How fire, disease, and insects reshape mountain forests—and how we can plan for them
This non-fiction study uses a mechanistic, landscape-scale model to reveal how fire, blister rust, and mountain pine beetles influence whitebark pine landscapes in the Northern Rockies. It focuses on a real, remote study area in Montana and shows how researchers combine field data, GIS inputs, and climate data to simulate 200-year scenarios and explore management options.
A practical look at how simulations are built and interpreted, with guidance on translating complex data into landscape predictions that help conserve high-elevation ecosystems.
- How the FIRE-BGC model integrates field data, weather records, and topography to predict forest dynamics.
- How different scenarios (no fire, historical fire, blister rust with/without fire) change outcomes over centuries.
- How landscape layers and site classifications feed the simulations to map dominance types.
- How model results can inform strategies to sustain whitebark pine ecosystems.
Ideal for readers of forest ecology, landscape modeling, and natural-resource management seeking a rigorous, data-driven look at long-term forest dynamics.