Changes in the landscape of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
Allen, C.D. 1989. Changes in the landscape of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico [Ph.D. Dissertation]. Berkeley, CA: University of California. 346 p.
Craig D Allen, Ph.D.
Biography
Craig D. Allen is a research ecologist with the USGS Fort Collins Science Center, and is Station Leader of the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station (formerly the Jemez Mountains Field Station) based at Bandelier National Monument in northern New Mexico, where he has worked as a place-based ecologist with the U.S. Dept. of Interior since 1986. Craig conducts research on the ecology and environmental history of Southwestern landscapes, and the responses of Western mountain ecosystems and forests globally to climate change; he also provides technical support in the areas of ecosystem management and restoration to diverse land management agencies in the region. He is a core principal investigator of the USGS Western Mountain Initiative, an integration of research programs that study global change in mountain ecosystems across the western United States (see WesternMountains.org), with extensive international collaborations. Recent and ongoing research activities, involving many colleagues and collaborators, include: integrated understanding of climate-induced tree mortality and forest die-off, including determination of global patterns and trends; development of ecological and fire histories in the southwest U.S.; ecological effects of recent fires on southwestern landscapes; ecological restoration of southwestern forests and woodlands; and developing long-term ecological monitoring networks across landscape gradients in the Jemez Mountains.
Education
- Ph.D. Forest and Landscape Ecology, Wildland Resource Science Program, University of California, Berkeley, 1989
- M.S. Biogeography, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1984
- Organization for Tropical Studies 6-week tropical biology field course OTS 83-1, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 1983
- B.S. Geography, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1980
Selected Professional Experience
- 1993-present: USGS Research Ecologist and Station Leader, USGS Jemez Mountains Field Station, based at Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. Associate faculty member at multiple universities.
- 2001-2003: Acting Preserve Scientist, at then-newly-established Valles Caldera National Preserve, NM. Initiated diverse long-term ecological inventory, monitoring, and research efforts.
- 1989-1993: Ecologist, Bandelier National Monument, NM. Initiated a variety of long-term ecological monitoring & research.
Affiliations
Associate faculty member at multiple universities for varying time periods, including: University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, University of New Mexico, Colorado State University, Texas Tech University.
Selected Links to Interesting Media Articles featuring Craig D. Allen
- As Fires Grow, a New Landscape Appears in the West - 2015, article in the New York Times
- The Bug That’s Eating the Woods--A warming climate allowed pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) to ravage the West - 2015, article in National Geographic
- The Tree Coroners: To Save the West’s Forests, Scientists Must First Learn How Trees Die, 2013, article in High Country News
- National Public Radio 4-part in-depth special science report, 2012, National Public Radio shows with photos
- Tree Death, 2012, “Catalyst," an Australia Broadcasting Corporation public television science documentary
- Forest fires: Burn out, 2012, News report in the journal Nature on climate and high-severity fire in the U.S. Southwest
- Earth on Fire, June 2014, Australia Braodcasting Corporation public television "Catalyst" science documentary
Featured Article
Seeing the Forest and the Trees
Science and Products
Date published: September 23, 2016
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station is a place-based, globally-connected, ecological research group that studies and interprets ecosystem and wildlife dynamics, working with land managers and community leaders to deliver solutions that foster the linked health of human and natural systems.
Our partnerships, and co-location, with land management agencies provide us with opportunities...
Contacts: Craig D Allen, Ph.D., Ernie Valdez, Ph.D., Ellis Margolis, Ph.D., Collin Haffey, Kay Beeley, Lane Johnson
Date published: September 22, 2016
The Western Mountain Initiative (WMI)
Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) is a long-term collaboration between FORT, WERC, NOROCK, USFS, NPS, LANL, and universities worldwide to address changes in montane forests and watersheds due to climate change. Current emphases include altered forest disturbance regimes (fire, die-off, insect outbreaks) and hydrology; interactions between plants, water, snow, nutrient cycles, and climate; and...
Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Date published: September 21, 2016
Tree Mortality Patterns and Processes
Natural climatic variability, including episodic droughts, has long been known to trigger accelerated tree mortality in forests worldwide, including in the Southwest U.S. Scientific understanding of the process drivers and spatial patterns of tree mortality is surprisingly limited, constraining our ability to model forest responses to projected climate changes. The onset of regional drought...
