WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration today submitted to Congress the President’s budget for fiscal year 2022, including $1.6 billion in proposed funding for the U.S. Geological Survey, an increase of $326.9 million or 25 percent above the 2021 enacted level. This proposal would fund investments to unleash science and combat climate change while laying the foundation
A is for Amphibian
Release Date:
May 3, 2021
Did you know that the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area is the biological research arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior?
USGS Ecosystems Mission Area scientists are leading research and monitoring efforts across the country and in some cases around the globe. Studying topics from amphibians to zoonotic diseases, they provide natural resource managers with the information and data needed to make decisions about the nation’s wildlife and wild places. In the Ecosystems A-Z series, we share just some of the work our scientists are leading from A-Z, starting with amphibians.
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Tool Predicts Which Forests Will Regrow on Their Own
A new tool can help forest managers know which areas will most benefit from replanting efforts after megafires and which will regenerate on their own.
“Huge fires are converting forested areas to landscapes devoid of living trees,” says lead author Joseph Stewart, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, and with the United States Geological Survey. “Managers need timely and accurate information on where reforestation efforts are needed most.”
A new tool can help forest managers know which areas will most benefit from replanting efforts after megafires and which will regenerate on their own.
“Huge fires are converting forested areas to landscapes devoid of living trees,” says lead author Joseph Stewart, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, and with the United States Geological Survey. “Managers need timely and accurate information on where reforestation efforts are needed most.”
The tool, known as the Post-fire Spatial Conifer Regeneration Prediction Tool (POSCRPT), helps forest managers identify within weeks after a fire where sufficient natural tree regeneration is likely and where artificial planting of seedlings may be necessary to restore the most vulnerable areas of the forest.
Scientists look at where to reforest after wildfires
In the aftermath of megafires that devastated forests of the western United States, attention turns to whether forests will regenerate on their own or not. Forest managers can now look to a newly enhanced, predictive mapping tool to learn where forests are likely to regenerate on their own and where replanting efforts may be beneficial.
The tool is described in
a study published in the journal Ecological Applications by researchers from UC Davis; U.S. Geological Survey, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service.
“Huge fires are converting forested areas to landscapes devoid of living trees,” said lead author Joseph Stewart, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis and with USGS. “Managers need timely and accurate information on where reforestation efforts are needed most.”