Disturbance ecology

Ecological disturbance regimes across the globe are being altered via direct and indirect human influences. Biodiversity loss at multiple scales can be a direct outcome of these shifts.

In recent decades, wildfires in many areas of the United States (U.S.) have become larger and more frequent with increasing anthropogenic pressure, including interactions between climate, land-use change, and human ignitions. We aimed to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of contemporary fire characteristics across the contiguous United States (CONUS).

Land managers in the Pacific Northwest have reported a need for updated scientificinformation on the ecology and management of mixed-conifer forests east of theCascade Range in Oregon and Washington. Of particular concern are the moistmixed-conifer forests, which have become drought-stressed and vulnerable tohigh-severity fire after decades of human disturbances and climate warming.