Research Database
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Cover of tall trees best predicts California spotted owl habitat
Year: 2017
Restoration of western dry forests in the USA often focuses on reducing fuel loads. In the range of the spotted owl, these treatments may reduce canopy cover and tree density, which could reduce preferred habitat conditions for the owl and other sensitive species. In particular, high canopy cover (≥70%) has been widely reported to be an important feature of spotted owl habitat, but averages of stand-level forest cover do not provide important information on foliage height and gap structure. To provide better quantification of canopy structure, we used airborne LiDAR imagery to identify canopy…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Climate changes and wildfire alter vegetation of Yellowstone National Park, but forest cover persists
Year: 2017
We present landscape simulation results contrasting effects of changing climates on forest vegetation and fire regimes in Yellowstone National Park, USA, by mid-21st century. We simulated potential changes to fire dynamics and forest characteristics under three future climate projections representing a range of potential future conditions using the FireBGCv2 model. Under the future climate scenarios with moderate warming (>2°C) and moderate increases in precipitation (3–5%), model simulations resulted in 1.2–4.2 times more burned area, decreases in forest cover (10–44%), and reductions in…
Publication Type: Journal Article