Research Database
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Plant-water sensitivity regulates wildfire vulnerability
Year: 2022
Extreme wildfires extensively impact human health and the environment. Increasing vapour pressure deficit (VPD) has led to a chronic increase in wildfire area in the western United States, yet some regions have been more affected than others. Here we show that for the same increase in VPD, burned area increases more in regions where vegetation moisture shows greater sensitivity to water limitation (plant-water sensitivity; R2 = 0.71). This has led to rapid increases in human exposure to wildfire risk, both because the population living in areas with high plant-water sensitivity grew 50%…
Publication Type: Journal Article
The 1994 Eastside screens large-tree harvest limit: review of science relevant to forest planning 25 years later
Year: 2020
In 1994, a large-tree harvest standard known as the “21-inch rule” was appliedto land and resource management plans of national forests in eastern Oregon andWashington (hereafter, the “east side”) to halt the loss of large, old, live, and deadtrees and old forest patches. These trees and forest patches have distinct ecological,economic, and social values, as reflected in widespread fish and wildlife use,public support for protecting them, and commercial interest in harvesting them,thus they have been the topic of much discussion and debate. At the request ofregional Forest Service managers,…
Publication Type: Journal Article