Research Interests

My research interests involve characterizing effects of fire and fuels treatments on forests. I am interested in these characterizations at both the stand and landscape levels. Active research areas include: 1) stand development/recovery following fuel reduction treatments and wildfires, 2) modeled effects of landscape fuel treatment networks, 3) fire severity patterns and interactions among managed wildfires in long-term natural fire areas, and 4) characterizing variability in forests under more natural fire regimes. My research intends to provide meaningful information to managers interested in improving forest resiliency and incorporating more natural fire-vegetation dynamics across landscapes.

Education

• UC Berkeley, Ph.D. Managing wildland fire in long-term natural fire areas in the Sierra Nevada 2007
• Colorado State University, M.S. Climate-fire relationships in the Interior West 2004
• UC Berkeley, B.S. Forestry 2001

Professional Organizations

• Association for Fire Ecology, Board Member (2011 - Current)
  Vote on resolutions directing AFE activities including: conferences, oversight for the journal Fire Ecology, professional certification for fire ecologists, and other outreach. Participate in planning and implementing AFE activities

Publications

• Stephens, Scott L.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Churchill, Derek J.; Collins, Brandon M.; Coppoletta, Michelle ; Hoffman, Chad M.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; North, Malcolm P.; Parsons, Russell A.; Ritter, Scott M.; Stevens, Jens T. 2021. Forest restoration and fuels reduction: Convergent or divergent.
• Low, Kathryn E.; Collins, Brandon M.; Bernal, Alexis ; Sanders, John E.; Pastor, Dylan ; Manley, Patricia ; White, Angela M.; Stephens, Scott L. 2021. Longer-term impacts of fuel reduction treatments on forest structure, fuels, and drought resistance in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
• Merriam, Kyle E.; Coppoletta, Michelle ; White, Angela M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Gross, Shana E. 2021. Postfire restoration framework.
• Ziegler, Justin P.; Hoffman, Chad M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Knapp, Eric E.; Mell, William (Ruddy). 2021. Pyric tree spatial patterning interactions in historical and contemporary mixed conifer forests, California, USA.
• Steel, Zachary L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Sapsis, David B.; Stephens, Scott L. 2021. Quantifying pyrodiversity and its drivers.
• Levine, Jacob I; Collins, Brandon M.; York, Robert A.; Foster, Daniel E.; Fry, Danny L.; Stephens, Scott L. 2020. Forest stand and site characteristics influence fuel consumption in repeat prescribed burns.
• Stevens, Jens T.; Boisramé, Gabrielle F. S.; Rakhmatulina, Ekaterina ; Thompson, Sally E.; Collins, Brandon M.; Stephens, Scott L. 2020. Forest vegetation change and its impacts on soil water following 47 Years of managed wildfire.
• Stephens, Connor W.; Collins, Brandon M.; Rogan, John . 2020. Land ownership impacts post-wildfire forest regeneration in Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests.
• Povak, Nicholas A.; Kane, Van R.; Collins, Brandon M.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; Kane, Jonathan T. 2020. Multi-scaled drivers of severity patterns vary across land ownerships for the 2013 Rim Fire, California.
• Foster, Daniel E.; Battles, John J.; Collins, Brandon M.; York, Robert A.; Stephens, Scott L. 2020. Potential wildfire and carbon stability in frequent fire forests in the Sierra Nevada: trade offs from a long term study.
• Knapp, Eric E.; Carlson, Robert L.; North, Malcolm P.; Lydersen, Jamie L.; Collins, Brandon M. 2020. Restoring forest heterogeneity with thinning and prescribed fire: Initial results from the central Sierra Nevada, California.
• Ziegler, Justin P.; Hoffman, Chad M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Long, Jonathan W.; Dagley, Christa M.; Mell, William . 2020. Simulated fire behavior and fine-scale forest structure following conifer removal in aspen-conifer forests in the Lake Tahoe Basin, USA.
• Ma, Qin ; Bales, Roger C.; Rungee, Joseph ; Conklin, Martha H.; Collins, Brandon M.; Goulden, Michael L. 2020. Wildfire controls on evapotranspiration in California s Sierra Nevada.
