Sierra Nevada
Geographic area and background
We are planning field trips and webinars as well as growing our list of publication briefs. If you have questions or suggestions regarding the CFSC-SN activities, please contact the team leader Hugh Safford (contact information to below).
The CFSC-SN is responsible for the entirety of its namesake mountain range from the San Emigdio and Tehachapi Mountains at the extreme south to the range’s northern limit near Lake Almanor and the Plumas National Forest-Lassen National Forest boundary. Areas further to the north are the responsibility of the CFSC's Northern California Region.
The activities of the CFSC-SN are implemented by a team of personnel from the US Forest Service and the University of California, led by Hugh Safford (USFS). The team’s efforts are directed, in large part, by the CFSC-SN advisory committee – a group of 16 individuals who represent across-section of the Sierra Nevada’s wildland fire expertise including researchers, line officers, and outreach specialists belonging to federal, state, and non-governmental organizations throughout the region. The advisory committee meets regularly throughout the year, either by phone or in-person, with the exception of the peak fire season.
Need to reach someone?
Sierra Nevada Coordinator
Research Assistant Professor
Sierra Nevada Coordinator
University of Nevada - Reno
Sierra Nevada Program Lead
Chief Scientist | Vibrant Planet
Affiliate Faculty | University of California-Davis
hdsafford@ucdavis.edu
Advisory Board Member/Sierra Nevada Regional contact
Natural Resources Advisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin
UC Cooperative Extension
South Lake Tahoe, CA
sdkocher@ucdavis.edu
Upcoming Events Related to Sierra Nevada
If blank, there are currently no upcoming events for this region.
Sierra Nevada Research Briefs & Synthesis
Although fuels treatments are generally shown to be effective at reducing fire severity, there is widespread interest in monitoring that efficacy as the climate continues to warm and the incidence of extreme fire weather increases. This paper compared basal area mortality across adjacent treated and untreated sites in the 2021 Dixie Fire of California’s Sierra Nevada.
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Although vegetation types other than conifer forests make up the majority of burned area in California wildfires, relatively few studies quantify the drivers and patterns of vegetation change in these ecosystems. The impacts of fire exclusion on non-conifer systems remain poorly understood, and the relative influence of fuels compared to factors like climate change or type conversion on fire behavior is largely unknown. To address this knowledge gap, the authors investigated large-scale vegetation change as a possible driver of current trends in fire behavior within mixed-hardwood and shrub-dominated ecosystems in central and coastal Northern California.
Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) regeneration is reliant on local surface fires, where episodic pulses of heat desiccate and open their cones, releasing seed onto bare mineral soil. Historically, these fires were characterized as ‘mixed severity’, composed of a large matrix that burned at low or moderate severity interspersed with small forest gaps created by local high severity fire. While sequoia regeneration can flourish within these small, high severity gaps,recent ‘megafires’ have produced unprecedentedly large patches of high severity, where the majority of sequoias as killed. This research aims to help resource managers determine whether and where to replant giant sequoia after high severity wildfire.
Identification and conservation of mature and old-growth forests has become a federal government priority. In California’s Sierra Nevada’s most of the remaining large trees are concentrated on Forest Service and National Park Service lands. We used airborne lidar data to census large (≥30” diameter at breast height (DBH)) and very large (≥40”) trees across three large Sierra landscapes. We found that large trees are either locally absent to rare or are aggregated in stands with 8-20 large trees per acre.
This study explores the effects of historical logging on tree regeneration and successive effects on stand development under a history of fire exclusion. The authors leveraged a silvicultural experiment from the 1920s in the Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest of the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest to test if silvicultural objectives of increasing pine stocking rates were met. Combining historical (pre- and post-logging in 1928-1929) and contemporary tree regeneration data along with overstory and microsite conditions, they assessed the impact of logging on pine decline.
This study analyzes tree death in Yosemite National Park and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park following the 2012-2016 drought.
This study investigates whether wildfire enables the upslope migration of upper montane conifers into the current range of subalpine conifers in the Sierra Nevada, California.
Researchers from Michigan State University and the USFS Fire Behavior Assessment Team used 15 years of immediate pre- and post-fire fuel and wildfire behavior data to identify the role of fire advancement mode and pre-fire environmental drivers (e.g., topography, fire weather, and fuel loadings) on fuel consumption and fire effects in California mixed-conifer forests.
In California’s dry mixed conifer forests, increasingly large high severity wildfires threaten to convert significant areas of forested land into shrub dominated landscapes in the absence of active reforestation, including control of competing vegetation. Previous studies have found that salvage logging and other methods used to prepare a site for reforestation may reduce shrub cover after wildfire. This study investigated the effect of masticated fuel depth on shrub growth where salvage logging and mastication followed high severity wildfire.
