Geography: National

Target Plant Concept: Guiding principles for post-disturbance reforestation in a changing climate

Climate change is creating a need for new strategies for reforestation and restoration. A new climate-informed approach focused on building resilience to future conditions is challenging  the traditional seedling selection process. 

Social science can support evidence-based wildfire education efforts

There are well established guidelines about how residents in fire-prone communities prepare for and mitigate risk from a wildfire. Social data can be the bridge from established guidelines to proper implementation. Evidence-based wildfire education efforts that tailor programs to the local social context are an effective approach to learning to live with wildfire. Patricia Champ is working with  social scientists and wildfire practitioners to create innovative approaches to wildfire adaptation. 

Manager Perceptions of Wildfire Risk During Wildfires

What is the wildfire risk from the perspective of land managers once the wildfire has already begun and the risk is tangible? In this study, patterns of wildfire risk perceptions are explored from operational Relative Risk Assessments completed by land managers on over 5,000 wildfires from 2010-2017 in every geographic area of the United States. Differences in risk perceptions were evident regionally and for adjacent national forests and parks, suggesting that an examination of the social, cultural, and physiographic factors influencing conceptions of risk once fire is on the ground is warranted.