OBJECTIVE:
TRACKING FORESTS & FIRE
Data on long-term trends in forest and fire behavior will inform decision making and help to validate new, state-of-the-art simulations.
In addition to collecting original data, we are compiling already-existing remote-sensing data to understand trends in how Western fires and forests have been changing over the past several decades.
We are exploring:
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How and where are fires changing in frequency, size, and severity? And at what scale are these changes happening?
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How are forest structure, functions, and cover changing in response to fire and proactive forest management?
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What factors are driving these changes?
This information will help fire managers and other stakeholders make informed decisions in an evolving landscape; it will also allow us to test the first-of-its-kind model we’re developing. If it can accurately simulate observed past conditions, then we can feel confident about the model’s future projections.
TEAM MEMBERS.
BRIAN HARVEY
University of Washington
We are at a critical point in trying to make informed and important decisions about how to manage and best invest resources to protect our planet. Forests and their relationship with fire are a key piece of that equation."