Rachel A Loehman, Ph.D.
My research focuses on understanding complex, multi-scale dynamics of natural and coupled human-natural systems, particularly focused on impacts of disturbance (climate changes, wildfires, insect outbreaks, erosion and sedimentation, invasive species) on landscapes, ecological communities, and natural and cultural resources.
Research summary
My projects integrate field studies, in-situ instrumentation and monitoring, ecosystem and fire models, geospatial and statistical modeling and analysis, and ecological theory to provide new insights into changing climates, disturbance regimes, and landscapes. Applications include development of strategies for restoration of forests and fire regimes, assessments of landscape resilience and vulnerability, reconstruction of long-term human-environment interactions, predictive models of climate-vegetation-disturbance interactions, quantification of fire impacts on above- and belowground cultural and natural resources, and development of new tools and techniques for quantifying and managing shifting environments. I work in coastal, boreal, and tundra ecosystems in Alaska as well as forest and woodland ecosystems in the interior west and southwestern U.S.
Professional Experience
2014 - Present Research Landscape Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
2009-2014 Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire Sciences Lab, Missoula, Montana
2007-2009 Research Scientist, Systems for Environmental Management, Missoula, Montana
2007-2008 Climate Change Analyst, National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis, The University of Montana
2006-2007 Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, The University of Montana
2004-2006 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, The University of Montana
2001-2004 NASA Earth Systems Science Fellow, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, The University of Montana
1997-2000 GIS/Remote Sensing Specialist, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2006 The University of Montana Ecosystems Ecology
M.A. 1999 University of New Mexico Biogeography
B.A. 1995 University of New Mexico Anthropology
Affiliations and Memberships*
Association for Fire Ecology (Board member, 2017-present)
Alaska Fire Science Consortium (Board member, 2016-present)
Society for American Archaeology
USGS Fire Science Communities of Practice
Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) Wildfires Collaboration Team
Science and Products
Four decades of land-cover change on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Detecting disturbance-influenced vegetation shifts using landsat legacy data
Bioclimatic modeling of potential vegetation types as an alternative to species distribution models for projecting plant species shifts under changing climates
Climate- and disturbance-driven changes in subsistence berries in coastal Alaska: Indigenous knowledge to inform ecological inference
Multi-decadal patterns of vegetation succession after tundra fire on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Simulation modeling of complex climate, wildfire, and vegetation dynamics to address wicked problems in land management
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook: Final Report
Historical range and variation (HRV)
User guide to the FireCLIME Vulnerability Assessment (VA) Tool: A rapid and flexible system for assessing ecosystem vulnerability to climate-fire interactions
Giving ecological meaning to satellite-derived fire severity metrics across North American forests
Selecting a landscape model for natural resource management applications
Use of landscape simulation modeling to quantify resilience for ecological applications
Influence of landscape structure, topography, and forest type on spatial variation in historical fire regimes, central Oregon, USA
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 35
Four decades of land-cover change on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Detecting disturbance-influenced vegetation shifts using landsat legacy data
Across Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, disturbance events have removed large areas of forest over the last half century. Simultaneously, succession and landscape evolution have facilitated forest regrowth and expansion. Detecting forest loss within known pulse disturbance events is often straightforward given that reduction in tree cover is a readily detectable and measurable land-cover change. Land-covAuthorsCarson Baughman, Rachel A. Loehman, Dawn R. Magness, Lisa Saperstein, Rosemary L. SherriffBioclimatic modeling of potential vegetation types as an alternative to species distribution models for projecting plant species shifts under changing climates
Land managers need new tools for planning novel futures due to climate change. Species distribution modeling (SDM) has been used extensively to predict future distributions of species under different climates, but their map products are often too coarse for fine-scale operational use. In this study we developed a flexible, efficient, and robust method for mapping current and future distributions aAuthorsRobert Keane, Lisa M. Holsinger, Rachel A. LoehmanClimate- and disturbance-driven changes in subsistence berries in coastal Alaska: Indigenous knowledge to inform ecological inference
