Identifying opportunity hot spots for reducing the risk of wildfire-caused carbon loss in western US conifer forests

Bibliographic Data

ID15548710
AuthorsJamie L Peeler (0000-0003-0717-2465, University of Montana, corresponding author), Lisa A McCauley (0000-0002-0270-9035, The Nature Conservancy), Kerry L Metlen (0000-0001-9329-0665, The Nature Conservancy), Travis Woolley (0000-0003-4067-2613, The Nature Conservancy), Kimberley T Davis (0000-0001-9727-374X, Rocky Mountain Research Station), Marcos D Robles (0000-0002-9261-870X, The Nature Conservancy), Ryan D Haugo (0000-0002-7029-9381, The Nature Conservancy), Karin L Riley (0000-0001-6593-5657, Rocky Mountain Research Station), P E Higuera (0000-0001-5396-9956, University of Montana), Joseph Fargione (0000-0002-0636-5380, The Nature Conservancy), Robert N Addington (0000-0001-9003-9686, The Nature Conservancy), Steven Bassett (0000-0002-3826-3960, The Nature Conservancy), Kori Blankenship (0000-0003-1118-2682, The Nature Conservancy), Michael J Case (0000-0003-4111-2298, The Nature Conservancy), Teresa B Chapman (0000-0003-3021-1231, The Nature Conservancy), Edward B Smith (0000-0001-8527-4884, The Nature Conservancy), Randy Swaty (0009-0006-0188-8736, The Nature Conservancy), Nathan Welch (0009-0005-0981-1461, The Nature Conservancy)
Year2023
Volume18
Issue9
Pages094040-094040
Publication date2023-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/acf05a
OpenAlexW4386483296
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

The escalating climate and wildfire crises have generated worldwide interest in using proactive forest management (e.g. forest thinning, prescribed fire, cultural burning) to mitigate the risk of wildfire-caused carbon loss in forests. To estimate the risk of wildfire-caused carbon loss in western United States (US) conifer forests, we used a generalizable framework to evaluate interactions among wildfire hazard and carbon exposure and vulnerability. By evaluating where high social adaptive capacity for proactive forest management overlaps with carbon most vulnerable to wildfire-caused carbon loss, we identified opportunity hot spots for reducing the risk of wildfire-caused carbon loss. We found that relative to their total forest area, California, New Mexico, and Arizona contained the greatest proportion of carbon highly vulnerable to wildfire-caused loss. We also observed widespread opportunities in the western US for using proactive forest management to reduce the risk of wildfire-caused carbon loss, with many areas containing opportunities for simultaneously mitigating the greatest risk from wildfire to carbon and human communities. Finally, we highlighted collaborative and equitable processes that provide pathways to achieving timely climate- and wildfire-mitigation goals at opportunity hot spots

Agroforestry · Carbon dioxide · Carbon fibers · Carbon sequestration · Climate change · Environmental protection · Environmental resource management · Geography · Hazard · Thinning · Vulnerability (computing · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Environmental Science · Fire effects on ecosystems · Forest Management and Policy · Ecology · Forestry

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