Oct 23, 2019: Large-scale forest restoration stabilizes carbon under climate change

Presenter: Lisa McCauley, The Nature Conservancy Date: October 23, 2019 11am AZ/12pm MDT Higher tree density, more fuels, and a warmer, drier climate have caused an increase in the frequency, size, and severity of wildfires in western U.S. forests. There is an urgent need to restore forests across the western United States. To address this need, …

Oct 16, 2019: Contributions of fire refugia to resilient ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forest landscapes

Presenter: Jonathan Coop, Western Colorado University Date: October 16, 2019 11am AZ/12pm MDT In western North America, ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forest types appear increasingly vulnerable to wildfire-catalyzed conversion to alternate and non-forest vegetation types. However, unburned or only lightly impacted forest stands that persist within burn mosaics—termed fire refugia—may sustain a range critical …

May 30, 2019: Sonoran FireAdapt Project

Presenter: Clare Aslan, Northern Arizona University Date: May 30, 2019 1-3pm AZ  (2-4pm MDT) Arizona’s Sonoran Desert is home to unique species, sites of immense cultural and historical value, and more than 5 million people. This sensitive region is also threatened by a changing fire regime, spurred by climate change, long-term drought, and invasive plants. We used social …

May 22, 2019: Do trends in climate influence the increase in high-severity wildfire in the southwestern US from 1984 to 2015?

Presenter: Stephanie Mueller, Northern Arizona University Date: May 22, 2019 12pm Mountain Daylight Time (11am AZ time) Over the last 30 years, in woodland and forested ecosystems across the southwestern US, there has been an increasing trend in fire activity. Altered land use practices and more recent changes in precipitation patterns and warmer temperatures are …

2019 Cultivating Pyrodiversity- 8th AFE International Fire Ecology & Management Congress

The Association for Fire Ecology is excited to be hosting this event in Tucson, Arizona in cooperation with the Southwest Fire Science Consortium. Presentations will feature the latest in research results, applications, case studies, and lessons learned, and special sessions will be designed to unify science and application and to create opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. …

April 26, 2018: Southwest Fire Season 2017 Overview and 2018 Outlook

Date: Thursday April 26, 2018 12pm MDT (11am AZ) Presenters: Zander Evans, Forest Stewards Guild and Rich Naden, Fire Weather Meteorologist, Southwest Coordination Center The purpose of this webinar was to review 2017 fires and look ahead toward conditions for 2018. Dr. Zander Evans presented an overview of the largest fires in the Southwest during 2017. He …

Horseshoe 2 Fire: 6 years Post-Fire

We hosted a two-day field trip to visit various locations within the perimeter of the 2011 Horseshoe 2 Fire (including Chiricahua National Monument and Coronado National Forest). Topics discussed include: wildlife impacts, rangeland impacts, watershed and hydrology effects, and historic fire regime and re-burn issues. Read the Horseshoe 2 Factsheet here. Click the StoryMap below …

April 26, 2017: Southwest Fire Season 2016 Overview and 2017 Outlook

Date: Wednesday April 26, 2017 12pm MDT (11am AZ) Presenter: Zander Evans, Forest Stewards Guild and Chuck Maxwell, Predictive Services Meteorologist, Southwest Coordination Center Please join us for a webinar to review last year’s fires and look ahead toward conditions for this year. Dr. Zander Evans will present an overview of the 12 largest fires in the …

Megan Poling research

August 24, 2016: Increasing trends in high severity fire in the southwestern USA from 1984-2013

Presenter: Megan Poling, PhD Student, Northern Arizona University In the last three decades nearly 5 million hectares have burned in all vegetation types in the Southwest and the largest fires in documented history have occurred in the past two decades. However, trends in severity, or how fires are burning have not been well documented in forest …

High Severity Fire: Response and Uncertainty

Do high severity burns lead to conversion to new forest types or a shift from forests to shrublands or grasslands? How do wildlife respond to changing habitats? And, finally, what do these changes tell us about how these ecosystems will respond to climate change? We visited the sites of the 2000 Pumpkin Fire and 2003 Aspen Fire, and talked to researchers who have been studying how forests and wildlife respond to high severity burns. View the YouTube video here.