Post-Disturbance Biomass Recovery in California’s Forests

Abstract:

Ecosystem disturbances such as fire and forest management, such as clear cutting, affect the aboveground biomass (AGB) in differing ways and it’s important to note recovery trends to ensure a safe environment for all inhabitants. To control wildfire ignitions and fire severity, state agencies use forest management activities to maintain AGB within a safe threshold to prevent catastrophic wildfires. We assessed the effectiveness of such practices by looking at time series of AGB in areas of forest management activities. Using data layers such as Lemma and EMapr from Oregon State University for AGB, as well as FRAP fire polygons and Calfire management event polygons, we found that biomass recovery trends in California forests varied widely. Even though these management activities are aimed at reducing AGB stocks, many activities resulted in flat, or even positive, trends in AGB. As a result, there is considerable uncertainty in our understanding of how forest management activities can influence or predict the incidence of catastrophic wildfires. We aim to further explore our preliminary findings by observing at least 15 years post-disturbance for a collection of disturbances. Currently available AGB datasets over California yield inconsistent trends so we aim to confirm results using LiDAR based data layers. This work will help provide clarity on the effectiveness of land management practices and the lasting effects of wildfires in California.