• Coop, Jonathan D.; Parks, Sean A.; Stevens-Rumann, Camille S.; Crausbay, Shelley D.; Higuera, Philip E.; Hurteau, Matthew D.; Tepley, Alan ; Whitman, Ellen ; Assal, Timothy ; Collins, Brandon M.; Davis, Kimberley T.; Dobrowski, Solomon ; Falk, Donald A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Fule, Peter Z.; Harvey, Brian J.; Kane, Van R.; Littlefield, Caitlin E.; Margolis, Ellis Q.; North, Malcolm ; Parisien, Marc-Andre ; Prichard, Susan ; Rodman, Kyle C. 2020. Wildfire-driven forest conversion in western North American landscapes.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Miller, Jay D.; Knapp, Eric E.; Sapsis, David B. 2019. A quantitative comparison of forest fires in central and northern California under early (1911 1924) and contemporary (2002 2015) fire suppression.
• Hessburg, P.; Miller, C.; Parks, S.; Povak, N.; North, M.; Collins, B.; Spies, T.; Cansler, C.; Battaglia, M.; Skinner, C. 2019. Climate, environment, and disturbance history govern resilience of Western North American forests.
• Kane, Van R.; Bartl-Geller, Bryce N.; North, Malcolm P.; Kane, Jonathan T.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; Jeronimo, Sean M.A.; Collins, Brandon M.; Monika Moskal, L. . 2019. First-entry wildfires can create opening and tree clump patterns characteristic of resilient forests.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Coppoletta, Michelle ; Jaffe, Melissa R.; Northrop, Hudson ; Stephens, Scott L. 2019. Fuel dynamics and reburn severity following high-severity fire in a Sierra Nevada, USA, mixed-conifer forest.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Hunsaker, Carolyn T. 2019. Implementation constraints limit benefits of restoration treatments in mixed-conifer forests.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Stephens, Scott L.; York, Robert A. . 2019. Perspectives from a long-term study of fuel reduction and forest restoration in the Sierra Nevada.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M. 2018. Change in vegetation patterns over a large forested landscape based on historical and contemporary aerial photography.
• Stephens, Scott L; Collins, Brandon M; Fettig, Christopher J; Finney, Mark A; Hoffman, Chad M; Knapp, Eric E; North, Malcolm P; Safford, Hugh; Wayman, Rebecca B. 2018. Drought, tree mortality, and wildfire in forests adapted to frequent fire.
• Leverkus, Alexandro B.; Rey Benayas, José María; Castro, Jorge ; Boucher, Dominique ; Brewer, Stephen ; Collins, Brandon M.; Donato, Daniel ; Fraver, Shawn ; Kishchuk, Barbara E.; Lee, Eun-Jae ; Lindenmayer, David B.; Lingua, Emanuele ; Macdonald, Ellen ; Marzano, Raffaella ; Rhoades, Charles C.; Royo, Alejandro ; Thorn, Simon ; Wagenbrenner, Joseph W.; Waldron, Kaysandra ; Wohlgemuth, Thomas ; Gustafsson, Lena . 2018. Salvage logging effects on regulating and supporting ecosystem services a systematic map.
• van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Fites-Kaufman, Jo Ann; Safford, Hugh D.; North, Malcolm P.; Collins, Brandon . 2018. Sierra Nevada Bioregion.
• Hoffman, Chad M.; Collins, Brandon ; Battaglia, Mike . 2018. Wildland fuel treatments.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Stevens, Jens T.; Miller, Jay D.; Stephens, Scott L.; Brown, Peter M.; North, Malcolm P. 2017. Alternative characterization of forest fire regimes: incorporating spatial patterns.
• Stevens, Jens T.; Collins, Brandon M.; Miller, Jay D.; North, Malcolm P.; Stephens, Scott L. 2017. Changing spatial patterns of stand-replacing fire in California conifer forests.
• North, Malcolm P.; Schwartz, Mark W.; Collins, Brandon M.; Keane, John J. 2017. Current and projected condition of mid-elevation Sierra Nevada forests.
• Knapp, Eric E.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; North, Malcolm P.; Collins, Brandon M. 2017. Efficacy of variable density thinning and prescribed fire for restoring forest heterogeneity to mixed-conifer forest in the central Sierra Nevada, CA.
