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
Land use planning and wildfire: development policies influence future probability of housing loss
Changes in fire intensity have carry-over effects on plant responses after the next fire in southern California chaparral
County-level analysis of the impact of temperature and population increases on California wildfire data
Curren fire regimes, impacts annd the likely changes: Temperate-Mediterranean North America
The 2003 and 2007 wildfires in southern California
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
The impact of antecedent fire area on burned area in southern California coastal ecosystems
Housing arrangement and location determine the likelihood of housing loss due to wildfire
Fuel treatment impacts on estimated wildfire carbon loss from forests in Montana, Oregon, California, and Arizona
Fire-driven alien invasion in a fire-adapted ecosystem
Postfire chaparral regeneration under mediterranean and non-mediterranean climates
Mediterranean-type climate ecosystems and fire
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Land use planning and wildfire: development policies influence future probability of housing loss
Increasing numbers of homes are being destroyed by wildfire in the wildland-urban interface. With projections of climate change and housing growth potentially exacerbating the threat of wildfire to homes and property, effective fire-risk reduction alternatives are needed as part of a comprehensive fire management plan. Land use planning represents a shift in traditional thinking from trying to eliAuthorsAlexandra D. Syphard, Avi Bar Massada, Van Butsic, Jon E. KeeleyChanges in fire intensity have carry-over effects on plant responses after the next fire in southern California chaparral
QuestionDo variations in fire intensity within a stand determine changes in fire intensity and plant demographics in a subsequent fire?LocationSan Diego (CA, USA); chaparral dominated by Adenostoma fasciculatum (resprouter) and Ceanothus greggii (seeder).MethodsIn 2003, a wildfire burned a young (16-yr-old) stand containing a set of experimental plots burned in 1987 with various levels of fire intAuthorsJose M. Moreno, Ivan Torres, Belen Luna, Walter C. Oechel, Jon E. KeeleyCounty-level analysis of the impact of temperature and population increases on California wildfire data
The extent to which the apparent increase in wildfire incidence and burn area in California from 1990 to 2006 is affected by population and temperature increases is examined. Using generalized linear models with random effects, we focus on the estimated impacts of increases in mean daily temperatures and populations in different counties on wildfire in those counties, after essentially controllingAuthorsM. Baltar, Jon E. Keeley, F.P. SchoenbergCurren fire regimes, impacts annd the likely changes: Temperate-Mediterranean North America
No abstract available.AuthorsMax A. Moritz, Meg A. Krawchuk, Jon E. KeeleyThe 2003 and 2007 wildfires in southern California
Although many residents of southern California have long recognised that wildfires in the region are an ongoing, constant risk to lives and property, the enormity of the regional fire hazard caught the world’s attention during the southern California firestorms of 2003 (Figure 5.1). Beginning on 21 October, a series of fourteen wildfires broke out across the five-county region under severe Santa AAuthorsJon E. Keeley, Alexandra D. Syphard, C. J. FotheringhamStructural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
The analysis of long-term monitoring data is increasingly important; not only for the discovery and documentation of changes in environmental systems, but also as an enterprise whose fruits validate the allocation of effort and scarce funds to monitoring. In simple terms, we may distinguish between the detection of change in some ecosystem attribute versus the investigation of causes and consequenAuthorsJames B. Grace, Jon E. Keeley, Darren Johnson, A BollenThe impact of antecedent fire area on burned area in southern California coastal ecosystems
Frequent wildfire disasters in southern California highlight the need for risk reduction strategies for the region, of which fuel reduction via prescribed burning is one option. However, there is no consensus about the effectiveness of prescribed fire in reducing the area of wildfire. Here, we use 29 years of historical fire mapping to quantify the relationship between annual wildfire area and antAuthorsOwen F. Price, Ross A. Bradstock, Jon E. Keeley, Alexandra D. SyphardHousing arrangement and location determine the likelihood of housing loss due to wildfire
Surging wildfires across the globe are contributing to escalating residential losses and have major social, economic, and ecological consequences. The highest losses in the U.S. occur in southern California, where nearly 1000 homes per year have been destroyed by wildfires since 2000. Wildfire risk reduction efforts focus primarily on fuel reduction and, to a lesser degree, on house characteristicAuthorsAlexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Avi Bar Massada, Teresa J. Brennan, Volker C. RadeloffFuel treatment impacts on estimated wildfire carbon loss from forests in Montana, Oregon, California, and Arizona
Using forests to sequester carbon in response to anthropogenically induced climate change is being considered across the globe. A recent U.S. executive order mandated that all federal agencies account for sequestration and emissions of greenhouse gases, highlighting the importance of understanding how forest carbon stocks are influenced by wildfire. This paper reports the effects of the most commoAuthorsScott L. Stephens, Ralph E.J. Boerner, Jason J. Maghaddas, Emily E.Y. Maghaddas, Brandon M. Collins, Christopher B. Dow, Carl Edminster, Carl E. Fiedler, Danny L. Fry, Bruce R. Hartsough, Jon E. Keeley, Eric E. Knapp, James D. McIver, Carl N. Skinner, Andrew P. YoungbloodFire-driven alien invasion in a fire-adapted ecosystem
Disturbance plays a key role in many alien plant invasions. However, often the main driver of invasion is not disturbance per se but alterations in the disturbance regime. In some fire-adapted shrublands, the community is highly resilient to infrequent, high-intensity fires, but changes in the fire regime that result in shorter fire intervals may make these communities more susceptible to alien plAuthorsJon E. Keeley, Teresa J. BrennanPostfire chaparral regeneration under mediterranean and non-mediterranean climates
This study compares postfire regeneration and diversity patterns in fire-prone chaparral shrublands from mediterranean (California) and non-mediterranean-type climates (Arizona). Vegetation sampling was conducted in tenth hectare plots with nested subplots for the first two years after fire. Floras in the two regions were compared with Jaccard's Index and importance of families and genera comparedAuthorsJon E. Keeley, Connie J. Fotheringham, Philip W. RundelMediterranean-type climate ecosystems and fire
No abstract available.AuthorsJon E. Keeley, William J. Bond, Ross A. Bradstock, Juli G. Pausas, Philip W. Rundel - Software
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