Research Database
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Severe fire has impacted populations of the California spotted owl more than fuels management or drought-related tree mortality
Year: 2025
Reducing fuel densities is the primary tool available to improve forest resilience to intensifying disturbance, but implementation is constrained by concern of effects to mature-forest associated species, such as spotted owls (Strix occidentalis). While the negative effects of severe fire on spotted owls are well studied, the influence of drought and fuels management on populations is uncertain, impeding fuels management. We integrated a novel dataset of California disturbance history with passive acoustic monitoring to compare the effects of severe fire, drought, and fuels…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Major changes in climate, vegetation, and ecological resilience in recent decades suggest climate smart management strategies for western US dryland shrublands and woodlands
Year: 2025
BackgroundCatastrophic wildfire has escalated across the globe in recent decades with devastating consequences for human communities and native ecosystems. Global change processes, including climate warming and land use practices, are altering fuels, fire risk, and ecosystem recovery. Managing ecosystems to reduce fire risk and prevent conversion to undesirable alternative states requires knowledge of the ecological conditions of ecosystems, trajectories of change, and drivers of those changes. We developed an approach for evaluating ongoing changes in climate and vegetation and using that…
Publication Type: Journal Article