LANDFIRE’s most recent Postcard newsletter includes important updates including information on the rollout of LANDFIRE 2019 and upcoming LANDFIRE “office hours.”
Continue ReadingFire Research
This page features regionally relevant fire science news, publications, and resources. You can search for even more fire science publications in the SFE Regional Fire Science Publication Database (RFSPD).
Texas Longleaf Landowner Survey
Texas Longleaf Implementation Team (TLIT) and Texan by Nature (TxN) are working together to restore more longleaf in East Texas by securing additional cost-sharing opportunities through strategic partnerships. They groups aim to amplify their restoration impacts in East Texas by identifying possible landowner partners. To that end, they have developed a short survey.
Continue ReadingHumboldt State Announces Plans for Applied Fire Science & Management Program
In an effort to boost its chances of becoming California’s third polytechnic university, Humboldt State University this week announced plans for several new science and engineering programs.
HSU will submit proposals for Applied Fire Science & Management, Cannabis Studies, Data Science, Energy Systems Engineering, Engineering & Community Practice, Geospatial Information Science & Technology, Marine Biology, Mechanical Engineering, and Software Engineering to California State University officials for consideration for Fall 2023.
Read more from the Times-Standard here.
Continue ReadingGuidance Available to Prepare Schools, Commercial and Public Buildings for Wildfire Smoke
Smoke in wildfire prone states is a growing health concern, especially for vulnerable populations. EPA is collaborating with partners to develop guidance to protect those who are in schools, commercial buildings and other public buildings from wildfire smoke exposure. A newly released interim guide provides recommendations and processes for developing a smoke readiness plan for commercial buildings that can be implemented when smoke is forecasted and during smoky days.
Continue ReadingResearch Brief: Weather Impacts on Fire Thresholds: A Recipe for Big Fire
In this important concept paper, Pausas and Keeley (2021) outline the mechanistic flow of complex drivers of wildfire for fire prone ecosystems. In brief, with ignitions, fuel continuity, and drought saturation points simultaneously lowered by the right weather, wildfire will be triggered.
Continue ReadingNational Fire Scar Survey
The Missouri Tree Ring Lab has launched a National Fire Scar Survey tool. This new tool allows fire managers, foresters, and land managers to submit information and the location of fire scars. Submitting fire scars can help researchers to identify potential new fire scar collection sites to help understand historical fire patterns.
Access the National Fire Scar Survey here.
Continue ReadingNew SFE Video: UAVs for Measuring Prescribed Fire Behavior
A new Southern Fire Exchange video features Jim Riddering, Ph.D., the Remote Sensing Program Manager at the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis at the University of Montana. In this video Jim talks about his project at the 2017 multinational Prescribed Fire Science Consortium event held at Tall Timbers Research Station and Pebble Hill Plantation in North Florida and South Georgia.
Continue ReadingScience Needs of Southeastern Grassland Species of Conservation Concern: A Framework for Species Status Assessments
The unglaciated southeastern United States is a biodiversity hotspot, with a disproportionate amount of this biodiversity concentrated in grasslands. Like most hotspots, the Southeast is also threatened by human activities, with the total reduction of southeastern grasslands estimated as 90 percent (upwards to 100 percent for some types) and with many threats escalating today. This report summarizes the results of a multistakeholder workshop organized by the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the U.S. Geological Survey, held in January 2020 to provide a scientific needs assessment to help inform the Species Status Assessment (SSA) process under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, with a focus on grassland species and communities of conservation concern in the southeastern United States. This report reviews the ecology of southeastern grasslands, including influences on their origin, maintenance, and high species richness and endemism; presents findings from the workshop; and discusses science questions, hypotheses, and possibilities for future research projects to help fill key knowledge gaps.
Continue ReadingNew Paper: Working Towards a More Ethical Ecology
A new paper published in Nature Ecology and Evolution by Drs. Christopher H. Trisos, Jess Auerbach & Madhusudan Katti addresses Decoloniality and anti-oppressive practices for a more ethical ecology. The publication addresses how “ecology as a discipline and the diversity of those who call themselves ecologists have been shaped and held back by often exclusionary Western approaches to knowing and doing ecology.” It also discusses possible shifts to help address these issues and change ecological practice.
Continue ReadingWorkshop Recording: Using Soil Moisture Information to Better Understand and Predict Wildfire Danger: A Symposium for Researchers and Fire Managers
This online symposium presented the latest advances in using soil moisture information to better understand and predict wildfire danger. Recent discoveries are revealing the potential for soil moisture estimates from in situ monitoring stations, remote sensing, and models to improve fire danger predictions and to advance our understanding of fire behavior.
This interactive symposium provided a forum to build connections between researchers and managers, to share relevant research in this area, and to identify ways to move forward with new research and end uses.
You can access recordings of all the workshop presentations here.
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