Forest & Fire Ecology Findings Relevant to the Santa Fe Fireshed Landscape

A Sampling of Local and Southwest-Focused Scientific Articles and Forest Treatment Reports

Welcome to our Local Science page!

Begin by reviewing these 5 topically diverse forest and fire research publications.

Next, you will find a broader list of northern New Mexico- and Southwest-focused forest and fire research articles as well as local forest treatment success stories below.
Review at your leisure for additional science and practical information.

Published Research: Northern New Mexico Local

1996: Fire Effects in Southwestern Forests. Allen (tech. ed.) et al.
1996: Fire history and climatic patterns in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of the Jemez Mountains, Northern New Mexico. Touchan, Allen, and Swetnam.
2002: Lots of Lightning & Plenty of People - An Ecological History of Fire in the Upland Southwest. Allen.
2002: Effects of Wildfire on the Hydrology of Capulin and Rito de Frijoles Canyons, Bandelier National Monument, NM. Veenhuis.
2007: A stand-replacing fire history in the upper montane forests of the southern Rocky Mountains. Margolis, Swetnam, and Allen.
2008: Paired charcoal and tree-ring records of high-frequency Holocene fire from two New Mexico bog sites. Allen et al.
2009: Fire history and fire–climate relationships along a fire regime gradient in the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed, NM, USA. Margolis and Balmat.
2011: Multi-scale controls of historical forest fire regimes: new insights from fire-scar networks. Falk et al.
2013: The La Mesa Fire: Studies and Observations from 1975 through 2012. Foxx et al.
2014: Forest Ecosystem Reorganization Underway in the Southwestern USA—Does This Foreshadow Widespread Forest Changes in the Anthropocene? Allen.
2014: Fire regime shift linked to increased forest density in a pin˜on–juniper savanna landscape. Margolis.
2015: Extreme water quality degradation following a catastrophic forest fire. Dahm et al.
2015: A Historical Chronology of Events and Observations for the Pecos Wilderness in the Territorial Period. deBuys and Allen.
2016: Influences of Prior Wildfires on Vegetation Response to Subsequent Fire in a Reburned Southwestern Landscape. Coop et al.
2016: Multiscale perspectives of fire, climate and humans in western North America and the Jemez Mountains, USA. Swetnam et al.
2017: Drought, multi-seasonal climate, and wildfire in northern New Mexico. Margolis, Woodhouse, and Swetnam.
2018: Long-Term Persistence and Fire Resilience of Oak Shrubfields in Dry Conifer Forests of Northern New Mexico. Guiterman et al.
2019: Surface Fire to Crown Fire: Fire History in the TaosValley Watersheds, New Mexico, USA. Johnson and Margolis.
2019: Optimizing Forest Management Stabilizes Carbon Under Projected Climate and Wildfires. Krofcheck et al.
2021: Valleys of fire: historical fire regimes of forest-grassland ecotones across the montane landscape of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, USA. Dewar et al.
2021: Native American fire management at an ancient wildland–urban interface in the Southwest United States. Roos et al.
2022: Climate Change: Terrestrial Ecosystem Response and Feedbacks to Water Resources in New Mexico. Allen.
See the full report from the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources on climate change in New Mexico over the next 50 years.
2024: Pre-fire assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards in the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed. Lopez et al.
2024: Redistribution of debris-flow sediment following severe wildfire and floods in the Jemez Mountains, NM. Friedman et al.

Published Research: Southwest Regional

1998: Mesoscale Disturbance and Ecological Response to Decadal Climatic Variability in the Southwest. Swetnam and Betancourt.
1999: Applied Historical Ecology: Using the Past to Manage for the Future. Swetnam, Allen, and Betancourt.
2002: Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems: A Broad Perspective. Allen et al.
2003: Tree-Ring Reconstructions of Fire and Climate History in the Sierra Nevada and Southwestern United States. Swetnam and Baisan.
2013: Temperature as a potent driver of regional forest drought stress and tree mortality. Williams et al.
2015: Carbon Cycling in Southwestern Forests: Reservoirs, Fluxes, and the Effects of Fire and Management. Swetnam and Falk.
2016: Multi-scale predictions of massive conifer mortality due to chronic temperature rise. McDowell et al.
2017: A window of opportunity for climate-change adaptation: easing tree mortality by reducing forest basal area. Bradford and Bell.
2017: Quantifying the carbon balance of forest restoration and wildfire under projected climate in the fire-prone southwestern US. Hurteau.
2019: Climate, Environment, and Disturbance History Govern Resilience of Western North American Forests. Hessburg et al.
2020: Wildfire-Driven Forest Conversion in Western North American Landscapes. Coop et al.
2021: Fire Ecology and Management of Southwestern Forests. Fulé et al.
2021: Landscape-scale restoration minimizes tree growth vulnerability to 21st century drought in a dry forest. Bradford et al.
2021: Tamm Review: Postfire landscape management in frequent-fire conifer forests of the southwestern United States. Stevens et al.
2022: Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest: frontline observations and management responses. Guiterman et al.
Click here to watch a webinar recording on this research article.
2024: Multidecadal vegetation transformations of a NM ponderosa pine landscape after severe fires and aerial seeding. Wion et al.

Local Forest Fuels Treatment Success Briefs:
Documenting Wildfire Behavior Moderation & Control

2020 Medio Fire: Fuel Treatments Save a Watershed, Medio Fire 2020 Summary
and
2020 Medio Wildfire: Santa Fe’s Backyard Fuels Treatment Success

2021 Holiday Mesa Fire: Santa Fe National Forest – 2021 “Holiday Mesa” Wildfire, Proactive Fuel Treatments on Forest Roads
2021 Llano Loco Fire: Santa Fe National Forest – 2021 “Llano Loco” Wildfire, Consecutive Success: Results of Fuel Treatments
2022 Midnight Fire: Wildfire Outcome Report, Midnight Fire, Carson National Forest, El Rito Ranger District

Local Unpublished Research Reports:

1978: Fire Ecology at Bandelier National Monument. Foxx and Potter.

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