Objectives - This event was designed to create dialogue among scientists and managers and to put fire ecology research in the context of real-life limitations and situations that influence decision making and planning.
Topics discussed - Fire history | Fire regime differences across soil, forest, and fuel types | Recovery after fire | Factors influencing different post-fire trajectories | Future fire projections | Possible ecological and management consequences related to future fire predictions | Sensitivity and complacency of fire regimes in response to climate
Presenters included -
Brian Harvey, Postdoc, University of Colorado-Boulder
Dave McWethy, Research Professor, Montana State University
Monica Turner, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Cathy Whitlock, Professor, Montana State University
Subject-matter expert participants included -
Roy Renkin, Acting Chief, Vegetation and Resource Operations, Yellowstone National Park (YNP)
Ann Rodman, Branch Chief, Physical Science, YNP
Todd Opperman, Deputy FMO, YNP
Becky Smith, Fire Ecologist, YNP
Bill Mayer, Fuels Specialist, YNP
Diane Abendroth, Fire Ecologist, Teton Interagency Fire
Tom Olliff, Coordinator, Great Northern Landscape Cooperative
Mary Taber, Fire Ecologist, University of Idaho/Wildland Fire Management RD&A
Julie Shea, Fire / Fuels Planner, Custer Gallatin National Forest
Jon White, Fuels AFMO, Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Travis Belote, Research Ecologist, The Wilderness Society
Resources - An abundance of materials were referenced and discussed during this field tour, most of them are provided below. See also the Field Trip Summary of this event, Yellowstone fire history and fire ecology - Insights 27 years after the 1988 fires.
Background and overview of the Yellowstone fires of 1988 -
Fuel moisture, forest type, and lightning-caused fire in Yellowstone National Park
Surprises and lessons from the 1988 Yellowstone fires
Landscape heterogeneity following large fires: insights from Yellowstone National Park, USA
Twenty years after the 1988 Yellowstone fires: lessons about disturbance and ecosystems
Paleo-fire and climate of Yellowstone -
Postglacial vegetation and climate of Grand Teton and southern Yellowstone National Parks
Holocene vegetation-fire-climate linkages in Northern Yellowstone National Park, USA
Spatial variations of holocene climate change in the Yellowstone region
A 750-year fire history based on lake sediment records in central Yellowstone National Park
Lodgepole pine serotiny & implications for postfire regeneration -
Landscape-scale heterogeneity in lodgepole pine serotiny
Postfire succession and forest stand development -
Effects of fire size and pattern on succession in Yellowstone National Park
Variability and convergence in stand development on a fire-dominated subalpine landscape
Postfire aspen seedling recruitment -
Postfire aspen seedling recruitment across the Yellowstone (USA) landscape
Fire and bark beetles -
Future climate and fire predictions -
Continued warming could transform Greater Yellowstone fire regimes by mid-21st century
Ecological implications of climate change in Yellowstone: moving into uncharted territory?
Continued learning from the Yellowstone fires of 1988 -