Data from 1800s can help researchers, forest managers maintain healthy forest ecosystems today
Thursday, March 24, 2016 - 07:30
in Earth & Climate
When seeking clues to how well conservation efforts are working in the present, sometimes scientists look to the past—and there may be no better historical record than the forest surveys conducted in Missouri by the Bureau of Land Management in the 1800s. Using these historical records, University of Missouri researchers were able to shed new light on how the interaction of natural disturbances, such as wildfires, and human actions shape forest conditions and the ecosystem services that forests provide today.