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California Heartbeat Initiative

Learning to burn: using prescribed fire to keep California’s foothills safe from wildfire

January 20, 2023 By Kathleen Wong

learning to burn

By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System A warming climate has left California at ever-increasing risk of catastrophic wildfire. Few parts of the state have been spared. Conflagrations once mostly confined to mountain communities are now devastating coastal and foothill areas from Sonoma to San Diego. This expansion of wildfire threats has left Californians dangerously […]

Longtime NRS Executive Director Peggy Fiedler retires

October 26, 2021 By Kathleen Wong

Peggy Fiedler, who made the UC Natural Reserve System an integral part of state and global efforts to understand the impacts of climate change on California ecosystems, has retired after more than eleven years leading the organization.

Wildfires and flooding trigger black abalone rescue effort

April 19, 2021 By Kathleen Wong

black abalone rescue

UC scientists have launched an effort to capture these endangered mollusks in areas where sediments from floods threaten to suffocate populations.

Consequences of fire on California ecosystems

February 25, 2021 By Kathleen Wong

Consequences of fire on California ecosystems

By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System When fires sweep across the landscape, they do much more than incinerate flammable items in their way. Flames cause chemical changes to soils, drive out animals, and expose areas to far more sun and rain than they once experienced. In some cases, a burn can be enough to […]

Wildfires spark burn recovery study at 9 UC Natural Reserves

November 3, 2020 By Kathleen Wong

burn recovery study

By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System August wildfires incinerated tens of thousands of acres across seven UC Natural Reserves and affected parkland adjacent to two more reserves. This fall, the UC Natural Reserve System (NRS) will deploy rapid response teams to characterize the extent and intensity of the burns, as well as the effects […]

2020 wildfires burn six UC Natural Reserves; seventh threatened

August 22, 2020 By Kathleen Wong

2020 Wildfires

By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System Wildfires are burning at an unprecedented six reserves in the UC Natural Reserve System across northern and central California, and threaten a seventh. Blazes sparked by both lightning and arson have consumed nine buildings and one vehicle, as well as an untold number of acres of grassland, forest, […]

Arbor Creek Experimental Watershed: watching the flow of water through oak woodlands

April 28, 2020 By Kathleen Wong

Arbor Creek Experimental Watershed

By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System Foothill oak woodlands are among the most familiar ecosystems in California. Supporting deer and squirrels, acorn woodpeckers and oak moths, these habitats occupy tens of thousands of acres across the state. Yet change is coming to these widespread habitats. Like much of the West, California’s foothills are predicted […]

California Heartbeat Initiative soars ahead

October 2, 2019 By Kathleen Wong

CHI research

By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System A University of California project to study the availability of water in California’s ecosystems is off to a soaring start. The California Heartbeat Initiative (CHI) uses drones, sap flow meters, and other remote sensing techniques to monitor the water status of plants across large swaths of the landscape. […]

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