Research Database
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Spatiotemporal dynamics of fine dead surface fuel moisture content in a Colorado mixed-conifer forest
Year: 2025
BackgroundDead fine fuel moisture content (FMC) is critical for predicting fire behavior and effects. Spatiotemporal variation in FMC occurs due to to variability in atmospheric conditions at the fuel interface, which is influenced by interacting factors including local forest structure and topography. Previous research has primarily examined these patterns over coarse spatial scales and relied on few factors to explain variability.AimsIn this study, we monitored the spatiotemporal variability in FMC and characterized how controls of FMC vary over a fire…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Long-term soil nutrient and understory plant responses to post-fire rehabilitation in a lodgepole pine forest
Year: 2025
Wildfires and other disturbances play a fundamental role in regenerating lodgepole pine forests. Though severe, stand-replacing fires are typical of this ecosystem, they can have dramatic impacts on soil properties and biogeochemical processes that influence the rate and composition of vegetation recovery. Organic soil amendments are often applied to manage post-fire erosion, but they can also improve soil moisture and nutrient retention and potentially alter the trajectory of post-fire revegetation. We compared change in soil nutrients, microbial communities, and understory plant cover and…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Role of biochar made from low-value woody forest residues in ecological sustainability and carbon neutrality
Year: 2024
Forest management activities that are intended to improve forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire generate low-value woody biomass, which is often piled and open-burned for disposal. This leads to greenhouse gas emissions, long-lasting burn scars, air pollution, and increased risk of escaped prescribed fire. Converting low-value biomass into biochar can be a promising avenue for advancing forest sustainability and carbon neutrality. Biochar can be produced either in a centralized facility or by using place-based techniques that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and generate a…
Publication Type: Journal