Carbon Cycling in Southwestern Forests

The intent of this working paper is to explain the basics of the carbon cycle detailing how much carbon moves through vegetation, water, and soils over time. The paper also summarizes where current science suggests that carbon cycling patterns are most likely to change in the coming years to decades, and how management can influence …

April 2015: Planning for the Next Big One: Managing the Post-fire Environment in a Time of Change

The Burned Area Learning Network Workshop Together with the Fire Learning Network, the SWFSC hosted a collaborative workshop to improve advance planning for post wildfire impacts April 16-17, 2015 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Materials and Notes from the workshop can be downloaded below. If you have further questions, contact Anne Bradley with The Nature …

April 15, 2015: Effects of climate variability and accelerated thinning on watershed-scale runoff in Southwestern ponderosa pine forests

Presenter: Marcos Robles, The Nature Conservancy The recent mortality of up to 20% of forests and woodlands in the southwestern United States, along with declining stream flows and projected future water shortages, heightens the need to understand how management practices can enhance forest resilience and functioning under unprecedented scales of drought and wildfire. To address …

April 2, 2015: Tamarisk invasion and fire in Southwestern desert ecosystems

Presenter: Gail Drus, St. Francis University Increased wildfire has been observed with the displacement of native cottonwood-willow (Salix and Populus spp.) gallery forests by invasive, non-native tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in desert riparian zones of North America. Greater post-fire recovery of Tamarix relative to native species suggests a Tamarix fire trajectory where repeated fire excludes native …

February 25, 2015: Fire and climate history of the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado: Integration of tree-ring and alluvial-sediment methods

Presenter: Erica Bigio, University of Arizona This webinar presents research on the historical fire regimes of the western San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, where the landscape provided a unique opportunity to sample tree-ring and alluvial-sediment records in the same study sites. Knowledge of historical fire regimes (frequency, size, severity) can help support management plans …

January 21, 2015: The Ability of Wildfire to Act as a Fuel Treatment

Presenter: Sean Parks, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service In partnership with the Northern Rockies Fire Science Network, Sean will present the results from a JSFP-funded study that highlights the ability of wildfire to act as a fuel treatment. This study evaluated whether or not wildfires limited the occurrence, …

December 10, 2014: Working Across Fence Lines: Multi-jurisdictional planning and prescribed fire

Presenter: Eytan Krasilovsky, Forest Guild Fire cuts across administrative boundaries and our restoration work needs to as well. Whether it is multijurisdictional planning or multiagency prescribed burning, working across boundaries presents a unique set of challenges. In this webinar, Eytan Krasilovksy will discuss multijurisdictional NEPA planning in the Rio Trampas watershed and this year’s multiagency …

October 2014: Jemez Mountains

We put together a field trip for the JFSP governing board to tour the Jemez Mountains area with a focus on understanding/studying the fires that occurred there over several decades. The field trip materials below are listed in order of each place we stopped. We also have provided a virtual field trip with photos of …

August 27, 2014: A panel perspective on regeneration in Southwest pine forests after high severity wildfire

Panelists: Pete Fulé – Northern Arizona University, Collin Haffey – USGS Jemez Field Station, José Iniguez and Suzanne Owen – USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, Jim Youtz – USFS Southwestern Region, Joy Mast – Carthage College The Southwest Fire Science Consortium is hosting a panel discussion on regeneration of pine forests after high severity wildfires. …

August 21, 2014: Pinaleño Mountain Range

We conducted a single day field trip to learn about the fire and disturbance history of the Pinaleño Mountain Range in southeastern Arizona. We discussed the disturbance history, primarily from fire and insect, the local management plans to restore mixed conifer and spruce-fir through the Pinaleño Ecosystem Restoration Project, the threatened and endangered species concerns, …