Delivering the North American tree-ring fire history network through a web application and an R package Active

Wildfires are increasing across the western U.S., causing damage to ecosystems and communities. Addressing the fire problem requires understanding the trends and drivers of fire, yet most fire data is limited only to recent decades. Tree-ring fire scars provide fire records spanning 300-500 years, yet these data are largely inaccessible to potential users. Our project will deliver the newly compiled North American Fire Scar Network — 2,592 sites, 35,602 trees, and > 300,000 fire records — to fire scientists, managers and the public through an online application that will provide tools to explore, visualize, and analyze fire history data. The app will provide raw and derived data products, graphics, statistical summaries, and code, making the tools accessible to a range of stakeholders. These tools will vastly improve current resources and empower large-scale predictive science, innovative analyses, and integrated approaches to fire science.



Principal Investigator : Ellis Q Margolis

Co-Investigator : Christopher Guiterman, Michael Crimmins