Craig D Allen, Ph.D. (Former Employee)
Science and Products
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.Adaptive management of social-ecological systems: The path forward
Adaptive management remains at the forefront of environmental management nearly 40 years after its original conception, largely because we have yet to develop other methodologies that offer the same promise. Despite the criticisms of adaptive management and the numerous failed attempts to implement it, adaptive management has yet to be replaced...
Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Allen, Craig D.; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Allen, Craig R.Patterns and causes of observed piñon pine mortality in the southwestern United States
Recently, widespread piñon pine die-off occurred in the southwestern United States. Here we synthesize observational studies of this event and compare findings to expected relationships with biotic and abiotic factors. Agreement exists on the occurrence of drought, presence of bark beetles and increased mortality of larger trees. However,...
Meddens, Arjan J.H.; Hicke, Jeff H.; Macalady, Alison K.; Buotte, P.C.; Cowles, T.R.; Allen, Craig D.Unsupported inferences of high-severity fire in historical dry forests of the western United States: Response to Williams and Baker
Reconstructions of dry western US forests in the late 19th century in Arizona, Colorado and Oregon based on General Land Office records were used by Williams & Baker (2012; Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21, 1042–1052; hereafter W&B) to infer past fire regimes with substantial moderate and high-severity burning. The authors concluded...
Fulé, Peter Z.; Swetnam, Thomas W.; Brown, Peter M.; Falk, Donald A.; Peterson, David L.; Allen, Craig D.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Binkley, Dan; Farris, Calvin; Keane, Robert E.; Margolis, Ellis Q.; Grissino-Mayer, Henri; Miller, Carol; Sieg, Carolyn Hull; Skinner, Carl; Stephens, Scott L.; Taylor, AlanForest ecosystem re-organization underway in the southwestern US: A preview of widespread forest changes in the anthropocene?
No abstract available.
Allen, Craig D.Forest ecosystem reorganization underway in the Southwestern US: A preview of widespread forest changes in the Anthropocene
No abstract available.
Sample, V. Alaric; Bixler, R. Patrick; Allen, Craig D.Post-fire wood management alters water stress, growth, and performance of pine regeneration in a Mediterranean ecosystem
Extensive research has focused on comparing the impacts of post-fire salvage logging versus those of less aggressive management practices on forest regeneration. However, few studies have addressed the effects of different burnt-wood management options on seedling/sapling performance, or the ecophysiological mechanisms underlying differences...
Maranon-Jimenez, Sara; Castro, Jorge; Querejeta, José Ignacio; Fernandez-Ondono, Emilia; Allen, Craig D.An integrated model of environmental effects on growth, carbohydrate balance, and mortality of Pinus ponderosa forests in the southern Rocky Mountains
Climate-induced tree mortality is an increasing concern for forest managers around the world. We used a coupled hydrologic and ecosystem carbon cycling model to assess temperature and precipitation impacts on productivity and survival of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Model predictions were evaluated using observations of productivity and...
Tague, Christina L.; McDowell, Nathan G.; Allen, Craig D.Projected future changes in vegetation in western North America in the 21st century
Rapid and broad-scale forest mortality associated with recent droughts, rising temperature, and insect outbreaks has been observed over western North America (NA). Climate models project additional future warming and increasing drought and water stress for this region. To assess future potential changes in vegetation distributions in western NA,...
Xiaoyan, Jiang; Rauscher, Sara A.; Ringler, Todd D.; Lawrence, David M.; Williams, A. Park; Allen, Craig D.; Steiner, Allison L.; Cai, D. Michael; McDowell, Nate G.Key landscape ecology metrics for assessing climate change adaptation options: Rate of change and patchiness of impacts
Under a changing climate, devising strategies to help stakeholders adapt to alterations to ecosystems and their services is of utmost importance. In western North America, diminished snowpack and river flows are causing relatively gradual, homogeneous (system-wide) changes in ecosystems and services. In addition, increased climate variability is...
López-Hoffman, Laura; Breshears, David D.; Allen, Craig D.; Miller, Marc L.Fort Collins Science Center Ecosystem Dynamics branch--interdisciplinary research for addressing complex natural resource issues across landscapes and time
The Ecosystem Dynamics Branch of the Fort Collins Science Center offers an interdisciplinary team of talented and creative scientists with expertise in biology, botany, ecology, geology, biogeochemistry, physical sciences, geographic information systems, and remote-sensing, for tackling complex questions about natural resources. As demand for...
Bowen, Zachary H.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Wilson, Juliette T.The Malthusian-Darwinian dynamic and the trajectory of civilization
Two interacting forces influence all populations: the Malthusian dynamic of exponential growth until resource limits are reached, and the Darwinian dynamic of innovation and adaptation to circumvent these limits through biological and/or cultural evolution. The specific manifestations of these forces in modern human society provide an important...
Nekola, Jeffrey C.; Allen, Craig D.; Brown, James H.; Burger, Joseph R.; Davidson, Ana D.; Fristoe, Trevor S.; Hamilton, Marcus J.; Hammond, Sean T.; Kodric-Brown, Astrid; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Okie, Jordan G.