• Levine, Carrie R.; Cogbill, Charles V.; Collins, Brandon M.; Larson, Andrew J.; Lutz, James A.; North, Malcolm P.; Restaino, Christina M.; Safford, Hugh D.; Stephens, Scott L.; Battles, John J. 2017. Evaluating a new method for reconstructing forest conditions from General Land Office survey records.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Matchett, John R.; Shive, Kristen L.; Povak, Nicholas A.; Kane, Van R.; Smith, Douglas F. 2017. Evidence of fuels management and fire weather influencing fire severity in an extreme fire event.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Fry, Danny L.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; Everett, Richard ; Stephens, Scott L. 2017. Impacts of different land management histories on forest change.
• Chiono, Lindsay A.; Fry, Danny L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Chatfield, Andrea H.; Stephens, Scott L. 2017. Landscape-scale fuel treatment and wildfire impacts on carbon stocks and fire hazard in California spotted owl habitat.
• Boisramé, Gabrielle; Thompson, Sally; Collins, Brandon; Stephens, Scott. 2017. Managed wildfire effects on forest resilience and water in the Sierra Nevada.
• Su, Yanjun; Guo, Qinghua; Fry, Danny L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Kelly, Maggi; Flanagan, Jacob P.; Battles, John J. 2016. A vegetation mapping strategy for conifer forests by combining airborne LiDAR data and aerial imagery.
• Kramer, Heather A.; Collins, Brandon M.; Gallagher, Claire V.; Keane, John; Stephens, Scott L.; Kelly, Maggi. 2016. Accessible light detection and ranging: estimating large tree density for habitat identification.
• Kramer, Heather; Collins, Brandon; Lake, Frank; Jakubowski, Marek; Stephens, Scott; Kelly, Maggi. 2016. Estimating ladder fuels: a new approach combining field photography with LiDAR.
• Stevens, Jens T.; Collins, Brandon M.; Long, Jonathan W.; North, Malcolm P.; Prichard, Susan J.; Tarnay, Leland W.; White, Angela M. 2016. Evaluating potential trade-offs among fuel treatment strategies in mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada.
• Su, Yanjun; Guo, Qinghua; Collins, Brandon M.; Fry, Danny L.; Hu, Tianyu; Kelly, Maggi. 2016. Forest fuel treatment detection using multi-temporal airborne lidar data and high-resolution aerial imagery: a case study in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
• Dow, Christopher B.; Collins, Brandon M.; Stephens, Scott L. 2016. Incorporating resource protection constraints in an analysis of landscape fuel-treatment effectiveness in the northern Sierra Nevada, CA, USA.
• Dore, Sabina ; Fry, Danny L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Vargas, Rodrigo ; York, Robert A.; Stephens, Scott L. 2016. Management impacts on carbon dynamics in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest.
• North, Malcolm; Collins, Brandon M.; Safford, Hugh; Stephenson, Nathan L. 2016. Montane forests.
• Fischer, A. Paige; Spies, Thomas A; Steelman, Toddi A; Moseley, Cassandra; Johnson, Bart R; Bailey, John D; Ager, Alan A; Bourgeron, Patrick; Charnley, Susan; Collins, Brandon M; Kline, Jeffrey D; Leahy, Jessica E; Littell, Jeremy S; Millington, James DA; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Olsen, Christine S; Paveglio, Travis B; Roos, Christopher I; Steen-Adams, Michelle M; Stevens, Forrest R; Vukomanovic, Jelena; White, Eric M; Bowman, David M. J. S. 2016. Pathology of wildfire risk: A characterization of social and ecological dimensions.
• Coppoletta, Michelle ; Merriam, Kyle E.; Collins, Brandon M. 2016. Post fire vegetation and fuel development influences fire severity patterns in reburns.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Miller, Jay D.; Fry, Danny L.; Stephens, Scott L. 2016. Relating fire-caused change in forest structure to remotely sensed estimates of fire severity.
