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Cumulative Tree Mortality from Commercial Thinning and a Large Wildfire in the Sierra Nevada, California

Author

Listed:
  • Bryant C. Baker

    (Los Padres ForestWatch, P.O. Box 831, Santa Barbara, CA 93102, USA)

  • Chad T. Hanson

    (Earth Island Institute, 2150 Allston Way, Suite 460, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA)

Abstract

Debate remains about the effectiveness of commercial thinning as a wildfire management strategy, with some studies reporting somewhat lower severity in thinned forests, and some reporting higher severity, during wildfires. However, while vegetation severity is a measure of basal area tree mortality, research on this question generally omits tree mortality from thinning itself. We investigated whether cumulative tree mortality, or cumulative severity, from commercial thinning and wildfire was different between thinned and unthinned forests in the Caldor Fire of 2021 in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains of California, USA. We found significantly higher cumulative severity in commercial thinning areas compared to unthinned forests. More research is needed to determine whether cumulative severity is higher in commercially thinned forests in other large western US wildfires.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryant C. Baker & Chad T. Hanson, 2022. "Cumulative Tree Mortality from Commercial Thinning and a Large Wildfire in the Sierra Nevada, California," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-8, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:995-:d:852384
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chad T. Hanson, 2022. "Cumulative Severity of Thinned and Unthinned Forests in a Large California Wildfire," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-7, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yanlong Guo & Xingmeng Ma & Yelin Zhu & Denghang Chen & Han Zhang, 2023. "Research on Driving Factors of Forest Ecological Security: Evidence from 12 Provincial Administrative Regions in Western China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-21, March.

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