Past, present, and future fire ecology and management across U.S. forests

The book chapters delve into the fire ecology of major forest types within U.S. ecoregions, or study areas. The book includes discussion of historic and current fire regimes, as influenced by recent decades of fire suppression or removal of human-ignited fires, and land use history. The book also covers fire management in relation to ecosystem integrity and restoration, wildfire threat, and climate change.

In the U.S., the land area burned by wildfires has increased fourfold over the past 30 years. Federal wildfire suppression costs have escalated accordingly, partly driven by the need to protect property in the wildland-urban interface. Wildfire risk has increased due to decades of fire suppression and exclusion, along with warming temperatures and periodic droughts. These conditions have created a buildup of fuels, particularly in fire-prone ecosystems. Predicted increases in drought duration and frequency suggest the severity and area of wildfires might increase two to six times by mid-century in some western forest types. Larger, more severe fires can impact ecosystem services such as carbon storage, water resources, biodiversity, and wildlife habitats. This book provides comprehensive, ecoregion-specific information and management options for reducing wildfire risk into the future and maintaining biological diversity and ecosystem integrity across U.S. forests.