Organized Oral Session
Monica Turner, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Brian Harvey
Assistant Professor
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, United States
Timon Keller
PhD Student
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
As climate change accelerates, fires are reshaping forests worldwide. Even forests long adapted to infrequent, high-severity fire are increasingly vulnerable to change. Fuels were generally always abundant in such forests, and fires were limited by the prevalence of cool, wet conditions not conducive to burning. High-severity (stand-replacing) fires burned during rare windows of hot, dry weather, and forests recovered their structure and function long before burning again. As climate limitations on fire are relaxed with global warming, the frequency and size of high-severity fires are increasing in both the northern and southern hemispheres. However, the ecological consequences of these real-time changes in climate-limited fire regimes are not well understood because forest changes play out slowly. This session brings together researchers studying postfire forest structure and function in contrasting and well-studied regions of North America and Australia in which historical fire regimes were climate limited. In each region, weather conditions conducive to large fires are becoming more common. This session will showcase current studies of how novel fire regimes in such regions are influencing postfire tree regeneration, plant community dynamics, soil microbial communities, and ecosystem nutrient stocks. The session will conclude by considering the consequences of climate change for ecology and management of forests that evolved under climate-limited fire regimes.
Presenting Author: Monica G. Turner, Ph.D. – Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Nathan G. Kiel – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Julia A. Warren – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Robert E. Heumann – University of Montana
Co-author: Cory C. Cleveland – University of Montana
Presenting Author: Madison M. Laughlin – University of Washington
Co-author: Liliana K. Rangel-Parra – University of Washington
Co-author: Jenna E. Morris – School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Co-author: Daniel C. Donato – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Joshua S. Halofsky, PhD – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Brian J. Harvey – University of Washington
Presenting Author: Liliana K. Rangel-Parra – University of Washington
Co-author: Madison M. Laughlin – University of Washington
Co-author: Jenna E. Morris – School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Co-author: Daniel C. Donato – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Joshua S. Halofsky, PhD – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Brian J. Harvey – University of Washington
Presenting Author: Nathan G. Kiel – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Eileen F. Mavencamp – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Kristin H. Braziunas, Ph.D. – TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
Co-author: Monica G. Turner, Ph.D. – Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Presenting Author: Arielle C. Link – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Thea Whitman, Associate Professor – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-author: Monica G. Turner, Ph.D. – Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Presenting Author: Joshua S. Halofsky, PhD – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Daniel C. Donato – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Brian J. Harvey – University of Washington