Ecology of Fire Fuels Management on Stanford Open Space - Livestream

Increasingly, universities with undeveloped open space are taking on the responsibility of fire fuels management in order to reduce the risk of loss of life and property due to wildland fire. Biodiverse and functioning ecosystems are also valued by universities because they provide ecosystem services and are required for some innovative research projects across multiple disciplines. In addition, universities have legal mandates to protect species covered by federal and state endangered species acts. As such, it is of interest to Stanford to preserve special status species, biodiversity, and ecosystem function while also managing the risks associated with wildland fire. Even as the American west grapples with changing fire frequency and high severity fires, it remains unclear which fire fuel reduction techniques will also achieve the goal of preservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity within specific environmental contexts. As part of Stanford’s Fire Fuels Management Program, we have established a few ecological research projects designed to help us understand how fuel reduction techniques including mastication, hand thinning, removing lower limbs of trees, and application of prescribed fire may influence local ecosystems. Results indicate that maintenance of biodiversity is possible with careful attention detail and strong partnerships between equipment contractors and ecologists. Significantly, a learning while doing approach is appropriate as we face large uncertainty due to unpredictable ecosystem responses and novel climate scenarios.

Speaker: Esther Cole Adelsheim, Stanford University