Speaker/Affiliation: Ashley Grupenhoff, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Title: Changing fire regimes and fire management strategies in California’s diverse ecosystems
When: Wednesday, January 21 12:00pm PST
Location: EMS B214
Abstract: Large wildfires are reshaping ecosystems across western North America as climate change and Euro-American fire suppression alter historical fire regimes. In chaparral ecosystems, increasing fire frequency threatens native plant communities, while in dry conifer forests, fuel accumulation and forest densification have intensified fire severity when fires do occur. My research combines field-based data collection with quantitative modeling to examine how these altered fire regimes, and the management strategies designed to address them, affect vegetation dynamics, fuels, and ecosystem recovery. In this talk, I draw on research from chaparral ecosystems in northern California, where increased fire frequency alters woody plant communities, and from a synthesis of post-treatment fuel dynamics across dry conifer forests in the western United States. I also evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed fire in modifying fuels, stand structure, and species diversity, with an emphasis on recovery trajectories following fire. Understanding how ecosystems respond to altered fire regimes is critical for guiding land management decisions aimed at reducing wildfire impacts while sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in a warming future.
