Joseph O'Brien
Project Leader/Research Ecologist
Center for Forest Disturbance Science
320 Green Street
Athens, GA 30602-2044
United States
Athens, GA 30602-2044
United States
Phone
706-461-3372
Current Research
My research centers on fire science, specifically the spatial interactions among wildland fuels, fire behavior and fire effects. I also am interested in the impacts of fire exclusion on ecosystem function and how to best restore fire into long-unburned fire dependent ecosystems.My research in fire ecology spans the globe with active research in the Caribbean, Central America and Africa.
I am interested in developing new ways of measuring fuels and fire, and in integrating these concepts into understanding ecosystem function and guiding management. For example, my research into spatially and temporally explicit fire behavior measurements led to the development of the concept of “the ecology of fuels” that bridges the gaps between both silviculture and fire management but also fire physics and fire ecology.
Research Interest
My research interests include fire ecology, ecophysiology, forest disturbance, interactions among disturbances, conservation biology and management of rare and endangered species,
Why This Research Is Important
Fire has shaped the ecology and evolution of terrestrial ecosystems since they came into existence. Fire remains one of the most important management issues in the United States and the world. However, this critical ecological process has remained poorly studied and often misunderstood. This offers tremendous opportunity for both creating new knowledge and improving fire management,=,
Education
- Florida International University, Ph.D., Biological Sciences, 2001
- Florida International University, M.S., Biological Sciences, 1997
- State University of New York at Geneseo, B.S., Biology, 1986
Featured Publications
- O’Brien, Joseph J.; Mordecai, Kathryn A.; Wolcott, Leslie; Snyder, James; Outcalt, Kenneth. 2010. Fire managers field guide: hazardous fuels management in subtropical pine flatwoods and tropical pine rocklands
- Sharik, Terry L.; Adair, William; Baker, Fred A.; Battaglia, Michael; Comfort, Emily J.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Delong, Craig; DeRose, R. Justin; Ducey, Mark J.; Harmon, Mark; Levy, Louise; Logan, Jesse A.; O'Brien, Joseph; Palik, Brian J.; Roberts, Scott D.; Rogers, Paul C.; Shinneman, Douglas J.; Spies, Thomas; Taylor, Sarah L.; Woodall, Christopher; Youngblood, Andrew. 2010. Emerging themes in the ecology and management of North American forests
- O’Brien, J.J.; Hiers, J.K.; Callaham, M.A., Jr..; Mitchell, R.J.; Jack, S.. 2008. Interactions among overstory structure, seedling life-history traits and fire in frequently burned neotropical pine forests
- Hiers, J. Kevin; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Mitchell, R. J.; Grego, John M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2009. The wildland fuel cell concept: an approach to characterize fine-scale variation in fuels and fire in frequently burned longleaf pine forests
Other Publications
- Pokswinski, Scott ; Gallagher, Michael R.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Hiers, J. Kevin.. 2020. Diurnal pine bark structure dynamics affect properties relevant to firebrand generation
- Carpenter, Dana O.; Taylor, Melanie K.; Callaham, Mac A.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Wurzburger, Nina. 2021. Benefit or Liability The Ectomycorrhizal Association May Undermine Tree Adaptations to Fire After Long-term Fire Exclusion
- Hiers, Quinn A.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hawley, Christie M.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Pokswinski, Scott ; Hoffman, Chad M.; O’Brien, Joseph J.. 2021. Non-destructive fuel volume measurements can estimate fine-scale biomass across surface fuel types in a frequently burned ecosystem
