Matthew Brooks
Biography
Dr. Matthew Brooks' primary research emphasis is on the ecology and management of alien plants and fire in the deserts and mountains of western North America. Other research topics include drought, wildlife ecology, ecological restoration, and the ecological effects of various land-use regimes. Dr. Brooks serves on the editorial boards of the journals Fire Ecology and Rangeland Ecology and Management, and was a charter editorial board member of Invasive Plant Science and Management. Dr. Brooks has taught at the high school, community college, and university levels and has advised numerous Master's and Doctoral students.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Biology, concentration in Ecology and Population Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 1998
- M.A., Biology, California State University, Fresno, CA 1992
- Teaching Credential, Biology/Physical Sciences, California State University, Fresno, CA 1990
- B.S., Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 1987
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Fire
- Invasive plants
- Anthropogenic disturbance
- Land use
Science and Products
WERC Fire Science
WERC scientists are defining the past, present, and future of wildfires for wildlife and human communities. Explore this webpage to learn about specific, ongoing projects across California and parts of Nevada.
Wildland Fire Science in Forests and Deserts
Fuel conditions and fire regimes in western forests and deserts have been altered due to past land management, biological invasions, and recent extreme weather events and climate shifts. These changes have created extreme fire risk to local and regional communities, threatening their economic health related to wildland recreation, forest production, livestock operations, and other uses of...
Yosemite-Oakhurst Field Station
The Yosemite-Oakhurst Field Station is comprised of a main office located on the west side of the Sierra Nevada.
Fighting Drought with Fire: A Comparison of Burned and Unburned Forests in Drought-Impacted Areas of the Southwest
Drought is one of the biggest threats facing our forests today. In the western U.S., severe drought and rising temperatures have caused increased tree mortality and complete forest diebacks. Forests are changing rapidly, and while land managers are working to develop long-term climate change adaptation plans, they require tools that can enhance forest resistance to drought now. To address this...
Evidence for shifts in plant species diversity along N deposition gradients: a first synthesis for the United States
The impacts of nitrogen (N) deposition on plant diversity loss have been well documented across N deposition gradients in Europe, but much less so in the U.S. Published N fertilizer studies suggest losses will occur in the US, but many of these were done at levels of N input that were higher than modeled and measured N deposition, and higher than presumed N critical loads. The recent...
How will Mammals in the Alpine Zone of the Sierra Nevada Mountains Respond to Future Climate?
Our study addresses the general question of the degree to which wildlife species can adapt to, or possibly even modify, effects from climate change. We focused on five species of mammals in the alpine zone of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, including the federally endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep and the American pika, a species recently proposed for listing due to the loss of...
U.S. Geological Survey wildland fire science strategic plan, 2021–26
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Wildland Fire Science Strategic Plan defines critical, core fire science capabilities for understanding fire-related and fire-responsive earth system processes and patterns, and informing management decision making. Developed by USGS fire scientists and executive leadership, and informed by conversations with...
Steblein, Paul F.; Loehman, Rachel A.; Miller, Mark P.; Holomuzki, Joseph R.; Soileau, Suzanna C.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Drane-Maury, Mia; Hamilton, Hannah M.; Kean, Jason W.; Keeley, Jon E.; Mason, Robert R.; McKerrow, Alexa J.; Meldrum, James R.; Molder, Edmund B.; Murphy, Sheila F.; Peterson, Birgit; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Shinneman, Douglas J.; van Mantgem, Phillip J.; York, Alison
Combined effects of biological control of an invasive shrub and fluvial processes on riparian vegetation dynamics
Plant community responses to biocontrol of invasive plants are understudied, despite the strong influence of the composition of replacement vegetation on ecosystem functions and services. We studied the vegetation response to a folivore beetle (Diorhabda genus, Coleoptera) that has been introduced along southwestern US river valleys to...
Gonzalez, Eduardo; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Lee, Steven R.; Ostoja, Steven M.; Brooks, Matthew L. Effects of invasive plants on fire regimes and postfire vegetation diversity in an arid ecosystem
We assessed the impacts of co‐occurring invasive plant species on fire regimes and postfire native communities in the Mojave Desert, western USA. We analyzed the distribution and co‐occurrence patterns of three invasive annual grasses (Bromus rubens, Bromus tectorum, and Schismus spp.) known to alter fuel conditions and community structure, and an...
Underwood, Emma C.; Klinger, Robert C.; Brooks, Matthew L. Potential vulnerability of 348 herbaceous species to atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur in the United States
Atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur pollution increased over much of the United States during the twentieth century from fossil fuel combustion and industrial agriculture. Despite recent declines, nitrogen and sulfur deposition continue to affect many plant communities in the United States, although which species are at risk remains uncertain. We used...