Contacts: Craig D Allen, Ph.D.
Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Date published: September 21, 2016
Long-term, Place-based, Ecological Monitoring
For over 30 years we have monitored the ecosystem dynamics of the mesas and mountains of northern New Mexico, based at Bandelier National Monument and the New Mexico state office for the Bureau of Land Management. Our work provides land managers and scientists with diverse information on landscape responses to climate and disturbances (fire, drought, insects) such as vegetation and erosion...
Contacts: Craig D Allen, Ph.D.
Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Date published: September 20, 2016
Post-fire Recovery Patterns in Southwestern Forests
High-severity crown fires in Southwestern dry-conifer forests — resulting from fire suppression, fuel buildups, and drought — are creating large treeless areas that are historically unprecedented in size. These recent stand-replacing fires have reset extensive portions of Southwest forest landscapes, fostering post-fire successional vegetation that can alter ecological recovery trajectories...
Contacts: Collin Haffey
Date published: August 1, 2013
Seeing the Forest and the Trees
The recent recipient of two major awards, Craig D. Allen, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center, has loved trees since childhood. He is now considered an expert of world renown on the twin phenomena of forest changes and tree mortality resulting from climate warming and drought, and in 2010 was twice recognized for his scientific contributions....
Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2018
Research frontiers for improving our understanding of drought‐induced tree and forest mortality
Accumulating evidence highlights increased mortality risks for trees during severe drought, particularly under warmer temperatures and increasing vapour pressure deficit (VPD). Resulting forest die‐off events have severe consequences for ecosystem services, biophysical and biogeochemical land–atmosphere processes. Despite advances in monitoring,...
Hartmann, Henrik; Moura, Catarina; Anderegg, William R. L.; Ruehr, Nadine; Salmon, Yann; Allen, Craig D.; Arndt, Stefan K.; Breshears, David D.; Davi, Hendrik; Galbraith, David; Ruthrof, Katinka X.; Wunder, Jan; Adams, Henry D.; Bloemen, Jasper; Cailleret, Maxime; Cobb, Richard; Gessler, Arthur; Grams, Thorsten E. E.; Jansen, Steven; Kautz, Markus; Lloret, Francisco; O’Brien, MichaelAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center
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Hartmann, H., W.R.L. Anderegg, C.F. Moura, N.K. Ruehr, Y. Salmon, C.D. Allen, S. Arndt, D.D. Breshears, H.Davi, D. Galbraith, K.S. Ruthroff, J. Wunder, H. Adams, J. Bloemer, M. Cailleret, R. Cobb, A. Gessler, T. Grams, S Jansen, F. Lloret, M. O’Brien. 2018 (accepted.) Research frontiers for improving our understanding of drought-induced tree and forest mortality. New Phytologist. IP-079836.
Year Published: 2017
Long-term persistence and fire resilience of oak shrubfields in dry conifer forests of northern New Mexico
Extensive high-severity fires are creating large shrubfields in many dry conifer forests of the interior western USA, raising concerns about forest-to-shrub conversion. This study evaluates the role of disturbance in shrubfield formation, maintenance and succession in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. We compared the environmental conditions of...
Guiterman, Christopher H.; Margolis, Ellis; Allen, Craig D.; Falk, Donald A.; Swetnam, Thomas W.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
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Guiterman, C.H., Margolis, E.Q., Allen, C.D., Falk, D.A., and T.W. Swetnam. Ecosystems (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-017-0192-2
Year Published: 2017
Structural overshoot of tree growth with climate variability and the global spectrum of drought-induced forest dieback
Ongoing climate change poses significant threats to plant function and distribution. Increased temperatures and altered precipitation regimes amplify drought frequency and intensity, elevating plant stress and mortality. Large-scale forest mortality events will have far-reaching impacts on carbon and hydrological cycling, biodiversity, and...
Jump, Alistair S.; Ruiz-Benito, Paloma; Greenwood, Sarah; Allen, Craig D.; Kitzberger, Thomas; Fensham, Rod; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Lloret, FranciscoAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center
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Jump, A.S., P. Ruiz-Benito, S. Greenwood, C.D. Allen, T. Kitzberger, R. Fensham, J. Martinez-Vilalta, F. Lloret. 2017. Structural overshoot of tree growth with climate variability and the global spectrum of drought-induced forest dieback. Global Change Biology. doi:10.1111/gcb.13636.