- Linn, Rodman R.; Winterkamp, Judith L.; Furman, James H.; Williams, Brett ; Hiers, J. Kevin; Jonko, Alexandra ; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Yedinak, Kara M.; Goodrick, Scott. 2021. Modeling Low Intensity Fires: Lessons Learned from 2012 RxCADRE
- Carpenter, Dana; Taylor, Melanie; Callaham, Mac; Hiers, J. Kevin; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph; Wurzburger, Nina. 2020. Benefit or Liability The Ectomycorrhizal Association May Undermine Tree Adaptations to Fire After Long-term Fire Exclusion
- Dickinson, Matthew B.; Wold, Cyle E.; Butler, Bret W.; Kremens, Robert L.; Jimenez, Daniel ; Sopko, Paul ; O'Brien, Joseph J.. 2021. The Wildland Fire Heat Budget Using Bi-Directional Probes to Measure Sensible Heat Flux and Energy in Surface Fires
- Skowronski, Nicholas ; Butler, Bret ; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph ; Varner, J. Morgan.. 2021. The Prescribed Fire Science Consortium
- Hiers, J. Kevin; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Varner, J. Morgan; Butler, Bret W.; Dickinson, Matthew ; Furman, James ; Gallagher, Michael ; Godwin, David ; Goodrick, Scott L.; Hood, Sharon M.; Hudak, Andrew ; Kobziar, Leda N.; Linn, Rodman ; Loudermilk, E. Louise; McCaffrey, Sarah ; Robertson, Kevin ; Rowell, Eric M.; Skowronski, Nicholas ; Watts, Adam C.; Yedinak, Kara M.. 2020. Prescribed fire science: the case for a refined research agenda
- Linn, R.R. ; Goodrick, S.L. ; Brambilla, S. ; Brown, M.J. ; Middleton, R.S. ; O'Brien, J.J. ; Hiers, J.K.. 2020. QUIC-fire: A fast-running simulation tool for prescribed fire planning
- Loudermilk, E. Louise; Dyer, Lee ; Pokswinski, Scott ; Hudak, Andrew T.; Hornsby, Benjamin ; Richards, Lora ; Dell, Jane ; Goodrick, Scott L.; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J.. 2019. Simulating groundcover community assembly in a frequently burned ecosystem using a simple neutral model
- O’Brien, J. J.; Hiers, J. K.; Varner, J. M.; Hoffman, C. M.; Dickinson, M. B.; Michaletz, S. T.; Loudermilk, E. L.; Butler, B. W.. 2018. Advances in Mechanistic Approaches to Quantifying Biophysical Fire Effects
- Flanagan, Steven A.; Bhotika, Smriti; Hawley, Christie; Starr, Gregory; Wiesner, Susanne; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph; Goodrick, Scott; Callaham Jr., Mac A.; Scheller, Robert M.; Klepzig, Kier D.; Taylor, R. Scott; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2019. Quantifying carbon and species dynamics under different fire regimes in a southeastern U.S. pineland
- Dell, Jane E.; Salcido, Danielle M.; Lumpkin, Will ; Richards, Lora A.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Dyer, Lee A.. 2019. Interaction diversity maintains resiliency in a frequently disturbed ecosystem
- Clements, Craig B.; Kochanski, Adam K.; Seto, Daisuke ; Davis, Braniff ; Camacho, Christopher ; Lareau, Neil P.; Contezac, Jonathan ; Restaino, Joseph ; Heilman, Warren E.; Krueger, Steven K.; Butler, Bret ; Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert ; Flynn, James ; Filippi, Jean-Baptiste ; Barboni, Toussaint ; Hall, Dianne E.; Mandel, Jan ; Jenkins, Mary Ann; O'Brien, Joseph ; Hornsby, Ben ; Teske, Casey. 2019. The FireFlux II experiment: a model-guided field experiment to improve understanding of fire-atmosphere interactions and fire spread
- Weise, David R.; Fletcher, Thomas H.; Johnson, Timothy J.; Hao, WeiMin ; Dietenberger, Mark ; Princevac, Marko ; Butler, Bret ; McAllister, Sara ; O’Brien, Joseph ; Loudermilk, Louise ; Ottmar, Roger ; Hudak, Andrew ; Kato, Akira ; Shotorban, Babak ; Mahalingam, Shankar ; Mell, William E.. 2018. A project to measure and model pyrolysis to improve prediction of prescribed fire behavior