Clark, Christopher M.; Simkin, Samuel M.; Allen, Edith B.; Bowman, William D.; Belnap, Jayne; Brooks, Matthew L.; Collins, Scott L.; Geiser, Linda H; Gilliam, Frank S; Jovan, Sarah E.; Pardo, Linda H; Schultz, Bethany K; Stevens, Carly J.; Suding, Katharine N.; Throop, Heather L.; Waller, Donald M. Operationalizing resilience and resistance concepts to address invasive grass-fire cycles
Plant invasions can affect fuel characteristics, fire behavior, and fire regimes resulting in invasive plant-fire cycles and alternative, self-perpetuating states that can be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Concepts related to general resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive plants provide the basis for managing landscapes to...
Chambers, Jeanne C.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Germino, Matthew J.; Maestas, Jeremy D; Board, David I; Jones, Matthew O.; Allred, Brady W Southeastern Deserts Bioregion
The Southeast Deserts Bioregion (desert bioregion) occupies the southeastern 27% of California (11,028,300 ha, 110,283 km2 or 27,251,610 ac) (Miles and Goudy 1997) (Map 18.1). The desert bioregion is within the basin and range geomorphic province of western North America, and includes two ecoregional provinces comprised of five ecological sections...
Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Sugihara, Neil G.; Stephens, Scott L.; Thode, Andrea E.; Shaffer, Kevin E.; Fites-Kaufman, Ann; Brooks, Matthew L.; Minnich, Richard A.; Matchett, John R. Fire and invasive plants
No abstract available.
Klinger, Robert C.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Randall, John M. Alternative pathways to landscape transformation: Invasive grasses, burn severity and fire frequency in arid ecosystems
Arid ecosystems are often vulnerable to transformation to invasive-dominated states following fire, but data on persistence of these states are sparse. The grass/fire cycle is a feedback process between invasive annual grasses and fire frequency that often leads to the formation of alternative vegetation states dominated by the invasive grasses....
Klinger, Robert C.; Brooks, Matthew L. Climate change and tree-line ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada: Habitat suitability modelling to inform high-elevation forest dynamics monitoring
Whitebark pine and foxtail pine serve foundational roles in the subalpine zone of the Sierra Nevada. They provide the dominant structure in tree-line forests and regulate key ecosystem processes and community dynamics. Climate change models suggest that there will be changes in temperature regimes and in the timing and magnitude of precipitation...
Moore, Peggy E.; Alvarez, Otto; McKinney, Shawn T.; Li, Wenkai; Brooks, Matthew L.; Guo, Qinghua California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) habitat use patterns in a burned landscape
Fire is a dynamic ecosystem process of mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, but there is limited scientific information addressing wildlife habitat use in burned landscapes. Recent studies have presented contradictory information regarding the effects of stand-replacing wildfires on Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis) and their habitat. While...
Eyes, Stephanie; Roberts, Susan L.; Johnson, Matthew D. Evidence of fuels management and fire weather influencing fire severity in an extreme fire event
Following changes in vegetation structure and pattern, along with a changing climate, large wildfire incidence has increased in forests throughout the western U.S. Given this increase there is great interest in whether fuels treatments and previous wildfire can alter fire severity patterns in large wildfires. We assessed the relative influence of...
Lydersen, Jamie M; Collins, Brandon M.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Matchett, John R.; Shive, Kristen L.; Povak, Nicholas A.; Kane, Van R.; Smith, Douglas F. A multi-scale evaluation of pack stock effects on subalpine meadow plant communities in the Sierra Nevada
We evaluated the influence of pack stock (i.e., horse and mule) use on meadow plant communities in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in the Sierra Nevada of California. Meadows were sampled to account for inherent variability across multiple scales by: 1) controlling for among-meadow variability by using remotely sensed hydro-climatic and...
Lee, Steven R.; Berlow, Eric L.; Ostoja, Steven M.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Génin, Alexandre; Matchett, John R.; Hart, Stephen C.
12 Days of Conifers: Lodgepole Pines and Mountain Meadows
For Day 11 of 12 Days Of Conifers, we present the lodgepole pine. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) is the only pine in the Sierra Nevada with needles in clusters of two, making it relatively easy to identify in that region.
Fire Patterns in the Range of the Greater Sage-Grouse, 1984-2013
OAKHURST, Calif. -- Overall fire threats to greater sage-grouse habitat are much higher in the western part of the species’ range than in the eastern part, according to a U.S. Geological Survey fire threats assessment study published today.
Cumulative Effects of Wildfire Adversely Affect Greater Sage-Grouse in the Great Basin
Slowing fire-related population declines in greater sage-grouse in the Great Basin over the next 30 years may depend on the intensity of fire suppression efforts in core breeding areas and long-term patterns of precipitation, according to a just-published USGS-led study.