JENNIFER K. BALCH
My research looks at the patterns and processes that underlie fire disturbance and ecosystem recovery, particularly in tropical forests. The tropics is a region marked by rapid landscape transformation and waves of frontier expansion that leave a patchwork of degraded and recovering forests amidst a matrix of human-dominated land uses. Fire is an integral tool in the transformation and management of these landscapes, as well as a pervasive threat to the longevity of tropical forests. Yet, our understanding of natural fire regimes and the consequences of human-altered fire frequencies in tropical forests is limited.
Jennifer K. Balch, Ph.D.
National Center for Ecological
735 State Street, Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805-892-2522
Research highlights:
Sneak preview online...Predictors of tree mortality from experimental Amazon fires by Jennifer Balch and colleagues. Forest Ecology & Management Abstract
Fire in the Earth System by David Bowman, Jennifer Balch, et al. Science 24 April 2009: 481-484.
Abstract--Press Release...and see story at Reuters--San Francisco Chronicle--Miller-McCune--KCLU interview
Experimental fires in the Amazon show potential for negative fire feedback...see Jennifer Balch et al. 2008 Global Change Biology 14:2276-2287. Abstract
Press coverage:
Burning issues...experiment sets the Amazon on fire...
See story at the Economist
To slow Amazon fires, scientists light their own...
See story on NPR and the Boston Globe
Chasing fire in the Amazon...
Hear story on NPR
The last experimental burn...
See story in Brazil’s major newspaper Folha de São Paulo
Scientists start fires in Mato Grosso...
See video on Brazilian primetime TV show Jornal Nacional
All photos © Jennifer K. Balch 2009