- Cannon, Jeffery B.; Peterson, Chris J.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Brewer, J. Stephen.. 2017. A review and classification of interactions between forest disturbance from wind and fire
- Dell, Jane E.; Richards, Lora A.; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hudak, Andrew T.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Williams, Brett W.; Dyer, Lee A.. 2017. Overstory-derived surface fuels mediate plant species diversity in frequently burned longleaf pine forests
- Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J.. 2018. The role of fuels for understanding fire behavior and fire effects
- Bigelow, Seth; Stambaugh, Michael C.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Larson, Andrew J.; Battaglia, Michael A.. 2018. Longleaf pine restoration in context comparisons of frequent fire forests
- Hudak, Andrew T.; Dickinson, Matthew B.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Kremens, Robert L.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hornsby, Benjamin S.; Ottmar, Roger D.. 2016. Measurements relating fire radiative energy density and surface fuel consumption - RxCADRE 2011 and 2012
- Reilly, Matthew; Outcalt, Kenneth; O’Brien, Joseph; Wade, Dale. 2016. Effects of repeated growing season prescribed fire on the structure and composition of pine-hardwood forests in the southeastern Piedmont, USA
- Dell, Jane; O'Brien, Joseph; Doan, Lydia; Richards, Lora; Dyer, Lee. 2017. An arthropod survival strategy in a frequently burned forest
- Campbell, J. W.; O'Brien, J.; Irvin, J. H.; Kimmel, C. B.; Daniels, J. C.; Ellis, J. D.. 2017. Managed bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) caged with blueberry bushes at high density did not increase fruit set or fruit weight compared to open pollination
- Loudermilk, E. Louise; Kevin Hiers, J.; Pokswinski, Scott; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Barnett, Analie; Mitchell, Robert J.. 2016. The path back: oaks ( Quercus spp.) facilitate longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) seedling establishment in xeric sites
- Silva, Carlos A.; Hudak, Andrew T.; Vierling, Lee A.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Jack, Steve B.; Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos; Lee, Heezin; Falkowski, Michael J.; Khosravipour, Anahita. 2016. Imputation of individual longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) tree attributes from field and LiDAR data
- Rowell, Eric; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Seielstad, Carl; O'Brien, Joseph. 2016. Using simulated 3D surface fuelbeds and terrestrial laser scan data to develop inputs to fire behavior models
- Hudak, Andrew T.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hornsby, Benjamin S.; Klauberg, Carine; Silva, Carlos A.. 2016. Mapping forest structure and composition from low-density LiDAR for informed forest, fuel, and fire management at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, USA
- O'Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hiers, J. Kevin; Pokswinski, Scott; Hornsby, Benjamin; Hudak, Andrew; Strother, Dexter; Rowell, Eric; Bright, Benjamin C.. 2016. Canopy-derived fuels drive patterns of in-fire energy release and understory plant mortality in a longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) sandhill in northwest Florida, USA
