This field season, ERI’s ecology group will continue to focus on applied research addressing modern technologies that improve data accuracy and efficiency, recent changes in structure of lesser-studied forest types, drought-related shifts in fire regimes, and responses of key species to wildfire.
Field crews led by ERI graduate students will use terrestrial lidar scanning (TLS) to collect high-resolution, 3D surface fuel and overstory composition data for several studies in pinyon-juniper woodlands as well as other forests in northern Arizona. The TLS data, paired with traditionally collected data (i.e., Brown’s transects for fuels, and ocular estimates of herbaceous vegetation cover), will be used to improve fire behavior models in pinyon-juniper forests and estimate herbaceous cover and biomass, an under-studied and relevant topic in the lidar community.
Field crews will also be venturing into high-elevation sites to remeasure long-term monitoring plots and investigate dynamics and vulnerability of a locally rare bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) population. Finally, ERI crews will visit several sites previously burned by fire to examine first-order relationships between size and survival for seedlings and saplings of various tree species. Crews will study the effects of burn severity on flowering and seed production of Sunset Crater Penstemon (Penstemon clutei), an endemic herbaceous species. Fire effects on ground-dwelling invertebrate assemblages will also be investigated. Reports and information generated by ERI students and staff from 2025 field efforts will assist forest managers in planning for conservation and restoration of southwestern ecosystems.
