Pacific Southwest Research Station

Video Presentations

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  Research: Timing of Fire Study
  Eric Knapp

  Wildland firefighters from the Stanislaus National Forest and researchers from PSW conducted a 21-acre prescribed burn on the Tuolumne Experimental Forest, October 29-30, 2022. The prescribed burn was a part of a Timing of Fire Study allowing researchers to compare how seasonal conditions affect the outcomes of prescribed fire. This video shows how we study the effects of prescribed fire and what we can learn.

  Length: 3:57
  Posted: November 18, 2022

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  A Better Way to Think About Wildland Fires
  Rob and Haley Nelson, Diane Smith, Dana Walsh, Ken Pimlott, Mark Finney and Frank Lake

  PSW and the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition teamed up with Untamed Science to produce a video educating people of the role and ecological benefits of wildfire in the western United States. Through interviews with scientists, land managers and wildfire responders, the video explores the factors leading up to today’s era of megafires and explains how greater tolerance by the public for other forms of managed wildfire might be the best path for healthier forests and less destructive fires in the future.

  Length: 9:59
  Posted: March 27, 2018

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  Managing Forests and Wildlife: Spotted Owls and Fishers
  Malcolm North, Craig Thompson and John Keane

  Forests provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species. Researchers explain how variable forest conditions can help support species like the California spotted owl and fishers. Through forest management, we can help improve habitat for some of the species that are most threatened. Work being done in experimental forests is helping to advance our understanding of the effects of a variety of restoration treatments to forest structure and wildlife.

  Length: 3:02
  Posted: March 23, 2018

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  Restoring Our Forests: Managing the Recovery
  Carolyn Ballard, Ramiro Rojas, Eric Knapp and Malcolm North

  With record drought and tree mortality impacting California, scientists and land managers are looking at adaptive strategies to manage National Forest System lands. Due to the high costs of reforestation and restoration, the focus is on identifying areas to prioritize and manage the tree density. Without a forest structure that is resilient to wildfire, the landscape could change to chaparral fields that dominate areas of Southern California.

  Length: 5:14
  Posted: March 23, 2018

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  Understanding Forest Ecology: Fire, Water, and Bark Beetles
  Malcolm North, Martin Ritchie and Connie Millar

  An estimated 129 million trees have died in California’s national forests since 2010. It’s important to look at how the ecosystem works, and how it's tied together, to help to understand why. Researchers discuss two things that help to influence forests: fire and water. The availability of water influences the size of trees, the density and the types of trees. Fire controls what’s going on in the understory—the future of the forest.

  Length: 6:15
  Posted: March 23, 2018

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  Forest Insights: Using the Past to Reshape the Future
  Eric Knapp

  Past data on historic areas of the Sierra Nevada provide a window to the past and the type of conditions that existed there prior to fire suppression and logging. In areas absent of frequent fires, forest density has increased to set the stage for the tree mortality we see today. Researchers discuss a new study that creates a thinning treatment to restore spatial patters seen in historic forests. These treatments help make a forest resilient to fire and bark beetles.

  Length: 2:34
  Posted: March 23, 2018

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  Science Perspectives - Using Experimental Watersheds to Understand the Impacts of Forest Management
  Carolyn Hunsaker

  U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station researchers explain how their work and scientific findings on the Kings River Experimental Watersheds, located on the Sierra National Forest, help inform land managers facing challenging environmental issues such as drought, bark beetle infestation and air pollution.

  Length: 6:18
  Posted: March 20, 2017

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  Pika and Restoration
  Connie Millar

  The American pika has become an icon for climate change. These rabbit relatives live almost exclusively in talus slopes at higher elevations. Researchers are attempting to determine their historic range and how rising temperatures will affect their habitats.

  Length: 5:46
  Posted: January 10, 2017

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  Potential of Filamentous Cyanobacteria on Post-Fire Chaparral Restoration Sites
  Ted St. John and Marcia Narog

  This presentation by Dr. Ted St. John provides a brief review of experimental and observational explorations of filamentous cyanobacteria on National Forest System lands in southern California. The objective was to record soil and site conditions in which cyanobacterial inoculation may be feasible and beneficial, to culture site-specific cyanobacteria, and to evaluate methods of field inoculation.

  Length: 14:50
  Posted: January 20, 2016

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  Air Quality in Devils Postpile National Monument
  Andrzej Bytnerowicz

  U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station scientist Dr. Andrzej Bytnerowicz talks about air quality in Devils Postpile National Monument.

  Length: 5:25
  Posted: December 8, 2014

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  Strawberry Guava Biocontrol in Hawaii
  Tracy Johnson

  U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station scientist Dr. Tracy Johnson talks about the use of biocontrol on strawberry guava in Hawaii.

  Length: 4:25
  Posted: January 15, 2013
• 
  Fire Research at the Pacific Southwest Research Station
  David Weise, Eric Knapp, Rick Bottoms, Carl Skinner, Brandon Collins, Jan Beyers, and Maria Benech

  U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) scientists talk about their fire research conducted in California and the Pacific Islands.

  Length: 6:10
  Posted: November 19, 2012
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  Climate Change and Native Hawaiian Shrimp
  Rich MacKenzie

  The life cycle of native Hawaiian shrimp depends heavily on stream flow to carry them out to sea. A warmer, drier climate means less water in the streams, which could jeopardize their viability. In this video, PSW research ecologist Dr. Rich MacKenzie talks about his research on the shrimp and what they tell us about the surrounding ecosystem.

  Length: 5:13
  Posted: October 10, 2012
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  American Pika and Climate Change
  Connie Millar

  The American pika has been thought to be the canary in the coal mine when it comes to the effects of climate change on alpine wildlife. Popular belief dictates that warming temperatures will push the highly temperature-sensitive animals upslope. In this video, PSW research ecologist Connie Millar talks about how the small montane mammals in the Eastern Sierra have actually been shown to adapt to the changing conditions.

  Length: 9:54
  Posted: June 26, 2012
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  Habitat Value of Mangroves for Fish in Micronesia
  Richard A. MacKenzie

  Discussing the Kosrae and Yap islands of Micronesia

  Length: 22:27
• 
  The Hawaii Tropical Experimental Forest
  J. Boone Kauffman

  A new pathway to enhance the quality and relevence of forestry research, education, and demonstration in the pacific.

  Length: 17:53
• 
  A General Framework for Ecological Restoration in Changing Climate
  J. Boone Kauffman

  Yap FSM and biological diversity in global context.

  Length: 29:36
• 
  Mangroves, Sediment and Water
  Katie Friday

  Impacts of Urban Development and Global Change

  Length: 22:26