Year Published: 2017
A multi-species synthesis of physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality
Widespread tree mortality associated with drought has been observed on all forested continents and global change is expected to exacerbate vegetation vulnerability. Forest mortality has implications for future biosphere–atmosphere interactions of carbon, water and energy balance, and is poorly represented in dynamic vegetation models. Reducing...
Adams, Henry D.; Zeppel, Melanie; Anderegg, William R.L.; Hartmann, Henrik; Landhäusser, Simon M.; Tissue, David T.; Huxman, Travis E.; Hudson, Patrick J.; Franz, Trenton E.; Allen, Craig D.; Anderegg, Leander D. L.; Barron-Gafford, Greg A.; Beerling, David; Breshears, David D.; Brodribb, Timothy J.; Bugmann, Harald; Cobb, Richard C.; Collins, Adam D.; Dickman, L. Turin; Duan, Honglang; Ewers, Brent E.; Galiano, Lucia; Galvez, David A.; Garcia-Forner, Núria; Gaylord, Monica L.; Germino, Matthew J.; Gessler, Arthur; Hacke, Uwe G.; Hakamada, Rodrigo; Hector, Andy; Jenkins, Michael W.; Kane, Jeffrey M.; Kolb, Thomas E.; Law, Darin J.; Lewis, James D.; Limousin, Jean-Marc; Love, David; Macalady, Alison K.; Martinez-Vilalta, Jordi; Mencuccini, Maurizio; Mitchell, Patrick J.; Muss, Jordan D.; O'Brien, Michael J.; O'Grady, Anthony P.; Pangle, Robert E.; Pinkard, Elizabeth A.; Piper, Frida I.; Plaut, Jennifer; Pockman, William T.; Quirk, Joe; Reinhardt, Keith; Ripullone, Francesco; Ryan, Michael G.; Sala, Anna; Sevanto, Sanna; Sperry, John S.; Vargas, Rodrigo; Vennetier, Michel; Way, Danielle A.; Wu, Chonggang; Yepez, Enrico A.; McDowell, Nate G.Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
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Adams, H.D., Zeppel, M.J.B., Anderegg, W.R.L. et al. (59 more authors) (2017) A multi-species synthesis of physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality. Nature Ecology and Evolution. (In Press)
Year Published: 2017
Tree mortality across biomes is promoted by drought intensity, lower wood density and higher specific leaf area
Drought events are increasing globally, and reports of consequent forest mortality are widespread. However, due to a lack of a quantitative global synthesis, it is still not clear whether drought-induced mortality rates differ among global biomes and whether functional traits influence the risk of drought-induced mortality. To address these...
Greenwood, Sarah; Ruiz-Benito, Paloma; Martinez-Vilalta, Jordi; Lloret, Francisco; Kitzberger, Thomas; Allen, Craig D.; Fensham, Rod; Laughlin, Daniel C.; Kattge, Jens; Bönisch, Gerhard; Kraft, Nathan J. B.; Jump, Alistair S.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
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Greenwood, S., Ruiz-Benito, P., Martínez-Vilalta, J., Lloret, F., Kitzberger, T., Allen, C.D., Fensham, R., Laughlin, D.C., Kattge, J., Bönisch, G., Kraft, N.J.B., and Jump, A.S., 2017, Tree mortality across biomes is promoted by drought intensity, lower wood density and higher specific leaf area (J. Chave, Ed.): Ecology Letters, v. 20, no. 4, p. 539–553.
Year Published: 2016
Multiscale perspectives of fire, climate and humans in western North America and the Jemez Mountains, USA
Interannual climate variations have been important drivers of wildfire occurrence in ponderosa pine forests across western North America for at least 400 years, but at finer scales of mountain ranges and landscapes human land uses sometimes over-rode climate influences. We reconstruct and analyse effects of high human population densities in...