- Wagner, Fabien H.; Herault, Bruno; Bonal, Damien; Stahl, Clement; Anderson, Liana O.; Baker, Timothy R.; Becker, Gabriel Sebastian; Beeckman, Hans; Boanerges Souza, Danilo; Botosso, Paulo Cesar; Bowman, David M. J. S.; Brauning, Achim; Brede, Benjamin; Brown, Foster Irving; Camarero, Jesus Julio; Camargo, Plinio Barbosa; Cardoso, Fernanda C. G.; Carvalho, Fabricio Alvim; Castro, Wendeson; Chagas, Rubens Koloski; Chave, Jerome; Chidumayo, Emmanuel N.; Clark, Deborah A.; Costa, Flavia Regina Capellotto; Couralet, Camille; da Silva Mauricio, Paulo Henrique; Dalitz, Helmut; de Castro, Vinicius Resende; de Freitas Milani, Jacanan Eloisa; de Oliveira, Edilson Consuelo; de Souza Arruda, Luciano; Devineau, Jean-Louis; Drew, David M.; Dunisch, Oliver; Durigan, Giselda; Elifuraha, Elisha; Fedele, Marcio; Ferreira Fedele, Ligia; Figueiredo Filho, Afonso; Finger, Cesar Augusto Guimaraes; Franco, Augusto Cesar; Freitas Junior, Joao Lima; Galvao, Franklin; Gebrekirstos, Aster; Gliniars, Robert; Graca, Paulo Mauricio Lima de Alencastro; Griffiths, Anthony D.; Grogan, James; Guan, Kaiyu; Homeier, Jurgen; Kanieski, Maria Raquel; Kho, Lip Khoon; Koenig, Jennifer; Kohler, Sintia Valerio; Krepkowski, Julia; Lemos-Filho, Jose Pires; Lieberman, Diana; Lieberman, Milton Eugene; Lisi, Claudio Sergio; Longhi Santos, Tomaz; Lopez Ayala, Jose Luis; Maeda, Eduardo Eijji; Malhi, Yadvinder; Maria, Vivian R. B.; Marques, Marcia C. M.; Marques, Renato; Maza Chamba, Hector; Mbwambo, Lawrence; Melgaco, Karina Liana Lisboa; Mendivelso, Hooz Angela; Murphy, Brett P.; O'Brien, Joseph; Oberbauer, Steven F.; Okada, Naoki; Pelissier, Raphael; Prior, Lynda D.; Roig, Fidel Alejandro; Ross, Michael; Rossatto, Davi Rodrigo; Rossi, Vivien; Rowland, Lucy; Rutishauser, Ervan; Santana, Hellen; Schulze, Mark; Selhorst, Diogo; Silva, Williamar Rodrigues; Silveira, Marcos; Spannl, Susanne; Swaine, Michael D.; Toledo, Jose Julio; Toledo, Marcos Miranda; Toledo, Marisol; Toma, Takeshi; Tomazello Filho, Mario; Valdez Hernandez, Juan Ignacio; Verbesselt, Jan; Vieira, Simone Aparecida; Vincent, Gregoire; Volkmer de Castilho, Carolina; Volland, Franziska; Worbes, Martin; Zanon, Magda Lea Bolzan; Aragao, Luiz E. O. C.. 2016. Climate seasonality limits leaf carbon assimilation and wood productivity in tropical forests
- Wenk, Evelyn S.; Callaham, Mac A.; O'Brien, Joseph; Hanson, Paul J.. 2016. Soil macroinvertebrate communities across a productivity gradient in deciduous forests of eastern North America
- Varner, J. Morgan; Kreye, Jesse K.; O'Brien, Joseph. 2016. Recent advances in understanding duff consumption and post-fire longleaf pine mortality
- Ottmar, Roger D.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Butler, Bret W.; Clements, Craig B.; Dickinson, Matthew B.; Hudak, Andrew T.; O'Brien, Joseph; Potter, Brian E.; Rowell, Eric M.; Strand, Tara M.; Zajkowski, Thomas J.. 2016. Measurements, datasets and preliminary results from the RxCADRE project-2008, 2011 and 2012
- Butler, Bret; Teske, C.; Jimenez, Dan; O'Brien, Joseph; Sopko, Paul; Wold, Cyle; Vosburgh, Mark; Hornsby, Ben; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2016. Observations of energy transport and rate of spreads from low-intensity fires in longleaf pine habitat-RxCADRE 2012
- Dickinson, Matthew B.; Hudak, Andrew T.; Zajkowski, Thomas; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Schroeder, Wilfrid; Ellison, Luke; Kremens, Robert L.; Holley, William; Martinez, Otto; Paxton, Alexander; Bright, Benjamin C.; O'Brien, Joseph; Hornsby, Ben; Ichoku, Charles; Faulring, Jason; Gerace, Aaron; Peterson, David; Mauceri, Joseph. 2016. Measuring radiant emissions from entire prescribed fires with ground, airborne and satellite sensors - RxCADRE 2012
- Loudermilk, E. Louise; Achtemeier, Gary L.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Hornsby, Benjamin S.. 2014. High-resolution observations of combustion in heterogeneous surface fuels
- Starr, G.; Staudhammer, C. L.; Loescher, H. W.; Mitchell, R.; Whelan, A.; Hiers, J. K.; O’Brien, J. J.. 2015. Time series analysis of forest carbon dynamics: recovery of Pinus palustris physiology following a prescribed fire
- Hanula, James L.; Horn, Scott; O'Brien, Joseph J.. 2015. Have changing forests conditions contributed to pollinator decline in the southeastern United States
