The distribution of woody species in relation to climate and fire in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

A study on Yosemite National Park reveals that fire significantly influences the distribution of woody plant species, with 34% of models for these species showing improved accuracy when fire occurrence was included as a variable. Fire return interval and severity also enhanced predictions for 26% and 5% of species, respectively. The research analyzed 561 plots across the park, assessing climate factors like actual evapotranspiration (AET) and climatic water deficit alongside fire characteristics to map species distributions along a moisture gradient from cool-moist to hot-dry conditions. Findings underscore the importance of incorporating fire regimes into models for predicting species distribution changes in fire-prone ecosystems like those in western North America.

van Wagtendonk, J. W., Moore, P. E., Yee, J. L., & Lutz, J. A. (2020). The distribution of woody species in relation to climate and fire in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. Fire Ecology, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-020-00079-9