peer reviewed manuscripts placing these regional findings in a broader national context; and public facing documents and/or communication activities (e.g., webinars) to engage managers with the results of this work.
Related Publications
- A fire-use decision model to improve the United States’ wildfire management and support climate change adaptation
- Social Capital in State Prescribed Burn Networks: Comparing North Carolina and Oklahoma Cases