- Author: Grace Nguyen-Sovan Dean
Before he became the director of forest policy for a timber company, John Andersen was working next door to one. During his time as a consulting forester, several family forests Andersen visited were adjacent to parcels of industrial forestland that had undergone upsetting changes. “I saw what used to be conifer forests essentially transformed into tan oak forests,” Andersen noted. When the Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) was created in 1998 through the purchase of another industry's forestland, they set out to operate differently.
MRC would be a timber company that prioritized operating sustainably, which interested...
- Author: Molly Stephens
- Author: Roger Bales
The new film "California's Watershed Healing" documents the huge benefits that result from restoring forests to healthier densities. UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute partnered with the nonprofit Chronicles Group to tell the story of these efforts, the science behind them, and pathways that dedicated individuals and groups are pioneering to scale up these urgent climate solutions.
"California's forests are at a tipping point, owing to both climate stress and past unsustainable management practices that suppressed wildfires and prioritized timber...
- Author: Mario Aguilera
In devastating cases dotting the globe in recent years, climate warming has led to an increase in the number and severity of destructive wildfires. Climate change projections indicate that environmental and economic damage from wildfires will spread and escalate in the years ahead.
While studies have analyzed impacts on land, new research from the University of California San Diego and other institutions indicates that aquatic ecosystems are also undergoing rapid changes as a result of wildfires.
Led by School of Biological Sciences Professor Jonathan Shurin's laboratory, the researchers compared how aquatic systems change with the input of burnt plant matter,...
- Author: Tiffany Dobbyn
Charred land may not look like much at first glance, but a controlled burn can benefit a landscape by rejuvenating the soil, maintaining healthy ecosystems and reducing the impact of future wildfires.
Pyro Futures is a new exhibit at the Manetti Shrem Museum at UC Davis that explores the ways fire and fire stewardship can change California's landscapes. The collection was curated by Brett Milligan and Emily Schlickman, professors of landscape architecture and environmental design, who hope to share information they've learned about fire to better inform the public about...
- Author: Kat Kerlin
The cool of the forest is a welcome escape on a hot day. This is especially true for mammals in North America's hottest regions, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study indicates that, as the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation.
The study, published today in the journal PNAS, found that North American mammals — from pumas, wolves and bears to rabbits, deer and opossums — consistently depend on forests and avoid cities, farms and other human-dominated areas in hotter climes. In fact, mammals are, on average, 50% more likely to occupy forests than open habitats in hot...