Current Research

My research uses novel remote sensing techniques and direct field measurements of forest materials, weather, and active wildland fire to explore questions relating to the fundamentals of wildland fire behavior and ecological effects.  By employing the strategy of coproduction, the complementary inclusion of managers and scientists through each phase of the research process, this research takes on a dynamic, interdisciplinary form through involvement of land management agency, non-profit, and domestic and international research partners.  Based at the Silas Little Experimental Forest, my work aims to develop knowledge to help both fire managers and research scientists by answering the following questions:

1) How do factors of forest vegetation, weather conditions, and combustion processes vary and interact, physically, at multiple spatial and temporal scales to drive dynamics in fire behavior and variation in fire effects?
2) What are the seasonal constraints and opportunities for burn severity and fire effects in eastern mixed forests?
3) How are forest structures and morphologies important for driving fluid dynamics within in the fire environment?
4) How can new remote sensing approaches, like LiDAR, photogrammetry, and multispectral sensors be used to quantify fire behavior, forest fuel loads, and fire effects?
5) Are there opportunities for reducing tick populations, as a disease vector to humans and animals, in the Northeast with prescribed fire.

Research on wildland fires is fascinating and critically important given the changing climatic and forest conditions and expansion of human populations into forested areas of our era.  Much of the work that the team I work with conducts is facilitated by opportunities of prescribed burning, to reduce hazardous fuels and promote forest health.  To see what it is actually like inside of an active prescribed fire, check out this interactive video taken at one of our research burns with NIST's 360 degree fireproof video camera (link: http://www.firesciencenorthatlantic.org/blog/2019/3/25/prescribed-fire-research-burn-with-360-degree-video-from-the-nj-pinelands).

Education

• Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Ph.D. Ecology Remote Sensing of Fire Effects and Burn Severity Remote Sensing of Forests and Fire Effects, Fire Behavior Measurements 2017
• Rutgers University - Cook College, B.S. Natural Resource Conservation And Management Professional Resource Management, Urban and Community Forestry, GIS 2008

Professional Experience

Professional Organizations

• North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange, Community Representative (2018 - Current)
• Association for Fire Ecology, Member (2014 - Current)
• New Jersey Forestry Association, Member (2013 - Current)
• Society of American Foresters (SAF), Committee Member (2013 - Current)
  NJ Division Science and Technology Advisory Committee and Programs Committee
• International Association of Wildland Fire, Member (2011 - Current)
• Ecological Society of America, Student Member (2011 - 2017)

Featured Publications & Products

• Warner, Timothy A.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Gallagher, Michael R. 2017. High spatial resolution burn severity mapping of the New Jersey Pine Barrens with WorldView-3 near-infrared and shortwave infrared imagery.
• Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Gallagher, Michael; Birdsey, Richard A.; Hom, John L. 2014. Airborne laser scanner-assisted estimation of aboveground biomass change in a temperate oak-pine forest.
• Mueller, Eric; Skowronski, Nicholas; Simeoni, Albert; Clark, Kenneth; Kremens, Robert; Mell, William; Gallagher, Michael; Thomas, Jan; Filkov, Alexander; Houssami, Mohamad El; Hom, John; Butler, Bret. 2014. Fuel treatment effectiveness in reducing fire intensity and spread rate - An experimental overview.
• Kiefer, Michael T.; Heilman, Warren E.; Zhong, Shiyuan; Charney, Joseph J.; Bian, Xindi; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Hom, John L.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Patterson, Matthew; Gallagher, Michael R. 2014. Multiscale simulation of a prescribed fire event in the New Jersey Pine Barrens using ARPS-CANOPY.
• Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Gallagher, Michael; Renninger, Hedi; Schafer, Karina. 2012. Effects of invasive insects and fire on energy exchange and evapotranspiration in the New Jersey pine lands.
• Kiefer, Michael T.; Heilman, Warren E.; Zhong, Shiyuan; Charney, Joseph J.; Bian, X.; Shadbolt, Ryan P.; Hom, John; Clark, Kenneth; Skowronski, Nicholas; Gallagher, Michael; Patterson, Matthew. 2011. Development of a fine scale smoke dispersion modeling system. Part II: Case study of a prescribed burn in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
• Mueller, Eric V; Skowronski, Nicholas ; Thomas, Jan C.; Clark, Kenneth ; Gallagher, Michael R.; Hadden, Rory ; Mell, William ; Simeoni, Albert . 2018. Local measurements of wildland fire dynamics in a field-scale experiment.
• Clark, Kenneth L.; Renninger, Heidi J.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Gallagher, Michael; Schäfer, Karina V.R. . 2018. Decadal-Scale Reduction in Forest Net Ecosystem Production Following Insect Defoliation Contrasts with Short-Term Impacts of Prescribed Fires.
• Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Haag, Scott; Trimble, Jim; Clark, Kenneth L.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Lathrop, Richard G. 2015. Structure-level fuel load assessment in the wildland-urban interface: a fusion of airborne laser scanning and spectral remote-sensing methodologies.
• El Houssami, Mohamad; Mueller, Eric; Filkov, Alexander; Thomas, Jan C; Skowronski, Nicholas; Gallagher, Michael R; Clark, Ken; Kremens, Robert; Simeoni, Albert. 2016. Experimental procedures characterizing firebrand generation in wildland fires.

