PSU Vanguard
November 18th, 2014
Portland State environmental science and management faculty members Robert Scheller and Melissa Lucash received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the effects of climate change and fire on the Klamath region of Oregon and California.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service website, “The Klamath National Forest encompasses nearly 1.7 million acres of land straddling the California and Oregon border.”
The website also said the Klamath National Forest is one of the most biologically diverse regions
in America.
“We focused our grant on that area because it’s this hotspot of [biodiversity], but also because it’s an area where people are worried about climate change and fire,” Lucash said. “There is more frequent fires than there used to be, and they think that that’s driven by this climate change increasing temperatures.”
The study is also working with forest management to understand how to lessen fires in the area.
“We really want this to be more than an academic exercise; we also want it to be impactful and helping managers manage for climate change,” Scheller said.