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Background: Sagebrush ecosystems are experiencing increases in wildfire extent and severity. Most research on vegetation treatments that reduce fuels and fire risk has been short term (2–3 years) and focused on ecological responses. We review causes…
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Background: Current guidance for implementation of United States federal wildland fire policy charges agencies with restoring and maintaining fire-adapted ecosystems while limiting the extent of wildfires that threaten life and property, weighed…
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Prescribed fall burning is commonly used worldwide on rangeland sites to enhance vegetation resources and restore disturbed ecosystems, but little is known about how it may alter microbial communities and insect activities. We used two site…
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In December 2022, twenty-one experts from land management agencies, Tribes, and organizations from across the country convened at the Wilderness and Fire Workshop in Gunnison, Colorado to consider the effects of over a century of fire exclusion on…
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This is a summary from the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Fire Science Workshop held June 27-28, 2023. It summarizes discussion points from the first day's breakout groups as well as some key discussion points from…
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Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) has a reputation for indestructibility, but recent events in the Southern Rockies may have pushed even this stalwart species to the edge. Research by Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) scientist…
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Background: Due to anthropogenic climate change and historic fire suppression, wildfire frequency and severity are increasing across the western United States. Whereas the indirect effects of fire on wildlife via habitat change are well studied,…
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Fire regimes are a major agent of evolution in terrestrial animals. Changing fire regimes and the capacity for rapid evolution in wild animal populations suggests the potential for rapid, fire-driven adaptive animal evolution in the Pyrocene. Fire…
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Fire regimes are changing dramatically worldwide due to climate change, habitat conversion, and the suppression of Indigenous landscape management. Although there has been extensive work on plant responses to fire, including their adaptations to…
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The historical role of fire in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) landscapes remains poorly understood, yet is important to inform management and conservation of obligate species such as the threatened Gunnison Sage-grouse (GUSG; Centrocercus minimus…
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Wilderness areas are important natural laboratories for scientists and managers working to understand fire. In the last half-century, shifts in the culture and policy of land management agencies have facilitated the management practice of letting…
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Background: Predators and fire shape ecosystems across the globe and these two forces can interact to impact prey populations. This issue is particularly pertinent in Australia where there is considerable scientific and public interest in the post-…
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An extreme drought from 2012–2016 and concurrent bark beetle outbreaks in California, USA resulted in widespread tree mortality. We followed changes in tree mortality, stand structure, and surface and canopy fuels over four years after the peak of…
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Productivity is strongly associated with terrestrial species richness patterns, although the mechanisms underpinning such patterns have long been debated. Despite considerable consumption of primary productivity by fire, its influence on global…
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Anticipating consequences of disturbance interactions on ecosystem structure and function is a critical management priority as disturbance activity increases with warming climate. Across the Northern Hemisphere, extensive tree mortality from recent…
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Wildfires are common occurrences worldwide that can destroy vast forest areas and kill numerous animals in a few hours. Climate change, rising global temperatures, precipitation, the introduction of exotic species of plants (e.g., eucalyptus),…
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Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) are endemic to grassland and shrub-steppe ecosystems of western North America, yet their distribution has contracted to <10% of their historical range. Primary threats to…
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The concurrent impacts of fire suppression, climate-warming, and industrial forestry have dramatically altered the spatio-temporal patterns of fire across the globe. Pyrophilic insects are among the species most threatened by these changes due to…
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This is a synthesis of the research priorities from the 2023 Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Fire Science Workshop as identified by participants.
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Bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires are two of the most prevalent disturbances that influence tree mortality, regeneration, and successional trajectories in western North American forests. Subboreal forests have experienced broad overlaps in these…
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