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
Year Published: 2007
Cascading events in linked ecological and socioeconomic systems
Cascading events that start at small spatial scales and propagate non-linearly through time to influence larger areas often have major impacts on ecosystem goods and services. Events such as wildfires and hurricanes are increasing in frequency and magnitude as systems become more connected through globalization processes. We need to improve our...
Peters, Debra P.C.; Sala, O.E.; Allen, Craig D.; Covich, A.; Brunson, M.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
View Citation
Cascading events in linked ecological and socioeconomic systems; 2007; Conference Paper; Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment; Peters, D. P. C.; Sala, O. E.; Allen, C. D.; Covich, A.; Brunson, M.
Year Published: 2007
Climate change and disturbance interactions: Workshop on climate change and disturbance interactions in western North America, Tucson, Ariz., 12-15 February 2007
Warming temperatures across western North America, coupled with increased drought, are expected to exacerbate disturbance regimes, particularly wildfires, insect outbreaks, and invasions of exotic species. Many ecologists and resource managers expect ecosystems to change more rapidly from disturbance effects than from the effects of a changing...
McKenzie, Don; Allen, Craig D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2007
Climate-induced forest dieback as an emergent global phenomenon: Organized oral session at the Ecological Society of America/Society of Ecological Restoration Joint Meeting; San Jose, California, 5-10 August 2007
An organized oral session at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in San Jose, Calif., posed this question: Is climate-induced drought stress triggering increasing rates and unusual patterns of forest die-off at a global scale? Twenty-nine researchers representing five continents reported on patterns, mechanisms, and projections...
Allen, Craig D.; Breshears, David D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
View Citation
Climate-induced forest dieback as an emergent global phenomenon; 2007; Conference Paper; Eos; Allen, C. D.; Breshears, D. D.
Year Published: 2007
Historical and modern disturbance regimes of pinyon-juniper vegetation in the western U.S
No abstract available.
Romme, William H.; Allen, Craig D.; Bailey, J.; Baker, W.; Bestelmeyer, Brandon T.; Brown, P.; Eisenhart, K.; Huffman, D.; Floyd-Hanna, Lisa; Jacobs, B.; Miller, R.; Muldavin, Esteban; Swetnam, Thomas W.; Tausch, R.; Weisberg, P.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2007
Interactions across spatial scales among forest dieback, fire, and erosion in northern New Mexico landscapes
Ecosystem patterns and disturbance processes at one spatial scale often interact with processes at another scale, and the result of such cross-scale interactions can be nonlinear dynamics with thresholds. Examples of cross-scale pattern-process relationships and interactions among forest dieback, fire, and erosion are illustrated from northern New...
Allen, Craig D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
View Citation
Interactions across spatial scales among forest dieback, fire, and erosion in northern New Mexico landscapes; 2007; Article; Journal; Ecosystems; Allen, C. D.
Year Published: 2007
Response of western mountain ecosystems to climatic variability and change: The Western Mountain Initiative
Mountain ecosystems within our national parks and other protected areas provide valuable goods and services such as clean water, biodiversity conservation, and recreational opportunities, but their potential responses to expected climatic changes are inadequately understood. The Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) is a collaboration of scientists...
Stephenson, Nathan L.; Peterson, Dave; Fagre, Daniel B.; Allen, Craig D.; McKenzie, Donald; Baron, Jill S.; O'Brian, Kelly
Year Published: 2006
Response of western mountain ecosystems to climatic variability and change: The Western Mountain Initiative
Mountain ecosystems within our national parks and other protected areas provide valuable goods and services such as clean water, biodiversity conservation, and recreational opportunities, but their potential responses to expected climatic changes are inadequately understood. The Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) is a collaboration of scientists...
Stephenson, Nathan L.; Peterson, David A.; Fagre, Daniel B.; Allen, Craig D.; McKenzie, Donald; Baron, Jill S.; O'Brien, K.
Year Published: 2006
A 21st century perspective on postfire seeding
Wildfires elicit a perceived need for emergency action to stabilize denuded landscapes. Aerial seeding of rapidly growing nonnative grasses is used routinely in an attempt to control postfire erosion, despite limited scientific basis for its effectiveness and with little consideration for its unintended ecological impacts. As fire size and...
Keeley, J.E.; Allen, Craig D.; Betancourt, J.; Chong, G.W.; Fotheringham, C.J.; Safford, H.D.View Citation
A 21st century perspective on postfire seeding; 2006; Article; Journal; Journal of Forestry; Keeley, J. E.; Allen, C. D.; Betancourt, J.; Chong, G. W.; Fotheringham, C. J.; Safford, H. D.
Year Published: 2006
Applied historical ecology: Using the past to manage for the future
No abstract available.
Wuerthner, George; Swetnam, Thomas W.; Allen, Craig D.; Betancourt, Julio L.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2006
Climate and land use interactions with vegetation change and disturbance processes in mountain ecosystems of the Southwestern USA
No abstract available.
Price, M.F.; Allen, Craig D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2006
Ecological restoration of Southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems: A broad perspective
No abstract available.
Wuerthner, George; Allen, Craig D.; Savage, Melissa; Falk, Donald A.; Suckling, Kieran F.; Swetnam, Thomas W.; Schulke, Todd; Stacey, Peter B.; Morgan, Penelope; Hoffman, Martos; Klingel, Jon T.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2006
Re-seeding research will help in cheatgrass battle
Funding from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Joint Fire Science Program is helping researchers in northwestern Arizona determine whether several native grasses can be used to battle invasive cheatgrass following fire in ponderosa pine ecosystems.
Allen, Craig D.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
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.