We study the influences of natural disturbances and climate change on the composition and structure of forests, at several scales in space and time, through the use of interdisciplinary approaches.  We use lake sediments to reconstruct past climate events and their effects on ecosystems.  We also use records of tree growth (tree rings) and spatial analyses to address processes operating more recently.

See an interactive map of our study sites.

Climate Refugia: Joint Inference from Fossils, Genetics and Models. August 1-3 2012.

Interactions Between Forest Insect Activity and Wildfire Severity in the Booth and Bear Complex Fires, Oregon.

Gavin, D.G., A.C.G. Henderson, K.S. Westover, S.C. Fritz, I.R. Walker, M.J. Leng and F.S. Hu. 2011. Abrupt Holocene climate change and potential response to solar forcing in western Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews.
[doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.03.003]  [Data]

Climate and vegetation in a putative Pleistocene refugium in northern Idaho inferred from a >100,000 year paleorecord.