What Type-converts Chaparral to Grassland in SoCA? Research Brief

What Type-converts Chaparral to Grassland in SoCA? Research Brief

The authors show a direct connection between a diverse set of drivers and type-converted chaparral in Southern California. Example drivers include high frequency fire, land-use disturbance, moisture availability, and site flatness.

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Researchers & Professionals- Partnering For Ecosystem Conservation is Essential: Research Brief

Researchers & Professionals- Partnering For Ecosystem Conservation is Essential: Research Brief

Discussions of successes, struggles, and failures with partner-specific tools are vital to the successful implementation of “translational ecology” a formal term for biological conservation partnerships.

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Extreme Drought Causes Chaparral Type Conversion: Research Brief

Extreme Drought Causes Chaparral Type Conversion: Research Brief

The rugged, chaparral dominated Angeles National Forest (ANF, California) is a beautiful and popular recreation destination. However, it is being damaged by a combination of overwhelming anthropogenic stressors, including climate change-induced mega-droughts, unnaturally shortened fire intervals, very poor air quality (e.g., high levels of nitrogen deposition), and the invasion of non-native groundcover plants.

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Spatial predictions of conifer regeneration after wildfire may help managers prioritize reforestation efforts: Research Brief

Spatial predictions of conifer regeneration after wildfire may help managers prioritize reforestation efforts: Research Brief

Recent work by researchers from U.C. Berkeley and the U.S. Forest Service has produced a spatially-explicit predictive model that can be used to forecast where regeneration of (non-serotinous) conifers is most likely to occur after wildfire. This predictive model combines seed availability with climatic, topographic, and burn severity data to forecast the spatial patterns of post-fire conifer regeneration

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Using historical forest density estimates to inform management of contemporary Sierra Nevada forests: Research Brief

 Using historical forest density estimates to inform management of contemporary Sierra Nevada forests: Research Brief

This brief discusses and compares the two methods used to estimate historic tree densities of the Sierra Nevada. The study suggests that density estimates from distance-based estimators support the historical density estimates derived from timber inventories and reconstructions.

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How to Protect Old Trees When Reintroducing Fire: Research Brief

How to Protect Old Trees When Reintroducing Fire: Research Brief

This brief is based on a synthesis that covers recent research documenting effects of introducing fire in fire suppressed forests, provides necessary background information to understand the breadth of the problem, provides realistic management solutions to reduce impacts and defines monitoring techniques to identify treatment effects.

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Understanding Spatial Controls of Mixed-Severity Fire: Research Brief

Understanding Spatial Controls of Mixed-Severity Fire: Research Brief

Understanding the relative importance of biological and environmental characteristics conducive to a moderate severity wildfire can help managers predict outcomes to better guide when and where fires can safely be managed.

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Where the WUI is: Implications for wildfire mitigation and outreach communities: Research Brief

Where the WUI is: Implications for wildfire mitigation and outreach communities: Research Brief

The WUI is often synonymous with fire risk to buildings, but this research suggests that this is not the case in all fire-prone states. While fire outreach was often present near areas where buildings are destroyed by wildfire, many communities are established after major fires.

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Non-Native Plants, Fuels, and Desert Revegetation: Research Brief

Non-Native Plants, Fuels, and Desert Revegetation: Research Brief

To revegetate disturbed desert lands, practitioners often reestablish fertile islands as a first step in restoring native plants and associated fauna on disturbed desert sites. This research brief discusses the pros and cons of this approach considering native and non-native species.

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Chaparral Bird Communities Harmed by Shrub Removal: Research Brief

Chaparral Bird Communities Harmed by Shrub Removal: Research Brief

To help managers make science-based decisions that incorporate wildlife information, this study experimentally compared the effects of two pre-fire vegetation reduction treatments (prescribed burning and shrub mastication) on the chaparral bird community.

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World Plants Converged on “Smoke” Cued Germination: Research Brief

World Plants Converged on “Smoke” Cued Germination: Research Brief

Smoke cued germination occurs in an incredible diversity of plants in widely separated, fire-prone Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems around the world. This research suggests that convergent evolution might be the explanation. 

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