Forest Fires and Climate Change

Lee E. Frelich is Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology. He received a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. Frelich has authored over 200 publications with 300 coauthors from 26 countries, including major works for Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. He is listed among the top 1% of all scientists in the world in the Ecology and Environment category by the Web of Science. His research has been featured in the news media 600 times, including such venues as The New York Times, Newsweek and Washington Post. Current research interests include large-scale fire and wind, earthworm invasion, and climate change in temperate and boreal forests.

Here is a description of my talk:

Title: Forest fires and climate change

Description: A warmer climate allows for greater drying of vegetation, longer fire seasons with more intense fires and more interactions between fires and other disturbances like windstorms. This is changing the nature of northern boreal forests around the world. We will explore the implications of changing disturbance regimes for northern forests with emphasis on Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Lee

Lee E. Frelich
Director, The University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology