Wildfire-Driven Forest Conversion in Western North American Landscapes. Coop, J. D, Parks, S. A, Stevens-Rumann, C. S, Crausbay, S. D, Higuera, P. E, Hurteau, M. D, Tepley, A., Whitman, E., Assal, T., Collins, B. M, Davis, K. T, Dobrowski, S., Falk, D. A, Fornwalt, P. J, Fulé, P. Z, Harvey, B. J, Kane, V. R, Littlefield, C. E, Margolis, E. Q, North, M., Parisien, M., Prichard, S., & Rodman, K. C BioScience, 70(8):659–673, August, 2020.
Wildfire-Driven Forest Conversion in Western North American Landscapes [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Abstract Changing disturbance regimes and climate can overcome forest ecosystem resilience. Following high-severity fire, forest recovery may be compromised by lack of tree seed sources, warmer and drier postfire climate, or short-interval reburning. A potential outcome of the loss of resilience is the conversion of the prefire forest to a different forest type or nonforest vegetation. Conversion implies major, extensive, and enduring changes in dominant species, life forms, or functions, with impacts on ecosystem services. In the present article, we synthesize a growing body of evidence of fire-driven conversion and our understanding of its causes across western North America. We assess our capacity to predict conversion and highlight important uncertainties. Increasing forest vulnerability to changing fire activity and climate compels shifts in management approaches, and we propose key themes for applied research coproduced by scientists and managers to support decision-making in an era when the prefire forest may not return.
@article{coop_wildfire-driven_2020,
	title = {Wildfire-{Driven} {Forest} {Conversion} in {Western} {North} {American} {Landscapes}},
	volume = {70},
	issn = {0006-3568, 1525-3244},
	url = {https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/8/659/5859066},
	doi = {10.1093/biosci/biaa061},
	abstract = {Abstract
            Changing disturbance regimes and climate can overcome forest ecosystem resilience. Following high-severity fire, forest recovery may be compromised by lack of tree seed sources, warmer and drier postfire climate, or short-interval reburning. A potential outcome of the loss of resilience is the conversion of the prefire forest to a different forest type or nonforest vegetation. Conversion implies major, extensive, and enduring changes in dominant species, life forms, or functions, with impacts on ecosystem services. In the present article, we synthesize a growing body of evidence of fire-driven conversion and our understanding of its causes across western North America. We assess our capacity to predict conversion and highlight important uncertainties. Increasing forest vulnerability to changing fire activity and climate compels shifts in management approaches, and we propose key themes for applied research coproduced by scientists and managers to support decision-making in an era when the prefire forest may not return.},
	language = {en},
	number = {8},
	urldate = {2023-06-15},
	journal = {BioScience},
	author = {Coop, Jonathan D and Parks, Sean A and Stevens-Rumann, Camille S and Crausbay, Shelley D and Higuera, Philip E and Hurteau, Matthew D and Tepley, Alan and Whitman, Ellen and Assal, Timothy and Collins, Brandon M and Davis, Kimberley T and Dobrowski, Solomon and Falk, Donald A and Fornwalt, Paula J and Fulé, Peter Z and Harvey, Brian J and Kane, Van R and Littlefield, Caitlin E and Margolis, Ellis Q and North, Malcolm and Parisien, Marc-André and Prichard, Susan and Rodman, Kyle C},
	month = aug,
	year = {2020},
	keywords = {Terrestrial Ecoregions},
	pages = {659--673},
}

Downloads: 0