Research Database
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Projections of Lightning-Ignited Wildfire Risk in the Western United States
Year: 2025
Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning is a major source of summer wildfire ignition in the western United States (WUS). However, future projections of lightning are uncertain since lightning is not directly simulated by most global climate models. To address this issue, we use convolutional neural network (CNN)-based parameterizations of daily June-September CG lightning. CNN parameterizations of daily CG lightning occurrence at each grid cell use fields of three thermodynamic variables—ratio of surface Moist Static Energy (MSE) to 500 hPa saturation MSE, 700–500 hPa lapse rate, and 500…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Long-term soil nutrient and understory plant responses to post-fire rehabilitation in a lodgepole pine forest
Year: 2025
Wildfires and other disturbances play a fundamental role in regenerating lodgepole pine forests. Though severe, stand-replacing fires are typical of this ecosystem, they can have dramatic impacts on soil properties and biogeochemical processes that influence the rate and composition of vegetation recovery. Organic soil amendments are often applied to manage post-fire erosion, but they can also improve soil moisture and nutrient retention and potentially alter the trajectory of post-fire revegetation. We compared change in soil nutrients, microbial communities, and understory plant cover and…
Publication Type: Journal Article