97th ESA Annual Meeting (August 5 -- 10, 2012)

Friday, August 10, 2012: 8:20 AM

B114, Oregon Convention Center

Jon E. Keeley, Western Ecological Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Three Rivers, CA, Thomas McGinnis, Western Ecological Researc Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Three Rivers, CA and Kathryn N. Keeley, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biolog, University of Califoria, Los Angeles, CA

Background/Question/Methods

Studies of fire / climate interactions often focus on large regions that comprise different fire regimes. Here we examine subregions within California and contrast climate/fire interactions in forested and non-forested landscapes over the 50 year period from 1960 – 2010.

Results/Conclusions

On a regional scale, area burned over this time period was positively correlated with average growing season temperature. When this relationship was analyzed by subregions there was no correlation between annual temperatures and area burned within any of the subregions. However, subregions with higher average temperatures experienced higher annual temperatures and larger area burned. A subregional analysis showed marked interactions of climate with forested and non-forested environments.

COS 174-2 - A subregional analysis of climate / fire interactions in California