Plenary – Wicked Problems in Wildland Fire
Wildland fire is an influential ecosystem process in rangelands worldwide, but myriad aspects of global change have the potential to disrupt or alter essential ecosystem functions that support both biodiversity and rural livelihoods in working rangeland landscapes. This plenary session highlights efforts to understand the impacts of global change on rangeland fire regimes worldwide from both social and ecological perspectives. Speakers confront the “Wicked Problems” related to wildland fire at the interface of rangeland ecosystem integrity and human well-being, and address these problems by considering how aspects of fire regimes are altered by global change and how specific elements of the fire regime can be managed to mitigate these effects.
- Dr. Nathan Sayre, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California Berkeley (Moderator)
- Dr. Jon Keeley, Research Scientist, US Geological Survey, Sequoia National Park, California
- Dr. Navashni Govender, Senior Manager of Conservation Management at Kruger National Park, South Africa