• Hessburg, Paul F.; Spies, Thomas A.; Perry, David A.; Skinner, Carl N.; Taylor, Alan H.; Brown, Peter M.; Stephens, Scott L.; Larson, Andrew J.; Churchill, Derek J.; Povak, Nicholas A.; Singleton, Peter H.; McComb, Brenda; Zielinski, William J.; Collins, Brandon M.; Salter, R. Brion; Keane, John J.; Franklin, Jerry F.; Riegel, Greg. 2016. Tamm Review: Management of mixed-severity fire regime forests in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; Fry, Danny L.; Wilkin, Katherine; Moody, Tadashi; Stephens, Scott L. 2016. Variability in vegetation and surface fuels across mixed-conifer-dominated landscapes with over 40 years of natural fire.
• Stephens, Scott L.; Miller, Jay D.; Collins, Brandon M.; North, Malcolm P.; Keane, John J.; Roberts, Susan L. 2016. Wildfire impacts on California spotted owl nesting habitat in the Sierra Nevada.
• Fischer, A Paige; Spies, Thomas A; Steelman, Toddi A; Moseley, Cassandra; Johnson, Bart R; Bailey, John D; Ager, Alan A; Bourgeron, Patrick; Charnley, Susan; Collins, Brandon M; Kline, Jeff; Leahy, Jessica E; Littell, Jeremy S; Millington, James DA; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Olsen, Christine S; Paveglio, Travis B; Roos, Christopher I; Steen-Adams, Michelle M; Stevens, Forrest R; Vukomanovic, Jelena; White, Eric; Bowman, David MJS. 2016. Wildfire risk as a socioecological pathology.
• North, Malcolm P.; Brough, April; Long, Jonathan W.; Collins, Brandon M.; Bowden, Phil; Yasuda, Don; Miller, Jay; Suighara, Neil. 2015. Constraints on mechanized treatment significantly limit mechanical fuels reduction extent in the Sierra Nevada.
• Stephens, Scott L.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Fry, Danny L.; Meyer, Marc D. 2015. Historical and current landscape-scale ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest structure in the Southern Sierra Nevada.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Lydersen, Jamie M.; Everett, Richard G.; Fry, Danny L.; Stephens, Scott L. 2015. Novel characterization of landscape-level variability in historical vegetation structure.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; Collins, Brandon M.; Knapp, Eric E.; Roller, Gary B.; Stephens, Scott. 2015. Relating fuel loads to overstorey structure and composition in a fire-excluded Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Das, Adrian J.; Battles, John J.; Fry, Danny L.; Krasnow, Kevin D.; Stephens, Scott L. 2014. Beyond reducing fire hazard: fuel treatment impacts on overstory tree survival.
• Stephens, Scott L.; Bigelow, Seth W.; Burnett, Ryan D.; Collins, Brandon M.; Gallagher, Claire. V.; Keane, John; Kelt, Douglas A.; North, Malcolm P.; Roberts, Lance J.; Stine, Peter A.; Van Vuren, Dirk H. 2014. California spotted owl, songbird, and small mammal responses to landscape fuel treatments.
• Fry, Danny L.; Stephens, Scott L. ; Collins, Brandon M.; North, Malcolm; Franco-Vizcaino, Ernesto; Gill, Samantha J. 2014. Contrasting spatial patterns in active-fire and fire-suppressed Mediterranean climate old-growth mixed conifer forests.
• Collins, Brandon; Skinner, Carl. 2014. Fire and fuels.
• Collins, Brandon M. 2014. Fire weather and large fire potential in the northern Sierra Nevada.
• Kramer, Heather; Collins, Brandon; Kelly, Maggi; Stephens, Scott. 2014. Quantifying Ladder Fuels: A New Approach Using LiDAR.
• Lydersen, Jamie; North, Malcolm; Collins, Brandon M. 2014. Severity of an uncharacteristically large wildfire, the Rim Fire, in forests with relatively restored frequent fire regimes.
• North, Malcolm; Collins, Brandon; Keane, John; Long, Jonathan W.; Skinner, Carl; Zielinski, Bill. 2014. Synopsis of emergent approaches.
• Lydersen, Jamie; Collins, Brandon M.; Ewell, Carol; Reiner, Alicia; Fites, Jo Ann; Dow, Christopher; Gonzalez, Patrick; Saah, David; Battles, John. 2014. Using field data to assess model predictions of surface and ground fuel consumption by wildfire in coniferous forests of California.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Roller, Gary B. 2013. Early forest dynamics in stand-replacing fire patches in the northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Kramer, Heather A.; Menning, Kurt; Dillingham, Colin; Saah, David; Stine, Peter A.; Stephens, Scott L. 2013. Modeling hazardous fire potential within a completed fuel treatment network in the northern Sierra Nevada.
