A5059609750- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Plant and animal studies
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Forest ecology and management
- Fire dynamics and safety research
- Forest Management and Policy
- Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Disaster Management and Resilience
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Plant Ecology and Soil Science
- Seed Germination and Physiology
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Botanical Research and Chemistry
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies
- Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Complexity and Algorithms in Graphs
Texas Tech University
2015-2025
University of Oxford
2021
Wake Forest University
2021
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
2021
University of the Witwatersrand
2021
United States Geological Survey
2005-2009
Western Ecological Research Center
2006
Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
2006
Sequoia (United States)
2006
Stanford University
1999-2005
Community assembly theory suggests that two processes affect the distribution of trait values within communities: competition and habitat filtering. Within a local community, leads to ecological differentiation coexisting species, while filtering reduces spread values, reflecting shared tolerances. Many statistical tests for effects exist in literature, but measures are less well-developed. Here, we present convex hull volume, construct from computational geometry, which provides an...
The current conditions of many seasonally dry forests in the western and southern United States, especially those that once experienced low- to moderate-intensity fire regimes, leave them uncharacteristically susceptible high-severity wildfire. Both prescribed its mechanical surrogates are generally successful meeting short-term fuel-reduction objectives such treated stands more resilient high-intensity Most available evidence suggests these typically accomplished with few unintended...
Roughly 3% of the Earth's land surface burns annually, representing a critical exchange energy and matter between atmosphere via combustion. Fires range from slow smouldering peat fires, to low-intensity intense crown depending on vegetation structure, fuel moisture, prevailing climate, weather conditions. While links biogeochemistry, climate fire are widely studied within Earth system science, these relationships also mediated by fuels—namely plants their litter—that product evolutionary...
Summary We live on a flammable planet yet there is little consensus the origin and evolution of flammability in our flora. argue that part problem lies concept flammability, which should not be viewed as single quantitative trait or metric. Rather, we propose has three major dimensions are necessarily correlated: ignitability, heat release fire spread rate. These axes variation controlled by different plant traits have differing ecological impacts during fire. At individual scale, these...
Changes in vegetation and fuels were evaluated from measurements taken before after fuel reduction treatments (prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, the combination of two) at 12 Fire Surrogate (FFS) sites located forests with a surface fire regime across conterminous United States. To test relative effectiveness their effect on ecological parameters we used an information‐theoretic approach suite variables representing overstory (basal area live tree, sapling, snag density), understory...
• The mapping of functional traits onto chronograms is an emerging approach for the identification how agents natural selection have shaped evolution organisms. Recent research has reported fire-dependent appearing among flowering plants from 60 million yr ago (Ma). Although there are many records fossil charcoal in Cretaceous (65–145 Ma), evidence evolving that period lacking. We link evolutionary trajectories five fire-adapted Pinaceae with paleoatmospheric conditions over last 250 to...
Fire may act as a selective force on plants both through its direct effects by killing or wounding susceptible individuals and effect the environment: post‐fire environment select specific physiological traits life histories. We used phylogenetic independent contrasts to test hypothesis that fire has selected for correlated evolution among alternative suites of in pines: survival/avoidance suite characterized thick bark, height, self‐pruning dead branches; fire‐embracing strategy which...
In the course of an adaptive radiation, evolution niche parameters is particular interest for understanding modes speciation and consequences coexistence related species within communities. We pose a general question: evolutionary do traits to within-community differences (alpha niche) evolve before or after differentiation macrohabitat affinity climatic tolerances (beta niche)? Here we introduce new test address this question, based on modification method independent contrasts. The...
By affecting local fire intensities or the probability of ignition, traits that influence plant flammability may indirectly control selection for fire‐related life‐history and physiological traits. The retention dead branches in canopy has been cited as contributing to flammability. No experiment, however, demonstrated differences architecture on scale observed variation nature can affect characteristics. I experimentally manipulated canopies Adenostoma fasciculatum, a California shrub...
