Tim Curran

Tree rings reveal persistent Western Apache (Ndee) fire stewardship and niche construction in the American Southwest | PNAS Identifying the influence of low-density Indigenous populations in paleofire records has been methodologically challenging. In the Southwest United...

Shouldn't be a surprise - the fire practices of indigenous peoples in the highly fire-prone SW could locally override even climate signals. But that is what received understanding claimed. Here's the data to bring the Ndee into alignment with other premodern peoples.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Climate‐change‐driven shifts in C3 and C4 grass distributions and leaf traits could lead to changes in community‐level flammability Premise Climate change poses challenges to grasslands, including those of the North American Great Plains Region, where shifts in species distributions and fire dynamics are expected. Our present an...

Climate-change-driven shifts in C3 and C4 grass distributions and leaf traits could lead to changes in community-level flammability

Cool study by @sarahraubs.bsky.social et al.

American Journal of Botany bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Fire in focus: Clarifying metrics and terminology for better ecological insight This article demonstrates how considering the processes through which fire influences individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems acknowledges the connectivity between energetic, temporal an....

Fire in focus: Clarifying metrics and terminology for better ecological insight Journal of Applied Ecology - Wiley Online Library besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@ellapouton.bsky.social @sarahmccg.bsky.social et al.

Excess Deaths Attributable to the Los Angeles Wildfires From January 5 to February 1, 2025 This study aims to estimate the number of excess deaths attributable to the Los Angeles wildfires using an interrupted time series design.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

As California burns, new research shows smoke is wildfire’s silent killer The official death count from the Palisades and Eaton fires was 30 — the real number may be 15 times higher.

grist.org/health/calif...

SA’s algal bloom ‘one of the worst marine disasters in living memory’, and driving force could rival black summer, experts say As Senate establishes inquiry into the ‘human-mediated disaster’, a report is calling for more long-term action

Scientists are warning the wildlife impacts of a marine heatwave that has driven a catastrophic algal bloom off South Australia are likely to be equivalent to those from the black summer bushfires, and demand a similar response from governments.”

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne....

The global and local distribution of Sphagnum and a detailed desciption of its anatomy.

#TansleyReview: The effects of #drought on #Sphagnum #moss species and the implications for hydrology in #peatlands

Keane et al. 👇

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#LatestIssue

A vibrant moment from the Chumash Day Pow Wow and Inter-tribal Gathering at Malibu Bluffs Park, celebrating 24 years of tradition. A participant in traditional attire, adorned with colorful feathers, intricate beadwork, and a bright floral headband, performs a ceremonial ritual surrounded by smoke, reflecting cultural richness and spiritual connection.

Indigenous and local knowledge can shape transformative change.🌏🧪

Many Indigenous Peoples and local communities have views and practices aligned with a just & sustainable world. Their ethics of care and values inspire equitable & inclusive change.

.— @ipbes.net #TransformativeChange Assessment

Our new piece is out in @nature.com big mihi to all my co-authors it was a pleasure to work with you on this @lanipai.bsky.social @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social @napaaqtuk.bsky.social @sereananaepi.bsky.social @1nativesoilnerd.bsky.social Bradley Moggridge and Brittany Kamai
tinyurl.com/yc4y9kfk

Wildfire risk reduction in a changing climate

Really excited to share a project we've been working on with Swiss Re, examining challenges to implementing landscape-scale wildfire mitigation and where the insurance industry needs to get creative to crack some roadblocks: www.libertymutualgroup.com/documents/wi... 1/🧵

'our results suggest that the same fuel moisture thresholds promote wildfire in rainforests and fire-prone eucalypt forests; however, wildfire is less common in rainforests because they experience less time in a dry combustible state' 3/3

Neat project!

'Vapour pressure deficit was the strongest and most ubiquitous moisture index predicting wildfire occurrence across all forest
types, followed by soil moisture and live fuel moisture.' 2/3

Fuel moisture moderates wildfire resistance in rainforests of south-east Australia

Christopher Gordon, @rachaelnolan.bsky.social, et al.

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

The next few days will more than likely bring one of Colorado’s largest wildfires in history. Hot-dry-windy peaks Thursday on the GEFS and Friday on the 00Z GFS. EFI supports rare wind gusts for this time of year both days. Fuel dryness is already extreme and only getting worse.

Extensive fires in Australia’s northern spinifex deserts – investigating the 2023 ‘Black Spring’ and the influence of indigenous fire management Background Climate change is increasing the incidence of extensive, severe fires in some regions. Extensive fires affected forested regions of Australia in 2019–2020 (Black Summer fires), attracting g...

