Study: Prescribed burns boosted giant sequoia survival in extreme wildfires
7 reported
A new study from the University of California, Davis found that giant sequoias exposed to prescribed burns in the previous 10 years were nearly four times more likely to survive the 2020 Castle Fire and 2021 KNP Complex Fire than untreated trees. Published in Nature Communications, the research examined about 26,400 giant sequoias in 19 groves using airborne lidar and satellite imagery. The analysis estimated that earlier prescribed burns prevented approximately 1,900 giant sequoia deaths. Researchers also estimated that another 3,900 trees might have survived if every sequoia in the affected groves had received similar treatment. The study was conducted by scientists from UC Davis, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Lead author Dan Dixon, a former UC Davis postdoctoral researcher, stated that prescribed burns are effective at reducing giant sequoia mortality even for today’s extreme wildfires. The study was funded by NASA, the California Strategic Growth Council, and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
What’s reported
The study analyzed about 26,400 giant sequoias in 19 groves affected by the 2020 Castle Fire and 2021 KNP Complex Fire.
Trees in areas treated with prescribed burns within the previous 10 years were nearly four times more likely to survive.
Prescribed burns reduced a giant sequoia’s odds of dying by about 77%.
Computer simulations suggested prescribed burns prevented approximately 1,900 giant sequoia deaths.
Researchers estimated another 3,900 trees might have survived if all sequoias in affected groves had received similar treatment.
The study was published in Nature Communications and led by UC Davis researchers.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have maintained a prescribed fire program since the 1960s.
Key figures
Dan Dixon: Lead author, former UC Davis postdoctoral researcher in Professor Yufang Jin’s lab
Yufang Jin: Professor at UC Davis
Xiaoli Dong: Coauthor, UC Davis
Andrew Latimer: Coauthor, UC Davis
Adrian Das: Coauthor, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
David Soderberg: Coauthor, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Nathan Stephenson: Coauthor, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Anthony Caprio: Coauthor, Division of Resources Management and Science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Sources: ScienceDaily
