Dr. Alistair Smith: Transforming fire ecology and helping communities to coexist with fire

Wed., Nov 20, at 3:10 p.m. in PACCAR Clean Tech Bldg. , Room 202.

We are already seeing more wildfires in response to warming and drought. As such, we need to find better ways to coexist with wildfires. One approach is to learn from nature itself, from how plants have evolved to withstand and even flourish with fire. We must first identify if general plant response strategies to fire exist. This presentation suggests that plants can be mostly described by four general response strategies to fire and presents a new way of conducting fire ecology.

Understanding these general responses will enable land management professionals to more effectively use fire on the landscape to remove or retain key species. This presentation also highlights future research on understanding embers generated when yard plants burn so that we can better inform communities on what plants to keep in their yards to reduce risk to their homes during wildfires.

https://cereo.wsu.edu/event/transforming-fire-ecology-helping-communities-coexist-fire/

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