Fire History and Ecology

Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Fort Collins Science Center (FORT, Ft. Collins) | Format: URL

www.fort.usgs.gov — USGS scientist Craig Allen, along with Tom Swetnam of the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Scott Anderson of Northern Arizona University, and others, have been developing landscape-level fire histories in the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. These histories are compiled using charcoal deposits More... USGS scientist Craig Allen, along with Tom Swetnam of the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Scott Anderson of Northern Arizona University, and others, have been developing landscape-level fire histories in the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. These histories are compiled using charcoal deposits from bogs, historic fire suppression records, and tree-ring reconstructions of fire and precipitation. Allen also conducts collaborative research on the ecology of modern fires, including follow-up studies on the effects of the 1977 La Mesa Fire and ongoing work on tree growth, nitrogen-cycle/fire interactions, and fire effects on elk and Mexican spotted owls. Less...