Swetnam, Thomas W.; Farella, Joshua; Roos, Christopher I.; Liebmann, Matthew J.; Falk, Donald A.; Allen, Craig D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2016
Changing disturbance regimes, ecological memory, and forest resilience
Ecological memory is central to how ecosystems respond to disturbance and is maintained by two types of legacies – information and material. Species life-history traits represent an adaptive response to disturbance and are an information legacy; in contrast, the abiotic and biotic structures (such as seeds or nutrients) produced by single...
Johnstone, Jill F.; Allen, Craig D.; Franklin, Jerry F.; Frelich, Lee E.; Harvey, Brian J.; Higuera, Philip E.; Mack, Michelle C.; Meentemeyer, Ross K.; Metz, Margaret R.; Perry, George LW; Schoennagel, Tania; Turner, Monica G.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2016
Multi-scale predictions of massive conifer mortality due to chronic temperature rise
Global temperature rise and extremes accompanying drought threaten forests and their associated climatic feedbacks. Our ability to accurately simulate drought-induced forest impacts remains highly uncertain in part owing to our failure to integrate physiological measurements, regional-scale models, and dynamic global vegetation...
McDowell, Nathan G.; Williams, A.P.; Xu, C.; Pockman, W. T.; Dickman, L. T.; Sevanto, Sanna; Pangle, R.; Limousin, J.; Plaut, J.J.; Mackay, D.S.; Ogee, J.; Domec, Jean-Christophe; Allen, Craig D.; Fisher, Rosie A.; Jiang, X.; Muss, J.D.; Breshears, D.D.; Rauscher, Sara A.; Koven, C.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2015
Larger trees suffer most during drought in forests worldwide
The frequency of severe droughts is increasing in many regions around the world as a result of climate change. Droughts alter the structure and function of forests. Site- and region-specific studies suggest that large trees, which play keystone roles in forests and can be disproportionately important to ecosystem carbon storage and...
Bennett, Amy C.; McDowell, Nathan G.; Allen, Craig D.; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2015
Tree mortality from drought, insects, and their interactions in a changing climate
Climate change is expected to drive increased tree mortality through drought, heat stress, and insect attacks, with manifold impacts on forest ecosystems. Yet, climate-induced tree mortality and biotic disturbance agents are largely absent from process-based ecosystem models. Using data sets from the western USA and associated studies, we present...
Anderegg, William R.L.; Hicke, Jeffrey A.; Fisher, Rosie A.; Allen, Craig D.; Aukema, Juliann E.; Bentz, Barbara; Hood, Sharon; Lichstein, Jeremy W.; Macalady, Alison K.; McDowell, Nate G.; Pan, Yude; Raffa, Kenneth; Sala, Anna; Shaw, John D.; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Tague, Christina L.; Zeppel, MelanieView Citation
Anderegg, WRL, JA Hicke, RA Fisher, CD Allen, J Aukema, B Bentz, S Hood, JW Lichstein, AK Macalady, N McDowell, Y Pan, K Raffa, A Sala, JD Shaw, NL Stephenson, C Tague, M Zeppel. 2015. Tree mortality from drought, insects, and their interactions in a changing climate. New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.13477
Year Published: 2015
On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree mortality and forest die-off from hotter drought in the Anthropocene
Patterns, mechanisms, projections, and consequences of tree mortality and associated broad-scale forest die-off due to drought accompanied by warmer temperatures—“hotter drought”, an emerging characteristic of the Anthropocene—are the focus of rapidly expanding literature. Despite recent observational, experimental, and...
Allen, Craig D.; Breshears, David D.; McDowell, Nathan G.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2015
Darcy’s law predicts widespread forest mortality under climate warming
Drought and heat-induced tree mortality is accelerating in many forest biomes as a consequence of a warming climate, resulting in a threat to global forests unlike any in recorded history. Forests store the majority of terrestrial carbon, thus their loss may have significant and sustained impacts on the global carbon cycle. We use a hydraulic...
McDowell, Nate G.; Allen, Craig D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
View Citation
McDowell, N.G. and C.D. Allen. 2015. Darcy’s law predicts widespread forest mortality under climate warming. Nature Climate Change. doi: 10.1038/nclimate2641
Pre-USGS Publications
Montane Grasslands in the Landscape of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
Allen, C.D. 1984. Montane Grasslands in the Landscape of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. M.S. thesis, Dept. of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 195 pp.