- Fleming, G. M.; Wunderle, J. M.; Ewert, D. N.; O'Brien, J. J.; Helmer, E. H.. 2015. Functional attributes of two subtropical shrubs and implications for the distribution and management of endangered bird habitat
- Ikeda, Hiroshi; Callaham Jr., Mac A.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hornsby, Benjamin S.; Wenk, Evelyn S.. 2015. Can the invasive earthworm, Amynthas agrestis, be controlled with prescribed fire
- O'Brien, Joseph; Stahala, Caroline; Mori, Gina P.; Callaham, Mac; Bergh, Chris M.. 2006. Effects of prescribed fire on conditions inside a Cuban parrot (Amazona Leucocephala) surrogate nesting cavity on Great Abaco, Bahamas
- Fleming, Genie M.; Wunderle, Joseph M., Jr..; Ewert, David N.; O'Brien, Joseph. 2014. Estimating plant biomass in early-successional subtropical vegetation using a visual obstruction technique
- Cannon, Jeffery B.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, Louise; Dickinson, Matthew; Peterson, Chris J.. 2014. The influence of experimental wind disturbance on forest fuels and fire characteristics
- Garbarino, V.R.; Campbell, J.; O'Brien, J.; Proctor, H.C.; Dik, B.. 2013. Phthiraptera and Acari collected from 13 species of waterfowl from Alabama and Georgia
- Mitchell, Robert J.; Liu, Yongqiang; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Elliott, Katherine J.; Starr, Gregory; Miniat, Chelcy Ford; Hiers, J. Kevin. 2014. Future climate and fire interactions in the southeastern region of the United States
- Zhang, Yanzhuo; Hanula, James; O'Brien, Joseph; Horn, Scott; Kris, Braman; Sun, Jianghua. 2013. Evaluation of the impacts of herbivory by lace bugs on Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) survival and physiology
- O'Brien, J.; Dyer, L.; Mitchell, R.; Hudak, A.. 2013. Patterns and processes: Monitoring and understanding plant diversity in frequently burned longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) landscapes
- Callaham, Mac A., Jr..; Stanturf, John A.; Hammond, William J.; Rockwood, Donald L.; Wenk, Evelyn S.; O’Brien, Joseph J.. 2013. Survey to evaluate escape of Eucalyptus spp. seedlings from plantations in southeastern USA
- Loudermilk, EL; O'Brien, Joseph; Mitchell, RJ; Hiers, JK; Cropper, WP; Grunwald, S; Grego, J; Fernandez, J. 2012. Linking complex forest fuel structure and fire behavior at fine scales
- Aubrey, DP; Martazavi, B; O'Brien, Joseph; McGee, JD; Hendricks, JJ; Kuehn, KA; Mitchell, RJ. 2012. Influence of repeated canopy scorching on soil CO2 efflux
- Callaham, Mac A., Jr..; Scott, D. Andrew; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Stanturf, John A.. 2012. Cumulative effects of fuel management on the soils of eastern U.S
- Reilly, Matthew J.; Waldrop, Thomas A.; O’Brien, Joseph J.. 2012. Fuels management in the southern Appalachian Mountains, hot continental division
- Maschinski, Joyce; Ross, Michael S.; Liu, Hong; O'Brien, Joe; von Wettberg, Erick J.; Haskins, Kristin E.. 2011. Sinking ships: conservation options for endemic taxa threatened by sea level rise
- Jimenez, D.; Butler, B.; Hiers, K.; Ottmar, R.; Dickinson, M.; Kremens, R.; O'Brien, J.; Hudak, A.; Clements, C.. 2009. Rx-CADRE (Prescribed Fire Combustion-Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiments) collaborative research in the core fire sciences
- O’Brien, J.J.; Hiers, J.K.; Mitchell, R.J.; Varner, J.M., III.; Mordecai, K.. 2010. Acute physiological stress and mortality following fire in a long-unburned longleaf pine ecosystem
- Gardiner, E.S.; O’Brien, J.J.; Löf, M.; Stanturf, J.A.; Madsen, P.. 2009. Photosynthetic characteristics of Fagus sylvatica and Quercus robur established for stand conversion from Picea abies
- Hanula, J.L.; Wade, D.D.; O'Brien, J.; Loeb, S.C.. 2009. Ground-dwelling arthropod association with coarse woody debris following long-term dormant season prescribed burning in the longleaf pine flatwoods of north Florida.
