1. Monthly archive

July 2025

How to engage with Southwest Fire Science Consortium—your friendly regional wildland fire resource hub

Tree Ring Talk

On crossdating ecological tree-ring collections: how to hold on loosely while not letting go

Ecological studies of semi-arid forests have had a strong influence on my research in eastern US temperate, mesic forests. Findings on the synchronicity of tree growth, forest dynamics, and climate in these muddier forests have pushed us to reconsider the theory of forest development. The potential for discerning synchrony in these forests, if it exists at all, is likely muddied due to climate, species diversity, and a greater forest density. The continually-surprising challenge is the crossdating of ecological collections in temperate, mesic forests.

Tree Ring Talk

Dendroseismology in Italy and Turkey: pilot results

Being a more strategic, evidence-based science communicator

Building on his book Strategic Science Communication, John will share ideas about how to think more strategically about communication efforts. He will focus in particular on the importance of ensuring that all communication choices begin with a clear understanding of what you want your audience to consider doing as a result of the communication (i.e., identifying “behavioral goals”).

Past climates of the Rocky Mountains: Cave speleothems reveal changing drought patterns through time

Speleothems are cave minerals that preserve signals of past climate in their geochemical composition. In the western United States (US), speleothem-based climate reconstructions can provide valuable insight into the long-term evolution of modern drought patterns that impact agriculture, ecosystems, and human communities today. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are key drivers of cool-season precipitation variability and drought in the western US, including the Rocky Mountains.

Showing the impact of scientific databases and collections

Many scientific and scholarly disciplines depend on the use of collections: collections of specimens housed in natural history museums, core repositories, or tree ring labs; or collections of data stored on servers or spreadsheets. Yet, these valuable and irreplaceable infrastructures often fade from public view — and consequently, from budget lines and funding priorities.

Tree-rings reveal the legacy of Indigenous cultural burning in the Southwest USA

Studying the influence of Indigenous people on ancient and historical fire regimes has been methodologically challenging. In the Southwest United States, well-replicated fire histories suggest that abundant lightning and suitable climate conditions drove frequent low-severity wildfires in dry pine forests independent of human activities even as ethnography provided hints that highly mobile indigenous populations used fire in myriad land use contexts.

Prometheus found: preserving the ephemeral through glass art