What remains after wildfire in the typically wet forests of the northwest Cascades? The University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences recently sat down with UW postdoctoral researcher Jenna Morris and UW professor and researcher Brian Harvey to discuss the findings of a new study exploring how westside forests are shaped by infrequent and high-severity fires.

Source: University of Washington

Though our westside forests are adapted to large and severe wildfires that occur infrequently, until recently, “there haven’t been many opportunities … to go in and characterize westside fires, understand what drives them, and document in real-time how forests can recover from fire.” This is where Harvey and his lab group comes in. They have been collaborating with scientists and managers at the Washington Department of Natural Resources and other land management agencies to collect field data following recent fires in the northwest Cascades.

Their new study, led by Morris, focuses on the live and dead vegetation that’s present after a fire, and how the makeup of this vegetation can influence the occurrence and behavior of future fires. The study includes, in part, findings from research that Morris conducted through her 2022-2023 NW CASC Research Fellowship.

Says Harvey, “One of the big takeaways [of this research] is that this really helps us put together a broader understanding of … what one fire means for a subsequent fire, in addition to just how much carbon remains after fire. When many of us envision a “stand-replacing” or “severe” fire, we picture a landscape with nothing remaining, but there is so much material remaining that is storing carbon and at the same time is available as fuel for future fires. Morris’ PhD research fills a really important gap in understanding these aspects of fire on the west side of the Cascades.”

Read the Interview