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Publications

The USGS fire science mission is to produce and deliver the best available scientific information, tools, and products to support land and emergency management by individuals and organizations at all levels. Below are USGS publications associated with our fire science portfolio. 

Filter Total Items: 327

Fire and invasive plants Fire and invasive plants

No abstract available.
Authors
Robert C. Klinger, Matthew L. Brooks, John M. Randall

Long-term effects of fire and harvest on carbon stocks of boreal forests in northeastern China Long-term effects of fire and harvest on carbon stocks of boreal forests in northeastern China

Context Boreal forests represent about one third of forest area and one third of forest carbon stocks on the Earth. Carbon stocks of boreal forests are sensitive to climate change, natural disturbances, and human activities. Aims The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of fire, harvest, and their spatial interactions on boreal forest carbon stocks of northeastern China...
Authors
Chao Huang, Hong S. He, Yu Liang, Zhiwei Wu, Todd Hawbaker, Peng Gong, Zhiliang Zhu

burnr: Fire history analysis and graphics in R burnr: Fire history analysis and graphics in R

We developed a new software package, burnr, for fire history analysis and plotting in the Rstatistical programming environment. It was developed for tree-ring fire-scar analysis, but is broadly applicable to other event analyses (e.g., avalanches, frost rings, or culturally modified trees). Our new package can read, write, and manipulate standard tree-ring fire history FHX files, produce...
Authors
Steven B. Malevich, Christopher H. Guiterman, Ellis Margolis

Wildland–urban interface residents’ relationships with wildfire: Variation within and across communities Wildland–urban interface residents’ relationships with wildfire: Variation within and across communities

Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent of such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities and hierarchical modeling. We find substantial variation across...
Authors
James Meldrum, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Lilia C. Falk, Pamela Wilson, Christopher M. Barth

Remote sensing analysis of vegetation at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona and surrounding area Remote sensing analysis of vegetation at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona and surrounding area

Mapping of vegetation types is of great importance to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and their management of forestry and fire fuels. Various remote sensing techniques were applied to classify multitemporal Landsat 8 satellite data, vegetation index, and digital elevation model data. A multitiered unsupervised classification generated over 900 classes that were then recoded to one of the 16
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Barry R. Middleton, Natalie R. Wilson

Post-fire redistribution of soil carbon and nitrogen at a grassland-shrubland ecotone Post-fire redistribution of soil carbon and nitrogen at a grassland-shrubland ecotone

The rapid conversion of grasslands into shrublands has been observed in many arid and semiarid regions worldwide. Studies have shown that fire can provide certain forms of reversibility for shrub-grass transition due to resource homogenization and shrub mortality, especially in the early stages of shrub encroachment. Field-level post-fire soil resource redistribution has rarely been...
Authors
Guan Wang, Junran Li, Sujith Ravi, David Dukes, Howell B. Gonzales, Joel B. Sankey

The role of environmental driving factors in historical and projected carbon dynamics of wetland ecosystems in Alaska The role of environmental driving factors in historical and projected carbon dynamics of wetland ecosystems in Alaska

Wetlands are critical terrestrial ecosystems in Alaska, covering ~177,000 km2, an area greater than all the wetlands in the remainder of the United States. To assess the relative influence of changing climate, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, and fire regime on carbon balance in wetland ecosystems of Alaska, a modeling framework that incorporates a fire disturbance model...
Authors
Zhou Lyu, Helene Genet, Yujie He, Qianlai Zhuang, A. David McGuire, Alec Bennett, Amy Breen, Joy Clein, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Kristofer Johnson, Tom Kurkowski, Neal J. Pastick, T. Scott Rupp, Bruce K. Wylie, Zhiliang Zhu

A tale of two wildfires; testing detection and prediction of invasive species distributions using models fit with topographic and spectral indices A tale of two wildfires; testing detection and prediction of invasive species distributions using models fit with topographic and spectral indices

Context Developing species distribution models (SDMs) to detect invasive species cover and evaluate habitat suitability are high priorities for land managers. Objectives We tested SDMs fit with different variable combinations to provide guidelines for future invasive species model development based on transferability between landscapes. Methods Generalized linear model, boosted...
Authors
Amanda M. West, Paul H. Evangelista, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Darin Shulte

Integrating forest inventory data and MODIS data to map species-level biomass in Chinese boreal forests Integrating forest inventory data and MODIS data to map species-level biomass in Chinese boreal forests

Timely and accurate knowledge of species-level biomass is essential for forest managers to sustain forest resources and respond to various forest disturbance regimes. In this study, maps of species-level biomass in Chinese boreal forests were generated by integrating Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images with forest inventory data using k nearest neighbor (kNN)...
Authors
Qinglong Zhang, Hong S. He, Yu Liang, Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Jinxun Liu, Shengli Huang, Zhiwei Wu, Chao Huang

Atmospheric and surface climate associated with 1986–2013 wildfires in North America Atmospheric and surface climate associated with 1986–2013 wildfires in North America

We analyze climate simulations conducted with the RegCM3 regional climate model on 50‐ and 15‐km model grids to diagnose the dependence of wildfire incidence and area burned variations on monthly climate long‐term means and anomalies over North America for the period 1986–2013. We created a new wildfire database by merging the Fire Program Analysis Fire‐Occurrence Database, the National
Authors
Steven W. Hostetler, Patrick J. Bartlein, Jay R. Alder

Discharge, sediment, and water chemistry in Clear Creek, western Nevada, water years 2013–16 Discharge, sediment, and water chemistry in Clear Creek, western Nevada, water years 2013–16

Clear Creek is a small stream that drains the eastern Carson Range near Lake Tahoe, flows roughly parallel to the Highway 50 corridor, and discharges to the Carson River near Carson City, Nevada. Historical and ongoing development in the drainage basin is thought to be affecting Clear Creek and its sediment-transport characteristics. Previous studies from water years (WYs) 2004 to 2007...
Authors
Jena M. Huntington, Daniel J. Riddle, Angela P. Paul

Thinning, tree-growth, and resistance to multi-year drought in a mixed-conifer forest of northern California Thinning, tree-growth, and resistance to multi-year drought in a mixed-conifer forest of northern California

Drought is an important stressor in forest ecosystems that can influence tree vigor and survival. In the U.S., forest managers use two primary management techniques to promote resistance and resilience to drought: prescribed fire and mechanical thinning. Generally applied to reduce fuels and fire hazard, treatments may also reduce competition for resources that may improve tree-growth...
Authors
Michael J. Vernon, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Jeffrey M. Kane
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