DGESL : Research : Climate-Vegetation-Wildfire (Disturbance) Interactions

An important factor in determining how vegetation responds to climate is disturbance (e.g., fire, grazing, or wind-throw). For this reason we have been interested in understanding how past and future climate change affected and might affect rates of disturbance, as well as how altered disturbance regimes impact vegetation and vegetation change. This work has emphasized the use of vegetation and biogeochemistry models, but has also included the development of disturbance dynamics based on pollen and charcoal records from lake and ice cores. Work has also investigated the sensitivity of æolian activity to disturbance.

Most recently, former graduate student Allison Drake led efforts to develop a place-based approach in simulating climate-vegetation-fire interactions for enhanced range and forest management in the southwest.

A. Drake, J. Magan, B. Morehouse, S. Moran, D. Peters, T. Swetnam, L. Thompson, R. Webb, J. Weiss

Morehouse, B., G. Christopherson, M. Crimmins, B. Orr, J. Overpeck, T. Swetnam, and S. Yool. 2006. Modeling interactions among wildland fire, climate and society in the context of climatic variability and change in the southwest US. In: Regional Climate Change and Variability, M. Ruth, K. Donaghy, and P. Kirshen, eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 58-78.

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Orr, B.J., W. Grunberg, A.B. Cockerham, A.Y. Thwaits, S.H. Severson, N.M.D. Lerman, R.M. Miller, M. Haseltine, B.J. Morehouse, J.T. Overpeck, S.R. Yool, T.W. Swetnam, and G.L. Christopherson. 2005. An on-line interface for integrated modeling of wildfire, climate and society for strategic planning for the sky islands. In: Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Research and Resource Management in Southwestern Deserts – Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago II: Connecting Mountain Islands and Desert Seas, May 11-15, 2004, Tucson, AZ, G.J. Gottfried, B.S. Gebow, L.G. Eskew, and C. Edminster, eds., USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO, pp. 469-473.

Mangan, J.M, J.T. Overpeck, R.S. Webb, C. Wessman, and A.F.H. Goetz. 2004. Response of Nebraska Sand Hills natural vegetation to drought, fire, grazing, and plant functional type shifts as simulated by the CENTURY model. Climatic Change 63: 49-90.

Overpeck, J.T., D. Rind, and R. Goldberg. 1990. Climate-induced changes in forest disturbance and vegetation. Nature 343: 51-53.