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BIODIVERSITY, CARBON, AND WILDFIRES IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS: EXAMINING DEAD WOOD’S INFLUENCE BY INTEGRATING META-ANALYTIC, HIERARCHICAL & SIMULATION MODELING APPROACHES
| Title: | BIODIVERSITY, CARBON, AND WILDFIRES IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS: EXAMINING DEAD WOOD’S INFLUENCE BY INTEGRATING META-ANALYTIC, HIERARCHICAL & SIMULATION MODELING APPROACHES. |
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| Name(s): |
Parajuli, Rabindra , author Markwith, Scott H. , Thesis advisor Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor Department of Geosciences Charles E. Schmidt College of Science |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Genre: | Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation | |
| Date Created: | 2024 | |
| Date Issued: | 2024 | |
| Publisher: | Florida Atlantic University | |
| Place of Publication: | Boca Raton, Fla. | |
| Physical Form: | application/pdf | |
| Extent: | 218 p. | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Abstract/Description: | Forest ecosystems are critically important to biodiversity and the global carbon budget. Within forest ecosystems, dead wood has several ecological roles, including in carbon and nutrient dynamics and biodiversity conservation. However, surface fuels in forests also influence wildfire behavior and associated risks and hazards. Therefore, appropriate management of dead wood contributes directly to appropriate functioning of the forest ecosystem by conserving forest biodiversity, mitigating extreme wildfire events and pyrogenic emissions, and enhancing carbon sequestration. Using data extracted from peer-reviewed journal articles, geospatial, and field inventory data, and integrating meta-analytic, hierarchical regression, and vegetation simulation modeling approaches, this dissertation project examined the influence of dead wood on biodiversity, carbon, and wildfires in forest ecosystems. The meta-analysis results suggest that dead wood quantity is an indicator of forest biodiversity, while dead wood types and decay stages had varied relationships with biodiversity. Generalized linear and additive mixed effects modeling of geospatial and human observed data demonstrated the predominant influences of weather conditions and moderate effects of live and dead fuels on exceptionally large wildfires’ behavior in the western United States. Consistently dominant effects of temperature on wildfire behavior highlight and emphasize the pressing need to address climate change's impact on western US forests. Lastly, vegetation and wildfire simulation modeling of forest stand inventory data and post-modeling carbon computations suggested that physical harvesting of dead wood, an approach analogous to traditional practice of firewood collection, when combined with modern mechanical fuel reduction treatments in Sierra Nevada, CA, mixed conifer forests has great potential to mitigate wildfire hazards, reduce fire emissions, and enhance carbon sequestration. | |
| Identifier: | FA00014456 (IID) | |
| Degree granted: | Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2024. | |
| Collection: | FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection | |
| Note(s): | Includes bibliography. | |
| Subject(s): |
Forest ecology Wildfires Forest management Forest biodiversity conservation |
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| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014456 | |
| Use and Reproduction: | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder. | |
| Use and Reproduction: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | |
| Host Institution: | FAU |
