UW Professor Receives $1M Grant to Study How Forests Recover Naturally - SweetwaterNOW

LARAMIE — A University of Wyoming prof has received a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assistance to survey however forests successful the Rocky Mountains of North America retrieve people — with the assistance of wetlands — aft disturbances specified arsenic drought, insect outbreaks and wildfires.

Ye Zhang, successful UW’s Department of Geology and Geophysics, precocious received a $1 cardinal DOE assistance for her task titled “Groundwater-supported vegetation refugia arsenic a mechanics of wood betterment successful a Rocky Mountain watershed impacted by wildfire.” The grant, announced by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research, began September 21 and runs done August 31, 2025.

Andrew Parsekian, a UW subordinate prof of geology and geophysics, and Brent Ewers, a prof and caput of the UW Department of Botany, volition service arsenic co-principal investigators and collaborate with Zhang connected the task with Xiaonan Tai, an adjunct prof of biologic sciences and an ecohydrology modeling adept astatine the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Research results volition assistance pass effectual post-disturbance onshore and wood absorption practices and strategies successful the Medicine Bow National Forest successful southeastern Wyoming arsenic good arsenic assistance different impacted forests successful the Rocky Mountain region.

“If we find the reasons wherefore immoderate wetlands person been oregon are presently progressive for helping forests regenerate aft 1 oregon much disturbances, past these wetlands volition request to beryllium monitored, protected and perchance enhanced,” Zhang explains. “In this way, we tin anticipation to maximize the ratio of wood absorption practices by targeted conservation.”

When 2 disturbances hap 1 aft different — specified arsenic bark beetles, followed by wildfire — earthy regeneration maturation is not guaranteed. For example, the 2020 Mullen occurrence that raged for much than a period successful the Medicine Bow National Forest burned implicit trees that had been dormant for much than a decennary aft a bark beetle epidemic. As a result, histrion regeneration was recovered to beryllium patchy: Some burnt areas are regenerating quickly, portion different areas are not.

“In the Medicine Bow National Forest, we recovered that steadfast and mature trees that survived the occurrence are present providing seeds to repopulate the impacted areas,” Zhang says of their unfunded fieldwork aft the Mullen fire. “However, the trees driving wood regeneration are not recovered everywhere, but alternatively are focused successful areas of the wood nicknamed ‘forest refugia.’”

An important wood refugia successful Medicine Bow National Forest, and successful the Rocky Mountains successful general, are upland wetlands with shallow h2o tables and precocious ungraded moisture. By examining the property of the trees, Zhang and her co-principal investigators recovered that these wetlands person sheltered trees, which supply a effect root against overmuch earlier disturbances. As a result, this helps forests retrieve aft each incident, she says.

“Many of these wetlands are not adjacent to streams oregon lakes but, instead, are supplied by groundwater, which is h2o flowing done ungraded and bedrock successful the subsurface, often on the topographic gradient,” Zhang says. “Because groundwater is hidden from view, we cognize precise small astir however it supports wetlands and then, the adjacent, upland vegetation.”

With this DOE grant, Zhang says the purpose is to representation the locations of the wetlands successful Medicine Bow National Forest that actively enactment post-fire wood regeneration.

“By monitoring some groundwater and vegetation processes astatine these wetland refugia sites, we besides purpose to recognize how, and nether what conditions, groundwater drives wood recovery,” Zhang says. “Moreover, facing projected droughts successful the adjacent future, immoderate upland wetlands that are presently wood refugia whitethorn go drier, which could diminish their roles for helping the forest. Other wetlands that are presently excessively bedewed to enactment trees whitethorn go suitable for hosting seedlings, frankincense forming caller refugia successful the future.”

Zhang says the assistance is anticipated to enactment 3 UW Ph.D. students successful the UW Hydrologic Science Program from the Geology and Geophysics and Botany departments arsenic good arsenic a fig of undergraduate tract and laboratory assistants. Additionally, the assistance volition enactment a Ph.D. pupil to enactment with Tai. 

“Though we cannot precisely foretell the future, we volition usage tract measurements collected successful this survey to calibrate an ecohydrological exemplary to replicate existent hydrology and vegetation conditions astatine the Medicine Bow National Forest refugia sites that we volition map,” Zhang says. “Then, we volition thrust this exemplary utilizing a scope of projected clime scenarios for the portion to trial the supra ideas.”

Results of the probe could beryllium utilized by wood managers, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and conservation organizations, she says.