Research Topics
Climate Change - Assessing Climate Variability and Change
Main Topic |
Climate Change |
Ecosystem Effects |
Carbon Cycle |
Mitigation & Adaptation Strategies
Science on climate variability and change at PSW focuses on understanding
historic and ongoing climate and climate mechanisms through proxies
such as tree-rings pollen in lake sediments, and forest structural analysis,
and on determining short-term climate and weather in relation to wildfire.
Ongoing Research:
- Climate
and Landscape Change Contact: Connie Millar, cmillar@fs.fed.us
Climate has a profound influence in shaping the environment, natural
resources, the economy, and other aspects of life throughout the world.
How present climate changes will effect the environment is of central
concern. In order to assess present climate changes it is necessary
to have an idea of the historic patterns of climate. Research at PSW's
Sierra Nevada Research Center is focused on determining historic climate
patterns by looking at tree-ring records of living and ancient wood.
Present climate can be compared to these historic patterns to show
present climate changes. By looking at past climate variability and
the resulting changes in vegetation patterns on the landscape, a picture
of how ecosystems have been influenced by past climate emerges.
- Models for Forecasting Climate Effects
- Fire
Weather Forecasts Contact Francis Fujioka, ffujioka@fs.fed.us
Fire and resource managers today must attempt to consider an array
of resource, environmental, social, political, economic, and fire
behavior parameters when making fire management decisions. Through
the use of technology such as geographic information systems, expert
systems, risk analysis, and modeling, we will look at ways to improve
the availability and usefulness of complex data to decision makers.
- Forest
Disturbance Forecasts Contact Haiganoush Preisler, hpreisler@fs.fed.us
We are developing statistical models to quantify, assess and
forecast effects of climate change variables on wildland fires,
insects, and diseases.
- Disturbance
Processes Contact Carl Skinner,
Our research goal is to provide managers with flexible fuel management
guidelines to protect forest health and enhance sustainability both
under existing conditions and in the event of climate change. Relationships
of climate, past fires, and forest dynamics are developed from tree
rings, lake sediments, and written historical records. Fuel treatment
effectiveness and fire effects on ecosystem components are studied
through carefully designed experiments that compare a suite of treatment
options.
- Rainfall Gage
Data - Redwood Sciences Lab in Arcata, CA.
Research is conducted by:
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