Changing Wildfire, Changing Forests: The Effects of Climate Change on Fire Regimes and Vegetation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Abstract (from SpringerOpen): Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana, USA) have been immense in recent years, capturing the attention of resource managers, fire scientists, and the general public. This paper synthesizes understanding of the potential effects of changing climate and fire regimes on Pacific Northwest forests, including effects on disturbance and stress interactions, forest structure and composition, and post-fire ecological processes. We frame this information in a risk assessment context, and conclude with management implications and future research needs. Large and severe fires in the Pacific Northwest are associated with warm and dry conditions, and such...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Fire, Forests, Landscapes, Northwest CASC, All tags... Science Tools For Managers, State of the Science, Fewer tags

Fact Sheet - Changing Fire, Changing Forests: The Effects of Climate Change on Wildfire Patterns and Forests in the Pacific Northwest

This fact sheet was prepared by Jessica Halofsky, David Peterson and Brian Harvey, University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. Editorial assistance from Patti Loesche and Darcy Widmayer. Funding for this work provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. This fact sheets goes with the following synthesis paper: https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-019-0062-8.

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Fire, Forests, Landscapes, Northwest CASC, All tags... Science Tools For Managers, State of the Science, Fewer tags

Changing Wildfire, Changing Forests: How climate change is affecting fire regimes and vegetation in the Pacific Northwest StoryMap

Over the last century in the Pacific Northwest, warm and dry conditions in any given year have generally led to larger fires and greater area burned. By decreasing fuel moisture and increasing the length of the fire season, warm and dry conditions create large areas of dry fuels that are more likely to ignite and carry fire over a longer period of time. A warming climate will have profound effects on fire frequency, extent, and severity in the Pacific Northwest. Increased temperatures, decreased snowpack, and earlier snowmelt will likely lead to longer fire seasons, lower fuel moisture, higher likelihood of large fires, and greater area burned by wildfire. Interactions between fire and other disturbance agents (e.g.,...