Researchers from the University of Colorado will partner with colleagues at other schools to study fire and climate change in forests in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
A $3.85 million grant from the National Science Foundation is funding the project.
CU-Boulder geography professor Thomas Veblen and his group will examine tree-ring records of past fire frequency and severity, as well as forest regeneration after fire.
"In Colorado, if we get good regeneration of aspens following a fire, that tends to reduce fire spread in the future," Veblen said.
Montana State University, the University of Idaho and collaborators at the U.S. Forest Service are partnering with CU's team.
Wildfire risks are related to warming, Veblen said, but the effects of warming on wildfire activity vary in ecosystems.
Veblen worked in the forests of New Zealand in the 1970s and said he's excited to develop tree-ring fire histories in Tasmania, where currently there are no such records.
He said the project is a combination of research, outreach and education.
"Our goal is to better understand fire as a global process, one that is driven by changes in climate and human activities around the world," Cathy Whitlock, an earth sciences professor at MSU and lead principal investigator on the grant, said in a news release. "Fire is the same everywhere -- it threatens human health and livelihoods as well as vital ecosystem processes and services. It makes sense to look at fire in a variety of settings, because the more we can understand and predict fire occurrence and its effects, the better we can adapt and plan for it."
The National Science Foundation is funding the project through its Partnerships in International Research and Education, or PIRE, program.
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