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: 346
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
Effects of climate change on forest vegetation in the Northern Rockies Region Effects of climate change on forest vegetation in the Northern Rockies Region
The projected rapid changes in climate will affect the unique vegetation assemblages of the Northern Rockies region in myriad ways, both directly through shifts in vegetation growth, mortality, and regeneration, and indirectly through changes in disturbance regimes and interactions with changes in other ecosystem processes, such as hydrology, snow dynamics, and exotic invasions (Bonan...
Authors
Robert E. Keane, Mary Frances Mahalovich, Barry L. Bollenbacher, Mary E. Manning, Rachel A. Loehman, Terrie B. Jain, Lisa M. Holsinger, Andrew J. Larson, Meredith M. Webster
Effects of climate change on ecological disturbance in the Northern Rockies Region [Chapter 8] Effects of climate change on ecological disturbance in the Northern Rockies Region [Chapter 8]
This chapter describes the ecology of important disturbance regimes in the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USFS) Northern Region and the Greater Yellowstone Area, hereafter called the Northern Rockies region, and potential shifts in these regimes as a consequence of observed and projected climate change. The term disturbance regime describes the general temporal and...
Authors
Rachel A. Loehman, Barbara J. Bentz, Gregg A. DeNitto, Robert E. Keane, Mary E. Manning, Jacob P. Duncan, Joel M. Egan, Marcus B. Jackson, Sandra Kegley, I. Blakey Lockman, Dean E. Pearson, James A. Powell, Steve Shelly, Brytten E. Steed, Paul J. Zambino
Advancing dendrochronological studies of fire in the United States Advancing dendrochronological studies of fire in the United States
Dendroecology is the science that dates tree rings to their exact calendar year of formation to study processes that influence forest ecology (e.g., Speer 2010, Amoroso et al., 2017). Reconstruction of past fire regimes is a core application of dendroecology, linking fire history to population dynamics and climate effects on tree growth and survivorship. Since the early 20th century when
Authors
Grant L. Harley, Christopher H. Baisan, Peter M. Brown, Donald A. Falk, William T. Flatley, Henri D. Grissino-Mayer, Amy Hessl, Emily K. Heyerdahl, Margot W. Kaye, Charles W. Lafon, Ellis Q. Margolis, R. Stockton Maxwell, Adam T. Naito, William J. Platt, Monica T. Rother, Thomas Saladyga, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Lauren A. Stachowiak, Michael C. Stambaugh, Elaine Kennedy Sutherland, Alan H. Taylor
Drivers of chaparral plant diversity Drivers of chaparral plant diversity
Chaparral diversity has marked spatial and temporal variation. Evolutionary diversity at the genetic, specific, and lineage level contribute to a very diverse flora. Ecological diversity is evident in life histories that comprise a range of physiological and morphological strategies for dealing with drought, and demographic patterns centered around different seedling recruitment...
Authors
Jon E. Keeley
Postwildfire measurement of soil physical and hydraulic properties at selected sampling sites in the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burn scar, Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico Postwildfire measurement of soil physical and hydraulic properties at selected sampling sites in the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burn scar, Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico
The generation of runoff and the resultant flash flooding can be substantially larger following wildfire than for similar rainstorms that precede wildfire disturbance. Flash flooding after the 2011 Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico provided the motivation for this investigation to assess postwildfire effects on soil-hydraulic properties (SHPs) and soil-physical properties (SPPs) as a...
Authors
Orlando C. Romero, Brian A. Ebel, Deborah A. Martin, Katie W. Buchan, Alanna D. Jornigan