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Oct 2020

Landscape restoration minimizes tree growth vulnerability to 21st century drought in a dry forest

John. B. Bradford, Caitlin A. Andrews, Marcos D. Robles, Lisa A. McCauley, Travis J. Woolley, Robert M. Marshall
Arizona
Climate Change, Forest Restoration Benefits
Forest
USFS, USGS
Abstract

With hotter temperatures and less precipitation projected in the future, reducing tree density is a possible strategy to minimize the impacts of drought on forest growth. Many forest restoration programs are focused reducing tree density to minimize wildfire risks, but it is unknown how these efforts will impact drought vulnerability. In this study, we looked at how the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) would alter landscape-scale patterns of forest growth and drought vulnerability throughout the 21st century. We found that hotter and drier conditions in the future could reduce tree growth, but the severity of drought and the magnitude of future growth declines was lessened by the thinning treatments. Compared to historical conditions, proportional tree growth by 2050 declines by ~40% if thinning continues at the status quo pace.  By comparison, proportional growth declines by only 20% if the 4FRI thinning treatments are fully implemented, and < 10% if stands are thinned even more intensively. These results indicate that forest restoration projects designed for other objectives can also have substantial benefits for minimizing future drought vulnerability in dry forests and provide additional incentive to accelerate the pace of restoration.

Available here

 
(ALL RIGHTS GRANTED TNC) View of Escudilla Mountain. Fall colors heighten the natural beauty of forest and meadow in the White Mountains, one of Arizona’s last wide-open spaces and where TNC works to protect the headwaters of three major Arizona rivers: the Salt, Gila, and Little Colorado and their greenbelts – riparian habitats critical for wildlife and water quality – as well as restore healthy forests within the largest ponderosa pine community in the world, save rare and unique wildlife and plant species, and control non-native, invasive species, such as crayfish, Arizona. © Betsy D. Warner/TNC
Aerial view of the Parks West restoration site overseen by TNC. Taken March 16, 2020.
Conservancy staffers, Dale Turner and Amanda Rebore, helping to map the Sabn Pedro River in Arizona. They use a GPS unit to denote the end of the water flow on the LowerSan Pedro River. They hiked through the Conservancy’s San Pedro Preserve.

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Future Forests

We are working with partners and stakeholders to accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration for a healthy Arizona

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Future Forests
Forests
Future Forests
Accelerating the pace and scale of forest restoration for a healthy Arizona.
Wet/Dry Mapping
Rivers & Water
Wet/Dry Mapping
Snapshot of hydrologic conditions for rivers with interrupted perennial surface flows.
Arizona Rivers & Water
Rivers & Water
Arizona Rivers & Water
Achieving sustainable water management.
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Deserts & Grasslands
Las Ciénegas Adaptive Management
Collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area.
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Conservation
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Conservation
Ecoregion Assessments
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Southwest Forest Assessment Project
Forests
Southwest Forest Assessment Project
Restoring ecosystems throughout Arizona and New Mexico’s National Forest.
Southwest Grasslands
Deserts & Grasslands
Southwest Grasslands
Assessing the state of Arizona’s grasslands.

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Sep 2023
Papers
Arizona, Colorado River Basin, Western U.S.
Climate Change, Forest Restoration Benefits
Collaboration, USDA ARS
Forest
Ravindra Dwivedi, Joel A. Biederman, Patrick D. Broxton, Kangsan Lee, Willem J.D. van Leeuwen, Jessie K. Pearl
Forest density and snowpack stability regulate root zone water stress and percolation differently at two sites with contrasting ephemeral vs. stable seasonal snowpacks
Much of the western United States depends on high elevation snowpack in forested watersheds for water supply, wildlife habitat, and recreation in both adjacent and downstream communities. The forest-snow-water relationship is well studied in areas with stable – that is, cold – seasonal s[…]
Jan 2023
Papers
Fire, Forest Restoration Benefits, Topic
Kimberley T. Davis, Marcos D. Robles, Kerry B. Kemp, Philip E. Higuera, Teresa Chapman, Kerry L. Metlen, Jamie L. Peeler, Kyle C. Rodman, Travis Woolley, Robert N. Addington, Brian J. Buma, C. Alina Cansler, Michael J. Case, Brandon M. Collins, Jonathan D. Coop, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Nathan S. Gill, Collin Haffey, Lucas B. Harris, Brian J. Harvey, Ryan D. Haugo, Matthew D. Hurteau, Dominik Kulakowski, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Lisa A. McCauley, Nicholas Povak, Kristen L. Shive, Edward Smith, Jens T. Stevens, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Alan H. Taylor, Alan J. Tepley, Derek J. N. Young, Robert A. Andrus, Mike A. Battaglia, Julia K. Berkey, Sebastian U. Busby, Amanda R. Carlson, Marin E. Chambers, Erich Kyle Dodson, Daniel C. Donato, William M. Downing, Paula J. Fornwalt, Joshua S. Halofsky, Ashley Hoffman, Andrés Holz, Jose M. Iniguez, Meg A. Krawchuk, Mark R. Kreider, Andrew J. Larson, Garrett W. Meigs, John Paul Roccaforte, Monica T. Rother, Hugh Safford, Michael Schaedel, Jason S. Sibold, Megan P. Singleton, Monica G. Turner, Alexandra K. Urza, Kyra D. Clark-Wolf, Larissa Yocom, Joseph B. Fontaine, and John L. Campbell
Reduced fire severity offers near-term buffer to climate-driven declines in conifer resilience across the western United States
Warmer and drier climate conditions in western U.S. forests are making it less likely that trees can regenerate after wildfires, according to this study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Specifically, it found that warmer, drier conditions over the past four decades h[…]
Nov 2022
Maps
BLM, NGO
Freshwater Assessment
Riparian-aquatic
San Pedro River
Dale Turner, Brooke Bushman, Lisa McCauley
San Pedro River Wet/Dry Map Animation
Every June groups of volunteers walk the entire 170 mile length of the San Pedro River and record where it is wet and where it is dry during the hottest, driest time of the year. Twenty years’ worth of data on summertime surface flows in the San Pedro River within the San Pedro Riparian National C[…]