The relationship between people and wildfire has always been paradoxical: fire is an essential ecological process and management tool but can also be detrimental to life and property. Consequently, fire regimes have been modified throughout history through both intentional burning to promote benefits and active suppression to reduce risks.
Miguel Villarreal, PhD
Dr. Miguel Villarreal is a Research Geographer with the Western Geographic Science Center at Moffett Field, CA.
Wildfire at the Crossroads
Fire is an essential ecological process and management tool but can also be detrimental to life and property. Our findings provide a new depiction of fire regimes in the Sky Islands that can help inform fire management, restoration and regional conservation planning, fostered by local and traditional knowledge and collaboration among landowners and managers.
Remote Sensing of Biological Soil Crusts
Determining the spatial extent and condition of biocrusts across landscapes continues to present considerable challenges to scientists. Remote sensing offers promising opportunities to detect and characterize biocrust communities, differentiate among biocrust community types, and monitor changes in biocrust distribution across dryland landscapes globally.
Miguel’s research involves using earth observation systems and spatial analyses to better understand how disturbances such as wildfire, invasive species, and energy development affect ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human communities, and to provide land managers information to help reduce risk and facilitate recovery after a disturbance. His geographic focus is on water-limited (dryland) regions of the west, which are particularly sensitive to complex interactions between human land use, natural disturbances, and climate change.
Miguel’s current research projects include studies of wildfire and wildlife in the Sky Island region of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, monitoring the impacts and recovery of oil and gas and solar energy developments on the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Deserts, and mapping and monitoring biological soil crusts and invasive grasses across the western US. He works closely with federal agency partners (NPS, USFWS, BLM, USFS, DOD) to develop and implement research projects.
Current and recent research projects
- Remote Sensing for Resource Management, Project Chief (2015-Present)
- Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation (SWEDR), Co-Project Chief (2015-Present)
- Biological soil crust ecology and function from space, Co-Project Chief (2020-Present)
- Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative: Strategies to reduce fire risk and improve viewsheds along the U.S. southern border, Co-Investigator (2019-Present)
- Remote Sensing for Monitoring Riverside East Solar Development Focus Area (DFA) and for Desert Energy Transmission Corridors, Principal Investigator (2021-Present)
- Assessing change in forest density and fuel loads in the absence of fire (1941-2018) at Lassen Volcanic NP using historic aerial photos, Principal Investigator (2019-Present)
- Evaluating the response of California Delta riparian ecosystems to anthropogenic and climate stressors, Principal investigator (2019-2021)
- Detection and monitoring of fire-prone early season invasive grasses in the Southwest, Co-investigator (2020-2021)
- Wildfire probability mapping based on regional soil moisture models. Co-investigator, (2020-2022)
- Assessing Vulnerability to Drought in Dryland Ecosystems of the Western U.S. Co-investigator, (2016-2018)
Professional Experience
2011-Present: Research Geographer, U.S. Geological Survey
2011-2013: Mendenhall Fellow, U.S. Geological Survey
2009-2011: Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona
2006-2009: Research Associate, Arizona Remote Sensing Center, University of Arizona
2001- 2005: Research Associate, Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Arizona
B.A. from the University of California, Davis
Science and Products
Impacts of Anthropogenic Land Cover Changes on Wildlife Bioenergetics and Landscape Connectivity
Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR)
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses -- Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
6th Federal UxS Workshop
Characterizing high-resolution soil burn severity, erosion risk, and recovery using Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS)
Assessing Vulnerability of Vegetation and Wildlife Communities to Post-Fire Transformations to Guide Management of Southwestern Pine Forests and Woodlands
Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative
Remote Sensing of Biological Soil Crusts
Soil Compaction and Erosion
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses
Remote Sensing of Energy Development
Remote Sensing and Dryland Management
Spatial data of oil and gas pads and access roads on the Colorado Plateau, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico
Datasets of historical aerial photograph orthomosaics of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (1941, 1952, 1966, 1973, 1998 and 2004)
Spatial data of California riparian vegetation productivity trends over time (2000-2020) and environmental covariates
Geodatabase of oil and gas pads and roads within the Bureau of Land Management's Carlsbad Field Office administrative boundary, New Mexico
Maps of early season invasive grasses and hot spots in the Mojave Ecoregion from 2009-2020
Maps of cumulative energy expenditure models for jaguar in southern Arizona
Maps of mule deer avoidance areas based on density of oil and gas developments, Book Cliffs, Utah
Annual (1986-2020) land-use/land cover maps of the Santa Cruz Watershed and Tucson metropolitan area, Arizona
Predicted biomass of fine fuel for Altar Valley, Arizona, 2021
Pine species distribution maps of the Madrean Sky Islands, United States and Mexico
Burn probability models calibrated using past human and lightning ignition patterns in the Madrean Sky Islands, Arizona
Mapped fire perimeters from the Sky Island Mountains of US and Mexico: 1985-2017
The relationship between people and wildfire has always been paradoxical: fire is an essential ecological process and management tool but can also be detrimental to life and property. Consequently, fire regimes have been modified throughout history through both intentional burning to promote benefits and active suppression to reduce risks.
