Reduced fire severity offers near-term buffer to climate-driven declines in conifer resilience across the western United States

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 120(11)

Опубликована: Март 6, 2023

Increasing fire severity and warmer, drier postfire conditions are making forests in the western United States (West) vulnerable to ecological transformation. Yet, relative importance of interactions between these drivers forest change remain unresolved, particularly over upcoming decades. Here, we assess how interactive impacts changing climate wildfire activity influenced conifer regeneration after 334 wildfires, using a dataset from 10,230 field plots. Our findings highlight declining capacity across West past four decades for eight dominant species studied. Postfire is sensitive high-severity fire, which limits seed availability, climate, influences seedling establishment. In near-term, projected differences recruitment probability low- scenarios were larger than most species, suggesting that reductions severity, resultant on could partially offset expected climate-driven declines regeneration. Across 40 42% study area, project be likely following low-severity but not under future (2031 2050). However, increasingly warm, dry eventually outweigh influence availability. The percent area considered unlikely experience regeneration, regardless increased 5% 1981 2000 26 31% by mid-century, highlighting limited time window management actions reduce may effectively support

Язык: Английский

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Fire suppression makes wildfires more severe and accentuates impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation

Nature Communications, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 15(1)

Опубликована: Март 25, 2024

Abstract Fire suppression is the primary management response to wildfires in many areas globally. By removing less-extreme wildfires, this approach ensures that remaining burn under more extreme conditions. Here, we term “suppression bias” and use a simulation model highlight how bias fundamentally impacts wildfire activity, independent of fuel accumulation climate change. We illustrate attempting suppress all necessarily means fires will with severe less diverse ecological impacts, burned area increasing at faster rates than expected from or Over human lifespan, modeled exceed those change alone, suggesting may exert significant underappreciated influence on patterns fire Managing safely low moderate conditions thus critical tool address growing crisis.

Язык: Английский

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Climate Adaptation Measures for Enhancing Urban Resilience

Buildings, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 13(9), С. 2163 - 2163

Опубликована: Авг. 25, 2023

Climate change threatens urban areas globally. Enhancing resilience is crucial, yet the comprehensive clustering of practical climate adaptation measures for use in construction industry decision-making notably absent. This study investigates and categorizes various measures, justifying each through a lens risk management, asset previous scientific work. It takes advantage innovative digital platform Netobra, which offers an ecosystem industry, to provide real-world, implications these measures. Informed by Urban Resilience Evaluation System, ISO 31000 (risk management), 55000 (asset sets out demonstrate value bolstering improving industry. Moreover, integrates hotspot detection mechanism at high impacts, using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA)—analytic hierarchy process (AHP) mapping on Netobra. These identified hotspots corresponding will further be incorporated into Risk-Informed Asset-Centric (RIACT) process, providing valuable insights mitigation strategies development. Through its in-depth analysis, aims contribute understanding how diverse can practically applied sectors, thereby enhancing effective management.

Язык: Английский

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Fostering Post-Fire Research Towards a More Balanced Wildfire Science Agenda to Navigate Global Environmental Change

Fire, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 8(2), С. 51 - 51

Опубликована: Янв. 26, 2025

As wildfires become more frequent and severe in the face of global environmental change, it becomes crucial not only to assess, prevent, suppress them but also manage aftermath effectively. Given temporal interconnections between these issues, we explored concept “wildfire science loop”—a framework categorizing wildfire research into three stages: “before”, “during”, “after” wildfires. Based on this partition, performed a systematic review by linking particular topics keywords each stage, aiming describe one quantify volume published research. The results from our identified substantial imbalance landscape, with post-fire stage being markedly underrepresented. Research focusing is 1.5 times (or 46%) less prevalent than that “before” 1.8 77%) “during” stage. This discrepancy likely driven historical emphasis prevention suppression due immediate societal needs. Aiming address overcome imbalance, present perspectives regarding strategic agenda enhance understanding processes outcomes, emphasizing socioecological impacts management recovery multi-level transdisciplinary approach. These proposals advocate integrating knowledge-driven burn severity ecosystem mitigation/recovery practical, application-driven strategies policy development. supports comprehensive spans short-term emergency responses long-term adaptive management, ensuring landscapes are better understood, managed, restored. We emphasize critical importance “after-fire” breaking negative planning cycles, enhancing practices, implementing nature-based solutions vision “building back better”. Strengthening balanced focused will ability close loop involved improve alignment international agendas such as UN’s Decade Ecosystem Restoration EU’s Nature Law. By addressing can significantly restore ecosystems, resilience, develop suited challenges rapidly changing world.

