Skip to main content

Fire Effects and Fire Ecology

Displaying 1 - 10 of 313

Mapping Delayed Canopy Loss and Durable Fire Refugia for the 2020 Wildfires in Washington State Using Multiple Sensors

Year of Publication
2025
Publication Type

Fire refugia are unburned and low severity patches within wildfires that contribute heterogeneity that is important to retaining biodiversity and regenerating forest following fire. With increasingly intense and frequent wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, fire refugia are important for re-establishing populations sensitive to fire and maintaining resilience to future disturbances.

Trees in Fire-Maintained Forests Have Similar Growth Responses to Drought, but Greater Stomatal Conductance Than Trees in Fire-Excluded Forests

Year of Publication
2025
Publication Type

In the western US, increased tree density in dry conifer forests from fire exclusion has caused tree growth declines, which is being compounded by hotter multi-year droughts. The reintroduction of frequent, low-severity wildfire reduces forest density by removing fire-intolerant trees, which can reduce competition for water and improve tree growth response to drought.

Mobile radar provides insights into hydrologic responses in burn areas

Year of Publication
2025
Publication Type

Background. Wildfires often occur in mountainous terrain, regions that pose substantial challenges to operational meteorological and hydrologic observing networks. Aims. A mobile, postfire hydrometeorological observatory comprising remote-sensing and in situ instrumentation was developed and deployed in a burnt area to provide unique insights into rainfall-induced post-fire hazards. Methods.

A cellular necrosis process model for estimating conifer crown scorch

Year of Publication
2025
Publication Type

Fire-caused tree mortality has major impacts on forest ecosystems. One primary cause of post-fire tree mortality in non-resprouting species is crown scorch, the percentage of foliage in a crown that is killed by heat. Despite its importance, the heat required to kill foliage is not well-understood.