Principal Investigator: Dr. Jake Verschuyl, Director of Forestry Research, Western U.S. and B.C., NCASI

Collaborator(s): Oregon State University

Supported by: Western Trade Association Member Companies

Project Summary: Widespread forest fires have burned at different severities, across multiple landowners, and across different forest types including riparian areas. While vegetation response after fire has been well studied, the response of understory vegetation in riparian areas to fire and post-fire management is not well understood. In the absence of an intact overstory, it is important to understand the contribution of riparian understory vegetation to the recovery of the aquatic ecosystem.

This project will look at the effects of fire and post-fire management on riparian vegetation, riparian vegetation community structure and its effect on aquatic ecosystems, and vegetation cover or species richness following disturbance with varying distance from the stream.

Project Papers:
Authored by: Ashley A. Coble, Brooke E. Penaluna, Laura J. Six, and Jake Verschuyl
Coble et al. Fire Ecology (2023) 19:34
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-023-00192-5

Contact Jake Verschuyl at jverschuyl@ncasi.org