Wednesday March 10th, 2021, 3:30-4:30 PM
2021 Forest & Fire Ecology Random Lectures
Postfire
restoration framework for national forests in California
Dr. Marc Meyer,
US Forest Service
Abstract: Increasing frequency and
extent of uncharacteristically severe wildfires pose a significant threat to
California’s forest and shrubland ecosystems. To address these trends, we
developed a science-based framework to guide the development of postfire
restoration on national forests in California. The framework is founded on a
set of guiding principles and a five-step process that leads to the development
of a restoration portfolio that can inform project planning, monitoring, and
research in California’s diverse ecosystems.
Bio: Marc Meyer is an ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Regional Ecology Program and serves the Inyo, Sequoia, and
Sierra National Forests. His work focuses on integrating science
information into land management planning and ecological restoration projects
in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. Contact:
marc.meyer@usda.gov.
Improving the burn: a look
at the California Prescribed Fire Monitoring Program so far and the challenges
ahead
Dr. John Williams,
University of California, Davis
Abstract: Prescribed fire can
help California reduce the risk of large, high severity wildfires and restore
its fire-adapted forests. Such low-to-moderate severity fires can reduce the
buildup of combustible fuels and have a regenerative effect on ecosystems. There
are many unanswered questions, however, about how much fire is needed, how
often, and how that depends on forest type. The California Prescribed Fire
Monitoring Program (CPFMP) is a collaboration between the University of
California, Davis and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE), founded in 2019 to address these questions. Through a network of
long-term monitoring plots in forests where fire is an endemic ecological
process, the CPFMP deploys field crews to collect data before and after burns
so that scientists and land managers can improve their understanding of how to
optimize prescribed fire for risk abatement and ecological benefit. In this
webinar, we look at the objectives, scope and achievements of the
CPMFP in its first two years, as well as lessons learned and the challenges
ahead.
Bio:
John Williams is an ecologist and project scientist at the
University of California, Davis, where he manages the California Prescribed
Fire Monitoring Program and studies the effects of natural and prescribed fire
on forest ecosystems. He also conducts research on climate change, species
distributions, biodiversity conservation and the interface between agriculture
and natural habitat. Contact:
jnwill@ucdavis.edu.
