An integrated science plan for the Lake Tahoe basin: conceptual framework and research strategies

Abstract

Forest health and biodiversity policies Fire risk and suppression policies Climate change Component 2° Driver 1° Driver Subtheme Theme Indicator Linkage Natural disturbance Vegetation composition and structure Amount and distribution of habitat Native species composition and abundance Nonnative species composition and abundance Fire regime Fuel management Human disturbance Vegetation management Ecology and Biodiversity Development and application of predictive models Old-growth and landscape management Development and application of predictive models Fire and fuels management Recreation FR13; OG8,9; UR2,12; RE9; CL4 Urbanization drivers are typically external, broad-scale forces that act on human activities, such as regulations, policies, economic forces, and climate. It is important to recognize that stressors may have initial positive consequences for some species (e.g., habituation to human settlement by bears and geese) that then lead to undesirable secondary consequences (e.g., property damage or reduced diversity of native species). The majority of uncertainties associated with terrestrial ecosystems pertain to the linkages between vegetation management and climate change (i.e., natural disturbances) and their effects on vegetation structure, composition, and associated fire hazards (fig. 6.1). A more limited set of questions pertain to the effects of forest fuels treatments on plant and animal communities, populations, and habitats. The FM6

Foes to Friends: Changing Contexts and Changing Intergroup Perceptions

“…The Tahoe Science Consortium, for example, represents joint fact finding among scientists and government entities (Hymanson and Collopy 2010). The Lake Tahoe Environmental Impact Plan continues in its implementation and still represents one of the largest collaborative initiatives in the United States (Murphy and Manley 2009).…”

Changes in forest structure, fuels and potential fire behaviour since 1873 in theLakeTahoeBasin,USA

“…In the LTB, there is a consensus among public land managers, citizen stakeholders and natural resource interest groups to reduce fire risk and increase forest resilience to wildfire via management that restores forests to pre‐Anglo‐American conditions (Christopherson et al. ; Elliot‐Fisk ; Hymanson & Collopy ). A recent wildfire (2007) in the LTB, with >50% of the area burned at high severity, is thought to reflect forest changes caused by fire regime disruption and land‐use history that increase forest susceptibility to high‐severity fire.…”

Keeping up with the landscapes: promoting resilience in dynamic social-ecological systems

“…The availability of a robust scientific foundation to inform and guide policy and management is inherent in these expectations. The science and management communities regularly work closely together to identify important information gaps and generate an actionable understanding of the status of environmental quality, where it is vulnerable, and how it can be improved (e.g., Hymanson et al 2010). There is also a keen appreciation for the interdependence of environmental quality and social, cultural, and economic well-being of the basin and the surrounding region.…”

“…Rather, they are essentially one pearl in a string of complementary investments over time, each building on the last, learning from the past, and pushing to new levels of understanding and partnership about this high-value socialecological system and how environmental dynamics are shaping and changing its landscapes and communities over time. For example, the first comprehensive social-ecological assessment was conducted across the Lake Tahoe basin in the late 1990s (Murphy and Knopp 2000a,b), and that work identified a wide array of important information gaps (Hymanson et al 2010). Subsequently, all levels of government and non-governmental organizations operating in the basin have helped form and support some form of formal science advisory function for over the past two decades.…”