- Gardiner, Emile S.; Lof, Magnus; O'brien, Joseph J.; Stanturf, John A.; Madsen, Palle. 2009. Photosynthetic characteristics of fagus sylvatica and quercus robur established for stand conversion from picea abies
- Mitchell, R.J.; Hiers, J.K.; O'Brien, J.J.; Jack, S.B.; Engstrom, R.T.. 2006. Silviculture that sustains: the nexus between silviculture, frequent prescribed fire, and conservation of biodiversity in longleaf pine forests of the southeastern United States
- Loudermilk, E. Louise; Singhania, Abhinav; Fernandez, Juan C.; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Cropper Jr., Wendell P.; Slatton, K. Clint; Mitchell, Robert J.. 2007. Application of ground-based LIDAR for fine-scale forest fuel modeling
- Kennard, Deborah K.; Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Jones, David; O'Brien, Joseph J.. 2005. Comparing techniques for estimating flame temperature of prescribed fires
- Schwendenmann, Luitgard; Veldkamp, Edzo; Brenes, Tania; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Mackensen, Jens. 2003. Spatial and temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in an old-growth neotropical rain forest, LA Selva, Costa Rica
- O'Brien, J.J.; Oberbauer, S.F.; Clark, D.B.. 2004. Whole tree xylem sap flow responses to multiple environmental variables in a wet tropical forest
- Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Will, Rodney E.; Mitchell, Robert J.. 2007. Forest floor depth mediates understory vigor in xeric Pinus palustris ecosystems
Research Highlights
QUIC-Fire: A Fast, 3-D Simulation Tool for Prescribed Fire Planning
Year: 2020
QUIC-Fire is the first fast-running 3D-coupled fire-atmosphere model that incorporates high-resolution 3D vegetation structure, interactions between multiple firelines, and fire-atmosphere feedbacks, which are critical for predicting the behavior of complex ignition patterns common on prescribed fir...
Transforming Fire Ecology
Year: 2019
Fire ecology is an essential discipline for guiding effective forest management, but progress in the field has stalled, leaving fire managers with critical knowledge gaps. The root of the problem may lie in both the lack of appropriate measurements and a focus on describing patterns instead of uncov...
Rethinking how we measure forest fuels for advancing wildland fire science and management
Year: 2018
Land managers depend on quality fire research to advance their understanding of wildland fire behavior. Cutting-edge fire behavior models output fire spread, fire intensity, and smoke plumes in three-dimensions, but forest fuels, which are used as model inputs, are not measured in similar dimensions...
How Fire Maintains Biological Diversity in Fire Dependent Forests
Year: 2016
Some forests depend on frequent fire to maintain ecosystem structure and function. However, the mechanisms that drive this relationship are poorly known. Forest Service scientists have explored the mechanisms explaining the link between plant and insect diversity in longleaf pine forests through the...
RxCADRE: Prescribed Fire Combustion-Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiments
Year: 2011
21st Century wildfires are increasing in frequency, intensity and complexity. These trends seem likely to continue in the face of climate change, shifting land use patterns, and an increasingly urbanized landscape. For fire science to advance quickly enough to benefit the land management community t...