Woody Cover Fuels Large Wildfire Risk in the Eastern U.S.
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This study characterizes changes in woody vegetation cover across the eastern United States from 1990 to 2020 and evaluates its association with the occurrence of large wildfires (i.e., >200 ha (~494 acres)). Although woody encroachment…
Abstract
This study characterizes changes in woody vegetation cover across the eastern United States from 1990 to 2020 and evaluates its association with the occurrence of large wildfires (i.e., >200 ha (~494 acres)). Although woody encroachment and canopy infilling have been partially linked to increased wildfire risk in the western US and Great Plains, large-scale trends in eastern U.S. woody vegetation—and their potential influence on wildfire risk—remain less well understood.