Drought, Tree Mortality, and Wildfire in Forests Adapted to Frequent Fire

Many of our FF forests have failed to receive the very
management that could increase resilience to disturbances
exacerbated by climate change, such as the application
of prescribed fire and mechanical restoration treatments
(Stephens et  al. 2016). Recent tree mortality raises serious
questions about our willingness to address the underlying
causes. If our society doesn’t like the outcomes from recent
fires and extensive drought-induced tree mortality in FF
forests, then we collectively need to move beyond the status
quo. Working to increase the pace and scale of beneficial fire
and mechanical treatments rather than focusing on continued
fire suppression would be an important step forward.