Scientific Research Initiatives

Ecological knowledge must be expanded to meet the needs of restoration and conservation in the Southwest. The Four Corners Institute is committed to expanding our knowledge through scientific research.

Crown Fire Impacts in Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests

Crown fires have ravaged Southwestern forests in recent years, and are increasing in size and severity. The Rodeo-Chediski Fire burned nearly 500,000 acres in northern Arizona in 2002. How will these forests recover? The Institute recently completed a study of forest recovery in ten crown fire sites that burned in the 1940s, 50, and 60s. The pathway of regeneration in these old crown fires can help us gain insight into how recent large crown fire sites will recover.

Read the paper "How Resilient are Ponderosa Pine Forests after Crown Fires" (PDF) published in the April 2005 issue of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

Spatial Heterogeneity in Ponderosa Pine Forests after Crown Fires

Even though many crown fires in southwestern forests can cause widespread mortality, we are learning that even the most severe fires can leave some areas with moderate damage, and even some areas of living trees. How does regeneration of pine trees depend on these variations across the burned landscape, including distance from mature trees and other factors?

A collaboration of the USGS, TNC, The Four Corners Institute, and Colorado State University has been funded by The Nature Conservancy for a two-year study of how ponderosa pine regeneration varies across burned landscapes.