LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA
Reconstruction of pre-Euroamerican forest structure, composition, and fire regimes in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California and Nevada
Much of the Lake Tahoe Basin was virtually clearcut in the 1860s and 1870s to supply timber to the Comstock mines in Virginia City, Nevada and little is known about original forest conditions in the basin. Since logging was early in the basin there are few historical records that can be used to identify what early forest conditions were and what records are available provide only a general description. The role of fire in the structure and dynamics of the original forests is also unknown. We are using undecomposed 120 year old cut stumps and live stems to quantitatively describe the structure and composition of the original forest and compare it to the current one to determine how it has changed and we are also examining how people and climate have influenced the frequency and extent of fires over the last 600 years.
Recent and current projects in Lake Tahoe
Structure and dynamics of red fir (Abies magnifica)-western white pine (Pinus monticola) forests.
High-Severity fires and montane chaparral fields in the mixed conifer forest
