A refined understanding of historical fire regimes in temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest

Temperate rainforests in the Pacific Northwest are renowned for their tremendous biomass, structural complexity, and because many conifer species reach their greatest size and age in the region. Temperate rainforests have a reputation as mossy and damp forests where fires are infrequent and predominantly high severity. However, rigorous tree-ring research is revealing that frequent to moderately frequent mixed-severity fires were critical to the development of old trees and forests.  Historical fires increased conifer diversity and forest structural complexity within stands, and increased biodiversity across landscapes. This presentation will review several ongoing reconstructions of historical fire regimes and forest dynamics in the Pacific Northwest that challenge paradigms about fire and forest successional history in the region.