Ecologists and conservation biologists have historically used species-area distance-decay relationships as tools to predict the spatial distribution of biodiversity impact habitat loss on biodiversity. These treat each species evolutionarily equivalent, yet importance species' evolutionary history in their ecology is becoming increasingly evident. Here, we provide theoretical predictions for phylogenetic analogues relationships. We use a random model community assembly spatially explicit...
Summary 1. Although it is recognized that plant species vary in their flammability, we currently lack a mechanistic understanding of how traits influence fire and litter mixtures behave fire. As modified regimes climate change shift the composition communities, perspective especially important to understand predict potentially novel communities. This work addresses three questions: (i) How do eight common Sierra Nevada mixed‐conifer forest differ flammability? (ii) What leaf are associated...
Abstract Aim Functional traits are a crucial link between species distributions and the ecosystem processes that structure those species’ niches. Concurrent increases in availability of functional trait data our ability to model present an opportunity develop biogeography (i.e., mapping across space). can improve process‐based predictions about resistance certain assemblages changing environmental conditions landscape scales. We illustrate this concept by developing first trait‐based,...
1. Although species differ in flammability, identifying the traits that influence flammability and linking them to other axes of trait variation has yet be accomplished. Leaf length may a key influencing leaf litter. 2. Differences composition across landscape or changes through time alter fire behaviour. Forests Sierra Nevada CA, USA, have experienced modified distribution litter traits. 3. Across three independent data sets, at scales from single watershed multiple watersheds elevations,...
The 12-site National Fire and Surrogate study (FFS) was a multivariate experiment that evaluated ecological consequences of alternative fuel-reduction treatments in seasonally dry forests the US. Each site replicated with common design compared an un-manipulated control, prescribed fire, mechanical + fire treatments. Variables within vegetation, fuelbed, forest floor soil, bark beetles, tree diseases wildlife were measured 10-ha stands, response among at level, across sites, to better...
Fire is an integral component of ecosystems globally and a tool that humans have harnessed for millennia. Altered fire regimes are fundamental cause consequence global change, impacting people the biophysical systems on which they depend. As part newly emerging Anthropocene, marked by human-caused climate change radical changes to ecosystems, danger increasing, fires having increasingly devastating impacts human health, infrastructure, ecosystem services. Increasing vexing problem requires...
Background The increased interest in why and how trees die from fire has led to several syntheses of the potential mechanisms fire-induced tree mortality. However, these generally neglect consider experimental methods used simulate behaviour conditions. Aims To describe, evaluate appropriateness provide a historical timeline different approaches that have been mortality studies. Methods We conducted review actual proxy further our understanding Key results Most studies assess laboratory...
Fire regimes are changing across the globe, with new wildfire behaviour phenomena and increasing impacts felt, especially in ecosystems without clear adaptations to wildfire. These trends pose significant challenges scientific community understanding communicating these changes their implications, particularly where we lack underlying evidence inform decision-making. Here, present a perspective on priority directions for science research—through lens of academic government scientists from...
Plant functional traits provide a valuable tool to improve our understanding of ecological processes at range scales. Previous handbooks on plant have highlighted the importance standardising measurements and evolutionary processes. In open ecosystems (i.e. grasslands, savannas, woodlands shrublands), related disturbance (e.g. herbivory, drought, fire) play central role in explaining species performance distributions are focus this handbook. We brief descriptions 34 list important...
Many woody plant species that depend upon fire‐cued seed germination lack the ability to resprout. As resprout is widely assumed be ancestral condition in most groups, failure sprout an evolutionary derived trait. Models for loss of sprouting assume a trade‐off between seedling success and vegetative resprouting adults. Such models require higher rates nonsprouters than sprouters. On other hand, there seem few priori reasons why strong sprouter might not also have highly competitive...
Abstract Recent developments in community models emphasize the importance of incorporating stochastic processes (e.g. ecological drift) niche‐structured assembly. We constructed a finite, spatially explicit, lottery model to simulate distribution species one‐dimensional landscape with an underlying gradient environmental conditions. Our framework combines potential for drift environmentally‐mediated competition space heterogeneous environment. examined influence niche breadth, dispersal...