Berry-producing plants are a key subsistence resource in Indigenous Alaskan communities. High-latitude coastal regions are particularly impacted by global climate change due to their location at the land-sea ecotone subjecting them to terrestrial stressors as well as shifts in ocean dynamics. While vegetation changes have been documented for the subarctic coastal region of Alaska, we know little aAuthorsNicole M. Herman-Mercer, Rachel A. Loehman, Ryan C. Toohey, Cynthia PaniyakMulti-decadal patterns of vegetation succession after tundra fire on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) is one of the warmest parts of the Arctic tundra biome and tundra fires are common in its upland areas. Here we combine field measurements, Landsat observations, and quantitative cover maps for tundra plant functional types (PFTs) to characterize multi-decadal succession and landscape change after fire in lichen-dominated upland tundra of the YKD, where extensiAuthorsGerald Frost, Rachel A. Loehman, Lisa Saperstein, Matthew J. Macander, Peter Nelson, David Paradis, Sue M. NataliSimulation modeling of complex climate, wildfire, and vegetation dynamics to address wicked problems in land management
Complex, reciprocal interactions among climate, disturbance, and vegetation dramatically alter spatial landscape patterns and influence ecosystem dynamics. As climate and disturbance regimes shift, historical analogs and past empirical studies may not be entirely appropriate as templates for future management. The need for a better understanding of the potential impacts of climate changes on ecosyAuthorsRachel A. Loehman, Robert E. Keane, Lisa M. HolsingerYukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook: Final Report
No abstract available.AuthorsNicole M. Herman-Mercer, Rachel A. LoehmanHistorical range and variation (HRV)
Fire-prone landscapes are experiencing rapid and potentially persistent changes as the result of complex and potentially novel interactions of anthropogenic climate changes, shifting fire regimes, exotic plant, insect, and pathogen invasions, and industrial, agricultural, and urban development. Are these landscapes fully departed from historical conditions? Should they be managed as novel environAuthorsRobert Keane, Rachel A. LoehmanUser guide to the FireCLIME Vulnerability Assessment (VA) Tool: A rapid and flexible system for assessing ecosystem vulnerability to climate-fire interactions
Decisionmakers need better methods for identifying critical ecosystem vulnerabilities to changing climate and fire regimes. Climate-wildfire-vegetation interactions are complex and hinder classification and projection necessary for development of management strategies. One such vulnerability assessment (VA) is FireCLIME VA, which allows users to compare management strategies under various climateAuthorsMegan Friggens, Rachel A. Loehman, Andi Thode, William T. Flatley, Alexander Evans, Windy Bunn, Craig Wilcox, Stephanie Mueller, Larissa Yocum, Donald A. FalkGiving ecological meaning to satellite-derived fire severity metrics across North American forests
Satellite-derived spectral indices such as the relativized burn ratio (RBR) allow fire severity maps to be produced in a relatively straightforward manner across multiple fires and broad spatial extents. These indices often have strong relationships with field-based measurements of fire severity, thereby justifying their widespread use in management and science. However, satellite-derived spectralAuthorsSean Parks, Lisa M. Holsinger, Michael J. Koontz, Luke S. Collins, Ellen Whitman, Marc-André Parisien, Rachel A. Loehman, Jennifer L. Barnes, Jean-François Bourdon, Jonathan Boucher, Yan Boucher, Anthony C. Caprio, Adam Collingwood, Ron Hall, Jane Park, Lisa Saperstein, Charlotte Smetanka, Rebecca Smith, Nick SoverelSelecting a landscape model for natural resource management applications
Purpose of Review: Climate change and associated ecological impacts have challenged many conventional, observation-based approaches for predicting ecosystem and landscape responses to natural resource management. Complex spatial ecological models provide powerful, flexible tools which managers and others can use to make inferences about management impacts on future, no-analog landscape conditions.AuthorsRobert E. Keane, Rachel A. Loehman, Lisa M. HolsingerUse of landscape simulation modeling to quantify resilience for ecological applications
Goals of fostering ecological resilience are increasingly used to guide U.S. public land management in the context of anthropogenic climate change and increasing landscape disturbances. There are, however, few operational means of assessing the resilience of a landscape or ecosystem. We present a method to evaluate resilience using simulation modeling. In this method, we use historical conditionsAuthorsRobert Keane, Rachel A. Loehman, Lisa M. Holsinger, Donald A. Falk, Phil E Higuera, Sharon Hood, Paul F. HessburgInfluence of landscape structure, topography, and forest type on spatial variation in historical fire regimes, central Oregon, USA
Context In the interior Northwest, debate over restoring mixed-conifer forests after a century of fire exclusion is hampered by poor understanding of the pattern and causes of spatial variation in historical fire regimes. Objectives To identify the roles of topography, landscape structure, and forest type in driving spatial variation in historical fire regimes in mixed-conifer forests of centrAuthorsAndrew Merschel, Emily K. Heyerdahl, Thomas A. Spies, Rachel A. Loehman - News
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government