Extensive fires in Australia’s northern spinifex deserts – investigating the 2023 ‘Black Spring’ and the influence of indigenous fire management

@rohanfisher.bsky.social et al.

www.publish.csiro.au/WF/WF25002

Eight bat researchers mostly from Asia and Africa refused entry into Australia to attend global scientific event Organisers say move will damage nation’s scientific standing as government refuses to comment on why group of scientists were refused entry

What the hell, Australia?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Great to see! We had our last Lincoln Uni #3MT heats today. Final in two weeks.

Lots of amazing projects and excellent talks!

Global heating is changing marine systems. 🌊 🌡️
In response, novel interventions are gaining traction fast.
They aim to sustain ocean systems and ocean-dependent societies - but come with risks. 💥

New review paper in Science

More below 👇 and paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Control fire and ferals in Australia’s tropical savannas to bring the small mammals back New research examines the reasons for the decline of small mammals in Australia’s tropical savannas and identifies the most effective practical solutions.

Control fire and ferals in Australia’s tropical savannas to bring the small mammals back
theconversation.com/control-fire...

Wildfire season is starting weeks earlier in California – a new study shows how climate change is driving the expansion Parts of California are seeing fire season start more than 10 weeks earlier now than in the 1990s.

Wildfire season is starting weeks earlier in California – a new study shows how climate change is driving the expansion
theconversation.com/wildfire-sea...

Hot topics online forum run by @ecolsocaus.bsky.social

kaigi.eventsair.com/esa-hot-topi...

Optimal camera placement for feral cats and mustelids A comparison of horizontal versus vertical camera placement to detect feral cats and mustelids.

Getting the right angle for a camera shot is just as important for wildlife research as it is for an award winning movie! Postgrad Ine Schils goes all paparazzi on us to reveal the money shot for trail cameras in a new @ecolincnz @LincolnUniNZ article at lincolnecology.org.nz/2025/08/07/t...

Anthropogenic warming drives earlier wildfire season onset in California Anthropogenic warming accelerates wildfire season onset in California.

A open-access paper on how wildfire season starts earlier in California thanks to the higher temperatures that fossil fuel burning have caused, and I wasn't able to find one of the authors on here. Kind of the first in a while.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Chart with header: California has been seeing more large wildfires While the annual number of large wildfires (those over 10,000 acres) varies year to year with the dryness of the state, the trend has been rising. The chart shows a spiky line from 1950 to 2020, with big spikes in the past 15 years and an accelerating upward 10-year moving average

#Wildfire season is starting weeks earlier in California (up to 2.5 months in some mountainous regions) and large fires have grown more frequent, according to a new analysis of 30 years of fire data. Hotter temperatures and dryer atmospheric conditions are responsible buff.ly/zlitNPA #ClimateSky

Thank YOU, Jane! I can relate a lot to Jessica's character (career, training, similar-aged daughter) and I've spent some time on the Tops.

The description of the situation at the climax was so vivid and realistic.

Loved it!

15 sources of wildfire smoke forecasts for North America » Yale Climate Connections Forecasting wildfire smoke is hard. We review the best tools to help you predict when unhealthful levels of smoke are coming.

We now live in the Pyrocene, a proposed new geologic epoch of fire activity brought about by human-caused climate change. Living in the Pyrocene means a new reality: knowing what the latest wildfire smoke forecasts are, in order to plan your outdoor activities. I review the best tools to do so:

Officials declare state of emergency as gargantuan fires blaze across vast area: 'We have fires in every region' "This is the largest evacuation."

"This is the largest wildfire evacuation Manitoba will have seen in people's living memory," Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said..."It's not a fire in one region, we have fires in every region. That is a sign of a changing climate that we are going to have to adapt to." 🌍 www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Just finished @janecaro.bsky.social's cracking new novel, Lyrebird. It was great!

I couldn't put it down for the last few hours.

A fabulous murder mystery in a most unique setting. Do yourself a favour and get a copy.

View of the Lewis Pass valley looking south. Mountains on either side

Subalpine vegetation in a frost hollow looking to southern beech forest with more subalpine vegetation above treeline

Class enjoying the sunshine at Lewis Pass

It's been amazing weather for our #ECOL293 field trip to the Lewis Pass!

Limited carbon sequestration potential from global ecosystem restoration - Nature Geoscience The maximum carbon sequestration potential from global terrestrial ecosystem restoration efforts until 2100 is 96.9 Gt, which is equivalent to 3.7–12.0% of anthropogenic emissions until then, accordin...

Limited carbon sequestration potential from global ecosystem restoration - our paper was born of collective frustration around continual conflation of restoration + reforestation, invariably misrepresenting open ecosystems in global models of ecosystem C storage potential.