Projects
The FORT Center is carrying out three subprojects, each of which include three experiments. These address the shifts in forest structure and composition in Southwestern forests and create field-based STEM undergraduate and graduate education programs designed to produce students with the knowledge and expertise to manage these forests in the future. Collectively, the three subprojects attempt to integrate different aspects of the management and restoration of resilient forests in New Mexico and the Southwest across spatiotemporal scales.
Subproject 1
Subproject 1 addresses post-fire restoration through the establishment of planted trees, assessing the use of a nucleation planting strategy matched with an improved seedling stocktype as a viable and cost-effective method to successfully establish vegetation on damaged forest sites.
Experiments include:
- Assessing combinations of nucleation size and planting density to promote seedling survival and growth,
- Evaluating vegetation control and animal protection to improve seedling survival and growth, and
- Considering the effect of planting windows, container size, and growth conditions on seedling performance.
Subproject 2
Subproject 2 identifies management strategies for effective and efficient management and restoration of frequent-fire forests, thus enhancing ecosystem services and reducing the risk of catastrophic fires
Experiments include:
- Developing a dendrochronology lab to include our knowledge of fire history and behavior in New Mexico’s Front Range,
- Identifying the effects of microsite environmental conditions on tree community composition during succession after thinning, and
- Quantifying the effects of grazing and fire on seedling survival.
Subproject 3
Subproject 3 will collaborate with local communities, students, and professional partners to provide useful tools and refine forestry curricula.
Experiments include:
- Applying the nucleation concept to land management planning to reduce fire risk at the landscape level,
- Integrating the nucleation planning approach to existing community wildland fire protection planning efforts, including developing new, publicly-available fire analysis tools, and
- Quantifying student academic outcomes and personal experiences with the FORT CREST program to develop and implement a culturally-responsive, place-based, university-level forestry curriculum.