Current Research

Quantifying the effects of thinning and surface fuel treaments on Arizona's state largest recorded wildfire (Wallow Fire 2011), intergrating the Fuels Characteristic Classification System and Forest Vegetation Simulator, simulating fuel treatment alternatives on the South Shore Project (LTBMU).

Research Interests

Fire ecology, fire effects, silviculture, fuel treatments and fire behavior, simulation modeling, bark beeltes, climate change.

Past Research

My past work includes; studies of fuels planning and fuel treatments effects in dry forests of the Western United States, fire hazard assessment and decomposition study of Washington State's Cedar River Municipal,review of the effects of bark mortality on subsequent fire behavior Watershed examine the effects of salvage logging on fire behavior, fuel loading, fuel emissions, fuel consumption

Why This Research is Important

My research helps fire and forest managers make informed decisions based on current scientifc information.

Education

• University of Washington, Ph.D. Fire Ecology 2008
• University of Washington, M.S. Siliviculture and Forest Protection 2002
• Southern University, B.S. Urban Forestry 1996

Featured Publications & Products

• Johnson, Morris C.; Kennedy, Maureen C; Peterson, David L. 2011. Simulating fuel treatment effects in dry forests of the western United States: testing the principles of a fire-safe forest.
• Hicke, Jeffrey A; Johnson, Morris C.; Hayes, Jane L.; Preisler, Haiganoush K. 2012. Effects of bark beetle-caused tree mortality on wildfire.
• Peterson, David L.; Johnson, Morris C.; Agee, James K.; Jain, Theresa B.; McKenzie, Donald; Reinhardt, Elizabeth D. 2005. Forest structure and fire hazard in dry forests of the Western United States.
• Johnson, Morris C.; Peterson, David L. 2005. Forest fuel treatments in western North America: merging silvicultural and fire management..
• Johnson, Morris; Peterson, David L.; Raymond, Crystal. 2009. Fuel treatment guidebook: illustrating treatment effects on fire hazard.
• Johnson, Morris C.; Peterson, David L.; Raymond, Crystal L. 2007. Guide to fuel treatments in dry forests of the Western United States: assessing forest structure and fire hazard..

Publications

• Johnson, Morris C.; Kennedy, Maureen C.; Harrison, Sarah C.; Churchill, Derek ; Pass, James ; Fischer, Paul W. 2020. Effects of post-fire management on dead woody fuel dynamics and stand structure in a severely burned mixed-conifer forest, in northeastern Washington State, USA.
• Kennedy, Maureen ; Johnson, Morris ; Harrison, Sarah C. 2020. Model predictions of postwildfire woody fuel succession and fire behavior are sensitive to fuel dynamics parameters.
• Johnson, Morris C.; Kennedy, Maureen C. 2019. Altered vegetation structure from mechanical thinning treatments changed wildfire behaviour in the wildland urban interface on the 2011 Wallow Fire, Arizona, USA.
• Hansen, Matt; Johnson, Morris; Bentz, Barbara; Vandygriff, Jim; Munson, A. Steven. 2019. Chapter 14: Impact of Bark Beetle Infestation on Fuel Loads and Fire Behavior in Old-Stage Southwestern Ponderosa Pine (Project INT-EM-F-12-02).
• Nemens, Deborah G.; Varner, J. Morgan; Johnson, Morris C. 2019. Environmental effects of postfire logging: an updated literature review and annotated bibliography.
• Kennedy, Maureen C.; Johnson, Morris C.; Fallon, Kendra ; Mayer, Deborah . 2019. How big is enough Vegetation structure impacts effective fuel treatment width and forest resiliency.
• White, Rachel ; Johnson, Morris ; Vaillant, Nicole ; Fried, Jeremy . 2018. Fuel treatments: Are we doing enough.
• Hansen, E. Matthew; Johnson, Morris C.; Bentz, Barbara J.; Vandygriff, James C.; Munson, A. Steven. 2015. Fuel loads and simulated fire behavior in "old-stage" beetle-infested ponderosa pine of the Colorado Plateau.
• Halofsky, Jessica E.; Hart, Stephanie K.; Hemstrom, Miles A.; Halofsky, Joshua S.; Johnson, Morris C. 2014. Chapter 3: Simulating fire hazard across landscapes through time: integrating state-and-transition models with the Fuel Characteristic Classification System.
• Kennedy, Maureen C.; Johnson, Morris C. 2014. Fuel treatment prescriptions alter spatial patterns of fire severity around the wildland-urban interface during the Wallow Fire, Arizona, USA.
• Johnson, Morris C.; Halofsky, Jessica E.; Peterson, David L. 2013. Effects of salvage logging and pile-and-burn on fuel loading, potential fire behaviour, fuel consumption and emissions.
• Peterson, David L.; Johnson, Morris C.; Agee, James K.; Jain, Theresa B.; McKenzie, Donald; Reinhardt, Elizabeth D. 2003. Fuels planning: Managing forest structure to reduce fire hazard.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
PNW-2013-098	Scientists Study Salvage Logging After a Major Windstorm These results illustrate potential differences between the effects of salvage logging after windstorms and the effects of salvage logging after ...	2013