The Western Forest Initiative

By tracking a large number of trees and shrubs in Yosemite, CA and at Wind River, WA, we hope to understand subtle changes in forest composition and structure.  This research project also offers experiential education for students and citizens  (YFDP, WFDP).

Collaborators: Andrew Larson, Mark Swanson, James Freund

Sponsors, The Smithsonian, Yosemite National Park, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Wind River Canopy Crane, University of Washington.  Support to date: $150,000 plus 10,000 volunteer labor hours. 

Climate impacts on burn severity in three ecoregions

Landscape scale ecological processes such as succession, fire, disease, climate change and human impact can sometimes only be  examined with satellite or aerial imagery.  We are comparing the fire regime attributes in Yosemite National Park, Glacier National Park, and Yukon Charley.  More...

Collaborators: Carl Key (Lead), Jan van Wagtendonk, Crystal Abatzoglu, Kent van Wagtendonk. Sponsor: USGS Global Change Research, 2009-2011, $634,888

Effects of fire on carbon sequestration in Yosemite and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks

Proper accounting for carbon in landscapes experiencing frequent fire requires monitoring through several episodes of fire and regrowth.  More...

Collaborators: Matt Brooks (Lead), Lee Tarnay, Annie Esperanza, Gus Smith, Tony Caprio et al. Sponsor: National Park Service, 2009-2010, $56,400. Expanded scope and additional funding, 2010-2012, $301,869.

Climate scaling and water balance in Yosemite

Does the spatial scale of modeling affect the inferences about the effect of projected climate change on tree species distributions?  More...

Collaborators: Lee Hannah, Frank Davis, Rebecca Shaw, Nate Stephenson

Sponsor: The Nature Conservancy, 2009-2010, $14,060

Manipulating forest density and structure to maximize snow retention in maritime mountain basins

Can silvicultural manipulation increase the deposition and retention of snow, thus improving water availability in a warming climate?  More...

Collaborators: Jessica Lundquist (Lead), Rolf Gersonde

Sponsor: National Science Foundation, 2009-2012, $291,938

Using remote sensing to refine fire management objectives related to forest structural heterogeneity in Yosemite National Park, CA

As fires burn heterogeneously across a landscape with mixed vegetation types, variability in vegetation and fire behavior create a mosaic of burn severity patches.  These patches vary in size and shape and the amount of post-fire change in the vegetation structure.  More…

Collaborators: Susan Roberts, Gus Smith, Van Kane.

Sponsor: National Park Service, 2010-2011, $68,150

Successional dynamics

How do mortality processes, the heterogeneity of understory vegetation, and structural heterogeneity affect community composition? More...

Collaborator (PI): Charles Halpern