This study uses tree cores gathered at three 4-hectare plots to make inferences about temporal aspects of tree recruitment in pine-dominated ecosystems of the California Sierra Nevada and the Sierra San Petro Martir in northwestern Mexico.
In this paper, the authors quantify change in the extent of mature conifer forests in the southern Sierra Nevada of California during 2011-2020, a decade and ecoregion characterized by compounding severe wildfires and drought follow prolonged fire exclusion.
This study uses bio-acoustical monitoring to characterize the habitat of mountain quail in the California Sierra Nevada. Findings include that high severity wildfires may promote vegetation structures that are beneficial for mountain quail.
This study leveraged data collected from 20-year-old forest monitoring plots within fuel treatment units that captured a range of wildfire occurrence (i.e., not burned, burned once, or burned twice) following application of initial thinning treatments and prescribed fire.
A new paper by USGS and partners investigated why some California wildfires are destructive and others are not.
This synthesis summaries a set of papers the explore the relationship between landscape-level forest resilience and disturbance regimes and provides strategies for the effective forest management of Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests
In recent decades white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, and fire have increased in extent and caused tree mortality across the western USA. This study used long-term monitoring plots to determine mortality of four white pine species in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
A recent paper by Scott Stephens and co-authors asserts that conservation of western forests is still possible, and describes sensible, evidence-based strategies to improve forest ecosystem resilience.
Understanding post-fire tree mortality is important for planning restoration fire treatments that modify fire behavior and effects and models that reflect multiple spatial and temporal scales are effective tools.
Do fuel reduction treatments result in restored conditions that align with those found in historically frequent-fire forests of the west? A recent paper sets out to answer that question by examining the principles behind fuel reduction and forest restoration projects and identifying situations where the two approaches align and where they may diverge.
The study used models to predict fire behavior differences according to two primary factors: mid-story density (i.e. the ladder fuel layer) and live fuel moisture. This is relevant for prescribed burns because both of these factors can be modified when conducting burns.
This article uses field data from two wildfires (the 2015 Rough Fire and 2016 Cedar Fire) that burned in areas of recent severe tree mortality to examine whether and under what conditions the pre-fire tree mortality affected wildfire severity.
This study compares the costs of prescribed fire and thinning treatments while putting treatment costs in the context of treatment effectiveness.
Restoration of landscapes affected by uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires in California requires a science-based framework to address a complexity of issues and concerns. The authors describe a set of ecological restoration principles, a landscape assessment process, and a framework for decision-making to plan and implement restoration projects.
This study uses historical patterns of burn windows to predict burn window likelihood to inform prescribed burning planning and budgeting.
This synthesis summarizes six papers that use a variety of methods to reconstruct the historic forest structure and composition of the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada.
Employing a robust before-after-control-impact (BACI) study design, researchers assessed how thinning in forests altered forest structural conditions in the short- and longer-term in the Sierra Nevada.
This study compares post-drought forests to historical forests to understand if the recent tree mortality event shifted forests closer to or further from resilient conditions.
Photo credit: Historic conditions in a ponderosa pine stand circa 1917. Source: Sierra National Forest Photo HP0313
Given the changing disturbance regimes and climate, there is a critical need to take decisive and extensive actions in the next 1-2 decades to conserve Sierra Nevada forests. This synthesis provides a summary of how climate change and fire are impacting our Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer forests and how active management can help mitigate some of these impacts.
In this study, researchers examined the effects of backburning operations in a heavily stocked ponderosa pine plantation during the 2012 Mill Fire.
The SSPM can help guide management decisions in mixed conifer/ yellow pine forests of the western US/ California that wish to return forests to historical (pre-European) conditions or prepare them for a changing climate and an uncertain future.
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Past Events and Webinars
The Mojave Desert Native Plant Materials Development and Restoration Workshop will be held on October 8th through the 10th in Victorville, CA. This event is hybrid, with both a zoom and in-person option. The workshop is free and open to the public.
From August 16 to September 22, 2020, the 86,509 acres CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, causing catastrophic impacts. From the perspective of a foreign researcher, Clara Aubonnet's presentation will attempt to explain how power rivalries over forest management and firefighting agencies complicated the response to the CZU. This enables a geographical analysis of localized socio-political situations around fire and forests and the representations of people at different scales. In this way, she tries to gain a better understanding of the interdependence between societies, nature, and the causes of fires. This work concerns human beings and is part of a desire to understand and improve the complex situations different parts of the world are currently experiencing. Its intention is not to take sides, make judgments, or speak for those concerned, but to provide a method of analysis that everyone can seize in the way they need. Respect and acknowledgment of people, their way of life and the context in which they interact is therefore essential.