Dryland soil recovery after disturbance across soil and climate gradients of the Colorado Plateau
An open-source workflow for scaling burn severity metrics from drone to satellite to support post-fire watershed management
Time, climate, and soil settings set the course for reclamation outcomes following dryland energy development
Resilience of riparian vegetation productivity to early 21st century drought in northern California, USA
Biophysical factors control invasive annual grass hot spots in the Mojave Desert
Thermography captures the differential sensitivity of dryland functional types to changes in rainfall event timing and magnitude
Connecting dryland fine-fuel assessments to wildfire exposure and natural resource values at risk
Spatial models of jaguar energy expenditure in response to border wall construction and remediation
Conflict of energies: Spatially modeling mule deer caloric expenditure in response to oil and gas development
The North American tree-ring fire-scar network
Climate refugia for Pinus spp. in topographic and bioclimatic environments of the Madrean sky islands of México and the United States
Wildfire probability models calibrated using past human and lightning ignition patterns can inform mitigation of post-fire hydrologic hazards
Science and Products
Impacts of Anthropogenic Land Cover Changes on Wildlife Bioenergetics and Landscape Connectivity
Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR)
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses -- Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
6th Federal UxS Workshop
Characterizing high-resolution soil burn severity, erosion risk, and recovery using Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS)
Assessing Vulnerability of Vegetation and Wildlife Communities to Post-Fire Transformations to Guide Management of Southwestern Pine Forests and Woodlands
Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative
Remote Sensing of Biological Soil Crusts
Soil Compaction and Erosion
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses
Remote Sensing of Energy Development
Remote Sensing and Dryland Management
Spatial data of oil and gas pads and access roads on the Colorado Plateau, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico
Datasets of historical aerial photograph orthomosaics of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (1941, 1952, 1966, 1973, 1998 and 2004)
Spatial data of California riparian vegetation productivity trends over time (2000-2020) and environmental covariates
Geodatabase of oil and gas pads and roads within the Bureau of Land Management's Carlsbad Field Office administrative boundary, New Mexico
Maps of early season invasive grasses and hot spots in the Mojave Ecoregion from 2009-2020
Maps of cumulative energy expenditure models for jaguar in southern Arizona
Maps of mule deer avoidance areas based on density of oil and gas developments, Book Cliffs, Utah
Annual (1986-2020) land-use/land cover maps of the Santa Cruz Watershed and Tucson metropolitan area, Arizona
Predicted biomass of fine fuel for Altar Valley, Arizona, 2021
Pine species distribution maps of the Madrean Sky Islands, United States and Mexico
Burn probability models calibrated using past human and lightning ignition patterns in the Madrean Sky Islands, Arizona
Mapped fire perimeters from the Sky Island Mountains of US and Mexico: 1985-2017
The relationship between people and wildfire has always been paradoxical: fire is an essential ecological process and management tool but can also be detrimental to life and property. Consequently, fire regimes have been modified throughout history through both intentional burning to promote benefits and active suppression to reduce risks.
The relationship between people and wildfire has always been paradoxical: fire is an essential ecological process and management tool but can also be detrimental to life and property. Consequently, fire regimes have been modified throughout history through both intentional burning to promote benefits and active suppression to reduce risks.
Dryland soil recovery after disturbance across soil and climate gradients of the Colorado Plateau
An open-source workflow for scaling burn severity metrics from drone to satellite to support post-fire watershed management
Time, climate, and soil settings set the course for reclamation outcomes following dryland energy development
Resilience of riparian vegetation productivity to early 21st century drought in northern California, USA
Biophysical factors control invasive annual grass hot spots in the Mojave Desert
Thermography captures the differential sensitivity of dryland functional types to changes in rainfall event timing and magnitude
Connecting dryland fine-fuel assessments to wildfire exposure and natural resource values at risk
Spatial models of jaguar energy expenditure in response to border wall construction and remediation
Conflict of energies: Spatially modeling mule deer caloric expenditure in response to oil and gas development
The North American tree-ring fire-scar network
Climate refugia for Pinus spp. in topographic and bioclimatic environments of the Madrean sky islands of México and the United States
Wildfire probability models calibrated using past human and lightning ignition patterns can inform mitigation of post-fire hydrologic hazards