Research Database
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Long-term tree population growth can predict woody encroachment patterns
Year: 2025
Recent increases in woody plant density in dryland ecosystems—or “woody encroachment”—around the world are often attributed to land-use changes such as increased livestock grazing and wildfire suppression or to global environmental trends (e.g., increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide). While such changes have undoubtedly impacted ecosystem structure and function, the evidence linking them to woody encroachment is mixed, and the underlying processes are not fully understood. To clarify the role of demographic processes in changing woody plant abundance, we conducted a meta-analysis of tree age…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Trailing edge contractions common in interior western US trees under varying disturbances
Year: 2025
As climate warms, trees are expected to track their ideal climate, referred to as ‘range shifts’; however, lags in tree range shifts are currently common. Disturbance events that kill trees may help catalyse tree migrations by removing biotic competition, but can also limit regeneration by eliminating seed sources, and it is unknown whether disturbance will facilitate or inhibit tree migrations in the face of climate change. Here we use national forest inventory data to show that seedlings of 15 dominant tree species in the interior western United States occupy historically cooler areas than…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Extreme Weather Magnifies the Effects of Forest Structure on Wildfire, Driving Increased Severity in Industrial Forests
Year: 2025
Despite widespread concern over increases in wildfire severity, the mechanisms underlying this trend remain unclear, hampering our ability to mitigate the severity of future fires. There is substantial uncertainty regarding the relative roles of extreme weather conditions, which are exacerbated by climate change, and forest management, in particular differences between private industrial timber companies and public land agencies. To investigate the effects of extreme weather and forest management on fire severity, we used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to characterize pre-fire…
Publication Type: Journal Article