• Jakubowksi, Marek K.; Guo, Qinghua; Collins, Brandon; Stephens, Scott; Kelly, Maggi. 2013. Predicting surface fuel models and fuel metrics using lidar and CIR imagery in a dense mixed conifer forest.
• Lydersen, Jamie M.; North, Malcolm P.; Knapp, Eric E.; Collins, Brandon M. 2013. Quantifying spatial patterns of tree groups and gaps in mixed-conifer forests: reference conditions and long-term changes following fire suppression and logging.
• Collins, B.M.; Stephens, S.L. 2012. Chapter 1: Fire and fuels reduction.
• Miller, Jay D.; Collins, Brandom M.; Lutz, James A.; Stephens, Scott L.; van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Yasuda, Donald A. 2012. Differences in wildfires among ecoregions and land management agencies in the Sierra Nevada region, California, USA.
• Stephens, Scott L.; Boerner, Ralph E. J.; Moghaddas, Jason J.; Moghaddas, Emily E. Y.; Collins, Brandon M.; Dow, Christopher B.; Edminster, Carl; Fiedler, Carl E.; Fry, Danny L.; Hartsough, Bruce R.; Keeley, Jon E.; Knapp, Eric E.; McIver, James D.; Skinner, Carl N.; Youngblood, Andrew. 2012. Fuel treatment impacts on estimated wildfire carbon loss from forests in Montana, Oregon, California, and Arizona.
• Stephens, Scott. L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Roller, Gary. 2012. Fuel treatment longevity in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest.
• North, Malcolm P.; Collins, Brandon M.; Stephens, Scott L. 2012. Using fire to increase the scale, benefits and future maintenance of fuels treatments.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Everett, Richard G.; Stephens, Scott L. 2011. Impacts of fire exclusion and recent managed fire on forest structure in old growth Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Stephens, Scott L.; Roller, Gary B.; Battles, John. 2011. Simulating fire and forest dynamics for a coordinated landscape fuel treatment project in the Sierra Nevada.
• Collins, B.M.; Stephens, S.L.; Moghaddas, J.J.; Battles, J. 2010. Challenges and approaches in planning fuel treatments across fire-excluded forested landscapes.
• Stephens, Scott L.; Fry, Danny L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Skinner, Carl N.; Franco-Vizcaino, Ernesto; Freed, Travis J. 2010. Fire-scar formation in Jeffrey pine - mixed conifer forests in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Mexico.
• Moghaddas, J.J.; Collins, B.M.; Menning, K.; Moghaddas, E.E.Y.; Stephens, S.L. 2010. Fuel treatment effects on modeled landscape level fire behavior in the northern Sierra Nevada.
• Stephens, Scott L.; Millar, Constance I.; Collins, Brandon M. 2010. Operational approaches to managing forests of the future in Mediterranean regions within a context of changing climates.
• Collins, B.M.; Stephens, S.L. 2010. Stand-replacing patches within a mixed severity fire regime: quantitative characterization using recent fires in a long-established natural fire area.
• North, M.P.; van de Water, K.M.; Stephens, S.L.; Collins, B.M. 2009. Climate, rain shadow, and human-use influences on fire regimes in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, USA.
• Collins, Brandon M.; Omi, Philip N.; Chapman, Phillip L. 2006. Regional relationships between climate and wildfire-burned area in the interior West, USA.
• Finney, Mark A.; Bartlette, Roberta; Bradshaw, Larry; Close, Kelly; Collins, Brandon M.; Gleason, Paul; Hao, Wei Min; Langowski, Paul; McGinely, John; McHugh, Charles W.; Martinson, Erik; Omi, Phillip N.; Shepperd, Wayne; Zeller, Karl. 2003. Fire behavior, fuel treatments, and fire suppression on the Hayman Fire.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
PSW-2011-18	Re-sampling historical inventory plots indicates degree of forest changes over the last 100 years A 100 years of forest change is documented. Contemporary forests are compared to their historical counterparts. The findings presented here ca ...	2011