Jon Keeley
Dr. Keeley is currently a research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, stationed at Sequoia National Park.
Prior to this appointment, he served one year in Washington, D.C. as director of the ecology program for the National Science Foundation. He was professor of biology at Occidental College for 20 years and spent a sabbatical year at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He has more than 350 publications in national and international scientific journals and books. His research has focused on ecological impacts of wildfires as well as other aspects of plant ecology, including rare plants, rare habitats such as vernal pools, and plant physiology. In 1985 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the California Botanical Society. He has served on the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning Environmental Review Board, and the State of California Natural Communities Conservation Program (NCCP) Board of Scientific Advisors.
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Research Scientist
(ST Scientist), 2015–present
(GS series 0408), 1998–present
University of California, Los Angeles, Adjunct Full Professor, 2001-present
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Research Associate, 1997–present
National Science Foundation, Program Director 1997–1998
Occidental College,
Professor 1988–1998
Department Chair 1982–1988
Assist/Assoc Professor 1977–1988
University of Cape Town, Visiting Professor 1990
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. (Botany) University of Georgia, Athens, 1977
M.S. (Biology) San Diego State University, 1973
B.S. (Biology) San Diego State University, 1971
Honors and Awards
Fellow, Ecological Society of America, 2014
Distinguished MEDECOS Fellow, 2011
USGS Performance Award, 2011
USGS Star Award, 2008
Honorary Lifetime Member, California Botanical Society, 1998
Fellow, Southern California Academy of Sciences, l994
Guggenheim Fellow, l985–l986
Sterling Award for Outstanding Teaching, l985
Science and Products
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
Plant diversity and fire
Fire in the Mediterranean—From genes to ecosystems
Ecology and evolution of pine life histories
Mediterranean-type climate ecosystems and fire
A plant distribution shift: temperature, drought or past disturbance?
Factors affecting fuel break effectiveness in the control of large fires on the Los Padres National Forest, California
Fire and invasive plants on California landscapes
Long-term effects of prescribed fire on mixed conifer forest structure in the Sierra Nevada, California
Fire and vegetation shifts in the Americas at the vanguard of Paleoindian migration
Comparing the role of fuel breaks across southern California national forests
A comparison of effects from prescribed fires and wildfires managed for resource objectives in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 354
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
No abstract available.AuthorsJames B. Grace, Jon E. Keeley, Darren J. Johnson, Kenneth A. BollenPlant diversity and fire
No abstract available.AuthorsJon E. Keeley, William J. Bond, Ross A. Bradstock, Juli G. Pausas, Philip W. RundelFire in the Mediterranean—From genes to ecosystems
No abstract available.AuthorsGidi Ne'eman, Ido Izhaki, Jon E. KeeleyEcology and evolution of pine life histories
Introduction - Pinus is a diverse genus of trees widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Understanding pine life history is critical to both conservation and fire management. Objectives - Here I lay out the different pathways of pine life history adaptation and a brief overview of pine evolution and the very significant role that fire has played. Results - Pinus originated ~150 Ma iAuthorsJon E. KeeleyMediterranean-type climate ecosystems and fire
No abstract available.AuthorsJon E. Keeley, William J. Bond, Ross A. Bradstock, Juli G. Pausas, Philip W. RundelA plant distribution shift: temperature, drought or past disturbance?
Simple models of plant response to warming climates predict vegetation moving to cooler and/or wetter locations: in mountainous regions shifting upslope. However, species-specific responses to climate change are likely to be much more complex. We re-examined a recently reported vegetation shift in the Santa Rosa Mountains, California, to better understand the mechanisms behind the reported shift oAuthorsDylan W. Schwilk, Jon E. KeeleyFactors affecting fuel break effectiveness in the control of large fires on the Los Padres National Forest, California
As wildfires have increased in frequency and extent, so have the number of homes developed in the wildland-urban interface. In California, the predominant approach to mitigating fire risk is construction of fuel breaks, but there has been little empirical study of their role in controlling large fires.We constructed a spatial database of fuel breaks on the Los Padres National Forest in southern CaAuthorsAlexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Teresa J. BrennanFire and invasive plants on California landscapes
No abstract available.AuthorsJon E. Keeley, Janet Franklin, Carla D'AntonioLong-term effects of prescribed fire on mixed conifer forest structure in the Sierra Nevada, California
The capacity of prescribed fire to restore forest conditions is often judged by changes in forest structure within a few years following burning. However, prescribed fire might have longer-term effects on forest structure, potentially changing treatment assessments. We examined annual changes in forest structure in five 1 ha old-growth plots immediately before prescribed fire and up to eight yearsAuthorsPhillip J. van Mantgem, Nathan L. Stephenson, Eric Knapp, Jon E. KeeleyFire and vegetation shifts in the Americas at the vanguard of Paleoindian migration
Across North and South America, the final millennia of the Pleistocene saw dramatic changes in climate, vegetation, fauna, fire regime, and other local and regional paleo-environmental characteristics. Rapid climate shifts following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) exerted a first-order influence, but abrupt postglacial shifts in vegetation composition, vegetation structure, and fire regime also coiAuthorsN. Pinter, S. Fiedel, Jon E. KeeleyComparing the role of fuel breaks across southern California national forests
Fuel treatment of wildland vegetation is the primary approach advocated for mitigating fire risk at the wildland–urban interface (WUI), but little systematic research has been conducted to understand what role fuel treatments play in controlling large fires, which factors influence this role, or how the role of fuel treatments may vary over space and time. We assembled a spatial database of fuel bAuthorsAlexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Teresa J. BrennanA comparison of effects from prescribed fires and wildfires managed for resource objectives in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Current goals for prescription burning are focused on measures of fuel consumption and changes in forest density. These benchmarks, however, do not address the extent to which prescription burning meets perceived ecosystem needs of heterogeneity in burning, both for overstory trees and understory herbs and shrubs. There are still questions about how closely prescribed fires mimic these patterns coAuthorsJonathan C. B. Nesmith, Anthony C. Caprio, Anne H. Pfaff, Thomas W. McGinnis, Jon E. Keeley - Software
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