Linking vegetation patterns to potential smoke production and fire hazard

During the past 80 years, various disturbances (such as wildfire and wind events) and management actions (including fire exclusion, logging, and domestic livestock grazing) have significantly modified the composition and structure of forests and ranges across the western United States. The resulting fuel loadings directly influence potential smoke production from wildland and prescribed fires and affect the vulnerability of landscapes to extreme fire behavior and crown fires. Assessments of potential smoke production and tradeoffs in air quality and fire hazard relative to managed fire and wildfire during large landscape assessments are essential to inform stakeholders involved in landscape-level decision making.