Язык: Английский

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Small-scale fire refugia increase soil bacterial and fungal richness and increase community cohesion nine years after fire

The Science of The Total Environment, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 966, С. 178677 - 178677

Опубликована: Фев. 1, 2025

Язык: Английский

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Previous wildfires and management treatments moderate subsequent fire severity

Forest Ecology and Management, Год журнала: 2021, Номер 504, С. 119764 - 119764

Опубликована: Ноя. 1, 2021

Язык: Английский

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Strategic fire zones are essential to wildfire risk reduction in the Western United States

Fire Ecology, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 20(1)

Опубликована: Май 21, 2024

Abstract Background Over the last four decades, wildfires in forests of continental western United States have significantly increased both size and severity after more than a century fire suppression exclusion. Many these historically experienced frequent were fuel limited. To date, reduction treatments been small too widely dispersed to impacted this trend. Currently new land management plans are being developed on most 154 National Forests that will guide support ground practices for next 15–20 years. Results During plan development, we recommend Strategic Fire Zones (SFZs) be identified large blocks (≥ 2,000 ha) Federal forest lands, buffered 1–2.4 km) from wildland-urban interface reintroduction beneficial fire. In SFZs, lightning ignitions, as well prescribed cultural burns, would used reduce fuels restore ecosystem services. Although such successfully established limited number Parks Wilderness Areas, identify extensive remote areas US (8.3–12.7 million ha), outside wilderness (85–88%), where they could established. Potential wildland Operational Delineations or PODs SFZ boundaries. We outline steps identify, implement, monitor, communicate use benefits SFZs. Conclusions Enhancing collaboration knowledge-sharing with Indigenous communities can play vital role gaining agency public building narrative how rebuild climate-adapted regimes live within them. Meaningful increases multiply amount landscape while reducing risk their impacts structures

Язык: Английский

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Different approaches make comparing studies of burn severity challenging: a review of methods used to link remotely sensed data with the Composite Burn Index

International Journal of Wildland Fire, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 32(4), С. 449 - 475

Опубликована: Фев. 6, 2023

The Composite Burn Index (CBI) is commonly linked to remotely sensed data understand spatial and temporal patterns of burn severity. However, a comprehensive understanding the tradeoffs between different methods used model CBI with lacking. To help current state science, provide blueprint towards conducting broad-scale meta-analyses, identify key decision points potential rationale, we conducted review studies that continuous estimates severity measured related methods. We roadmap methodologies applied examine rationales justify them. Our findings largely reflect in North America – particularly western USA due high number region. find use across introduces variations make it difficult compare outcomes. Additionally, existing suite comparative focuses on one or few many possible sources uncertainty. Thus, compounding error propagation throughout decisions made during analysis not well understood. Finally, suggest broad set methodological information for decision-making could facilitate future reviews.

Язык: Английский

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System-level feedbacks of active fire regimes in large landscapes

Fire Ecology, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 19(1)

Опубликована: Июль 31, 2023

Abstract Background Climate is a main driver of fire regimes, but recurrent fires provide stabilizing feedbacks at several spatial scales that can limit spread and severity—potentially contributing to form self-regulation. Evaluating the strength these in wildland systems difficult given temporal observation required. Here, we used REBURN model directly examine relative strengths top-down bottom-up drivers over 3000-year simulation period, within 275,000-ha conifer-dominated landscape north central Washington State, USA. Results We found strong support for controls on patterns. Fire weather was large occurrence, area burned moderated by ignition frequencies areas limited fuels fuel contagion (i.e., fences). Landscapes comprised >40% fences rarely experienced years. When did occur during recovery time 100–300 years or more generally required recover pre-fire vegetation Conclusions Simulations showed interactions between weather, contagion, topography, ignitions manifest variability size severity patch distributions. Burned recovering mosaics provided functional feedbacks, kind meta stability, which future severity, even under extreme conditions. be applied new geographic physiographic landscapes simulate represent natural culturally influenced regimes historical, current, climatic settings.

Язык: Английский

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Post-Fire Restoration and Deadwood Management: Microsite Dynamics and Their Impact on Natural Regeneration

Forests, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 14(9), С. 1820 - 1820

Опубликована: Сен. 6, 2023

After large and severe wildfires, the establishment of tree regeneration, particularly for species without specific fire-adaptive traits, can be challenging. Within harsh environments, presence favorable microsites, as those provided by deadwood, enhancing microclimatic conditions, is crucial to re-establishment forest cover thus foster recovery dynamics. Active restoration strategies have an impact on these dynamics, altering or hindering them. The main hypothesis this study that manipulating deadwood in terms quantity spatial arrangement result differences natural regeneration density composition. Post-disturbance dynamics role played over time creation safe sites seedling were investigated area affected a high-severity wildfire underwent different post-fire treatments along gradient increasing manipulation, spanning from salvage logging non-intervention. Two inventories performed 5 11 years after fire. Ground proportion was significantly among treatments, with lower values lying salvaged sites. A higher probability close found both surveys, confirming facilitating regeneration. Microsite resulting facilitation highlighted, anisotropic relationships between elements seedlings changing time, processes slowly improved environmental conditions. In dry mountain areas stand-replacing removing reduces number further impairing ecosystem recovery. Passive management should ecologically preferred strategy although intermediate interventions (e.g., felling delimbing, leaving ground) could effective alternatives, accelerating snag fall immediately microsite availability.

Язык: Английский

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