The 2003 Canoe Fire burned through nearly 10,000 acres of old-growth redwood forest in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, making it one of the largest fires to affect these iconic forests in recent history. While the fire had mostly low severity effects, some areas burned at moderate and high severity. Now, after 20 years of regrowth, some of the beneficial effects have dwindled, while overs have been maintained through prescribed fire and other management activities. Join the park managers and researchers that were involved in the suppression, management and monitoring efforts for a discussion about the Canoe Fire’s lasting effects, and the past and future of fire use in redwood forests. *Tour sites may require up to 1mi of hiking on uneven single track trails*
This tour will explore the extensive and diverse fire histories of old-growth redwood forests. We’ll tour groves that have burned under various fire return intervals and burn severities over the last few centuries, and discuss the implications for forest management and ecology in the context of cultural fire, forest ecology, and nearby fire history research. Participants will also learn to tune their eyes to the widespread evidence of fire in these ancient forests. *The final tour site will require up to .5mi of hiking on uneven single track trails.*
Researchers and practitioners from all disciplines related to post-fire debris flow hazards are invited to attend a 2.5-day conference to synthesize recent research and plan for the future of science in this field. To find out more information or to register, visit: https://www.cafirescience.org/establishing-directions-in-postfire-debris-flow-science-conference
The fourth California Chaparral Symposium (Cal Poly SLO; May 7-9, 2024) will focus on science, management, and conservation of chaparral ecosystems.
For the fourth talk of the 2024 FFERAL lecture series, Dr. Crystal Kolden will discuss lessons learned from ecology that can be applied more broadly to socioecological systems to increase fire resilience across complex systems.
For the second talk of the 2024 FFERAL lecture series, Dr. Malcolm North will discuss tree spatial patterns and linkages to forest resilience.
Presentations
Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 2014.
This presentation discusses the active management restoration projects for Aspen in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Issues of resilience, implementation strategies, and multiple resource benefits are highlighted.
Presenter: Dave Fournier
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 2014.
The 5 objectives of this presentation are:
1. Provide a brief overview of aspen fire ecology 2. Discuss methods to understand reconstruct fire regimes 3. Synthesize existing research literature that pertains to estimating aspen fire regimes in the Mountain West (U.S.) 4. Suggest a conceptual classification framework for aspen fire regimes in the Mountain West 5. Identify key knowledge gaps and research needs (incl. climate change)
Presenter: Douglas Shinneman
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 2014.
Presenter: Shana Gross
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 2014.
Presenter Joy Barney is the Conservation Education Program Specialist for the Lake Tahoe Basin Mgmt Unit. In this presentation, she discusses the diverse education programs done through unit and key points for running a successful education program.
Presenter: Joy Barney
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 2014.
Presenter: Silver Hartman
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015. This study's findings support notion that heavier thinning favors aspen/plants and longer treatment persistence but cut conifer fuel load becomes excessive.
Presenter: Pascal Berrill/ Christa M. Dagley
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015. The Western Aspen Alliance's mission is to "facilitate cooperative research and disseminate state-of-the-science aspen information." This mission and the activities of this organization are discussed.
Presenter: Bobbette Jones
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015.The process of past restoration efforts and the lessons learned from these projects are discussed.
Presenter: Tina Mark
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015. The presentation is a remembrance of David Burton and his many contributions to the field.
Presenter: Hugh Safford
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015. The summary of this presentation is that pure, mature aspen are best for avian species richness and abundance. Specific characteristics of aspen stands that benefit avian species are also discussed.
Presenter: Will Richardson
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015.
The presentation discusses the previous, current, and future predictions of aspen in the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascades.
Presenter: Becky Estes
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This is a presentation from the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop in 2015.
The consequences of climate change for quaking aspen are likely to be complex and contingent on effects of post-disturbance climate as well as on feedbacks among climate, disturbances, and forest composition.
Presenter: Dominik Kulakowski
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA. 2014.
Results from a study completed on the Almanor and Eagle Lake Ranger Districts that compared pre-and-post treatment bird utilization of the tested stands. Methods, photos, and management implications are also discussed.
Presenter: Ryan Burnett
Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA. 2014.
Gives a quick overview of our aspen restoration program on Sierraville Ranger District and the Tahoe N.F. Discusses challenges, past activities, and future plans.
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 2014.
New perspectives on aspen in the western US: phylogeography, regeneration ecology, and triploidy.
Presenter: Karen Mock, et al.
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Presented at the Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe, CA.
2015 Aspen Restoration and Ecology Workshop, South Lake Tahoe.
The presentations included topics from restoration, fire recovery, climate change, birds, and even genetics all related to Aspen Ecology.
Other Resources
This is a list of the 22 most useful scientific publications for understanding the ecology and management of fire and fuels in the Sierra Nevada region, as identified by the CFSC-SN and its advisory committee.
