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Jodi Norris

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Developing a Decision Support Framework for Prioritizing Pinyon Juniper Forest Treatments on the Colorado Plateau
Across the western U.S., pinyon and juniper trees are expanding into sagebrush and grassland plant communities. This vegetation change has been perceived to have a significant impact on the economic value of these grasslands, which support activities such as livestock grazing and hunting, but expanding pinyon and juniper forests may also lead to increased risk of fire. Over the past several decades pinyon-juniper forests have been removed across large areas of land to improve wildlife habitat and grazing land productivity while reducing risks of wildland fire. What isn’t known is whether these strategies are effective in reaching this goal, especially given that our future climate will likely be hotter and drier...
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Adding fuel to the fire: determining vegetation-specific drought timescales that enhance fuel flammability and fire potential
Increasing severe drought events occurring across the Colorado Plateau can harm vegetation and create drier and more flammable fuel for wildfire. Researchers supported by this Southwest CASC project will analyze drought indices and satellite data to show how quickly after drought begins that different types of vegetation across the region show signs of health declines and increased flammability. These results will help land managers detect early signs of drought stress in plants and identify areas of high fire-risk to help make decisions and allocate resources in the region. Plants on the Colorado Plateau have adaptations to withstand short dry spells, but recent severe droughts linked to climate change in the...
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