Development of Forest Products Business Clusters and Markets
Forest restoration treatments generate wood, fiber, and biomass to meet current and emerging market demand, but economic use is highly dependent upon proximity to businesses that use these materials. The development of new forest products business clusters offer the opportunity to fully utilize woody biomass, expand regional economies, enhance ecosystem services, and strengthen rural communities. This can accelerate the rate of forest restoration to reduce the risk of severe wildfires and improve forest health in the United States.
Working Paper: Opportunities for Application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Restoration of Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau
Despite being substantially altered by climate change and human activities, the culturally and ecologically vital pinyon-juniper ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau can be successfully restored through management actions that both recover ecological function and actively engage local Indigenous and traditional communities.
FireBox and CharBoss: An Alternative to Open Burning of Woody Biomass
The traditional practice of openly burning woody biomass (a common byproduct of southwestern US forest restoration) degrades soil and compromises air quality, driving researchers to evaluate alternative air curtain burners like the FireBox and CharBoss® for their efficiency in cleanly disposing of biomass and producing soil-restoring biochar.
Positive drought feedbacks increase tree mortality risk in dry woodlands of the US Southwest
Recurrent droughts in the US Southwest have severely compromised the natural resilience of pinyon–juniper woodlands, triggering widespread mortality and crown dieback between 1998 and 2023 that ultimately heightened the future mortality risk of surviving trees by 28.2%.