John Williams leads research on record levels of high-severity fires on California's forests
A new study by the Safford Lab scientists led by Project Scientist John Williams shows that forests in the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascades are experiencing record levels of high-severity fire, both in percentage and absolute (area affected) terms. While adapted to periodic fire, most of the forest types examined were found to be experiencing unprecedented levels of high-severity fire (>95% tree mortality) and much less of the more ecologically desirable low-to-moderate severity fire than was the case, both historically (pre-1850) and prior to 2010. This story was featured on the UC Davis website.
Read the Stories
https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/unprecedented-levels-high-severity-fire-burn-sierra-nevada-forests
See the Study
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.4397