Fire issues in California's Central Coast Region

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A watershed-related topic examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.


Summary

The various ecosystems that comprise the central California landscape have adapted to fire over time.[1][2] As California's population grows, urban expansion into natural areas is becoming more commonplace, creating a higher risk to human life and infrastructure in the event of wildfire. Historically, lightning fires and purposeful ignitions by indigenous tribes ensured rather frequent fires of low to moderate severity.[3] Years of fire suppression, coupled with prolonged drought conditions, however, have changed the fire regime on the Central Coast,[4] yielding a greater challenge when it comes to mitigating fire damage to both ecosystems and human infrastructure.

Location

Interactive Outdoors, Inc.

...Name the smallest watershed (or other applicable region) within which the issue occurs...

Resource/s at stake

...What environmental resource/s are at stake?...

Stakeholders

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Laws, policies, & regulations

...What laws, policies, and/or regulations are involved?...

Systems

... What elements of the biophysical system are/were involved?...

Science

...What scientific studies are or would be relevant / already completed?...

Tools

...What analytical (e.g. modeling) tools were or could be used?...

Future research

...What knowledge gaps remain?...

...Suggest a CWSP MS thesis topic that could contribute to the issue...

...Suggest a topic for a hypothetical study that had unlimited resources...

References

  1. Stephens SL, Fry DL. 2005. Fire history in coast redwood stands in the northeastern Santa Cruz Mountains, California. Fire Ecology,1(1):2-19.
  2. (USFS)Fried JS, Bollinger CL, Beardsley D. 2004. Chaparral in southern and central coastal California in the mid-1990s: area, ownership, condition, and change. PNW-RB-240. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 86 p.
  3. Keeley JE. 2002. Native American impacts on fire regimes of the California coastal ranges. Journal of Biogeography, 29(3):303-320.
  4. Greenlee JM, Langenheim JH. 1990. Historic fire regimes and their relation to vegetation patterns in the Monterey Bay Area of California. The American Midland Naturalist 124(2):239-53. doi:10.2307/2426173.

Disclaimer

This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.