Publications

• Charney, Joseph J.; Kiefer, Michael T.; Zhong, Shiyuan ; Heilman, Warren E.; Nikolic, Jovanka ; Bian, Xindi ; Hom, John L.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Patterson, Matthew ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Hawley, Christie . 2019. Assessing Forest Canopy Impacts on Smoke Concentrations Using a Coupled Numerical Model.
• Simeoni, Albert; Owens, Zachary C.; Christiansen, Erik W.; Kemal, Abid; Gallagher, Michael; Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Mueller, Eric V.; Thomas, Jan C.; Santamaria, Simon; Hadden, Rory M. 2017. A preliminary study of wildland fire pattern indicator reliability following an experimental fire.
• Heilman, Warren E.; Bian, Xindi; Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Hom, John L.; Gallagher, Michael R. 2017. Atmospheric turbulence observations in the vicinity of surface fires in forested environments.
• Thomas, Jan C.; Mueller, Eric V.; Santamaria, Simon; Gallagher, Michael; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander; Clark, Kenneth; Skowronski, Nicholas; Hadden, Rory M.; Mell, William; Simeoni, Albert. 2017. Investigation of firebrand generation from an experimental fire: Development of a reliable data collection methodology.
• ​Clark, Kenneth L.; Gallagher, Michael; Heilman, Warren E.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Mueller, Eric; Simeoni, Albert. 2017. Relationships between firing pattern, fuel consumption, and turbulence and energy exchange during prescribed fires.
• Mueller, Eric V.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Clark, Kenneth; Gallagher, Michael; Kremens, Robert; Thomas, Jan C.; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander; Hadden, Rory M.; Mell, William; Simeoni, Albert. 2017. Utilization of remote sensing techniques for the quantification of fire behavior in two pine stands.
• Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Gallagher, Michael. 2015. Fire management and carbon sequestration in Pine Barren Forests.
• Mueller, Eric; Skowronski, Nicholas; Clark, Kenneth; Kremens, Robert; Gallagher, Michael; Thomas, Jan; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkod, Alexander; Butler, Bret; Hom, John; Mell, William; Simeoni, Albert. 2015. Initial results from a field experiment to support the assessment of fuel treatment effectiveness in reducing wildfire intensity and spread rate.
• Clark, K.L.; Skowronski, N.S.; Gallagher, M.R.; Renninger, H.; Schäfer, K.V.R. 2014. Contrasting effects of invasive insects and fire on ecosystem water use efficiency.
• Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas; Gallagher, Michael. 2014. The fire research program at the Silas Little Experimental Forest, New Lisbon, New Jersey.

Citations of non US Forest Service Publications

• Skowronski, N., and M. Gallagher. 2018. Field Measurement Techniques. In, M. Gollner, ed. “Encyclopedia of Wildland Fires and Wildland Fuel Characterization.”

  Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Simeoni, Albert A.; Mell, William E.; Hadden, Rory M.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Mueller, Eric V.; Kremens, Robert L.; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander I.; Thomas, Jan Christian. 2017. New Jersey fuel treatment effects: 3-dimensional turbulence and temperature data. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2017-0060

  Gallagher, Michael R.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Thomas, Jan Christian; Mell, William E.; Hadden, Rory M.; Mueller, Eric V.; Kremens, Robert L.; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander I.; Simeoni, Albert A.; Skowronski, Nicholas S. 2017. New Jersey fuel treatment effects: Pre- and post-burn biometric data. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2017-0061

  Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Simeoni, Albert A.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Mell, William E.; Hadden, Rory M.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Mueller, Eric V.; Kremens, Robert L.; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander I.; Thomas, Jan Christian. 2017. New Jersey fuel treatment effects: Burn units. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2017-0062

  Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Simeoni, Albert A.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Mell, William E.; Hadden, Rory M.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Mueller, Eric V.; Kremens, Robert L.; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander I.; Thomas, Jan Christian. 2018. New Jersey fuel treatment effects: Leaf-off airborne LiDAR data. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2017-0059

  Kremens, Robert L.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Simeoni, Albert A.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Mell, William E.; Hadden, Rory M.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Mueller, Eric V.; El Houssami, Mohamad; Filkov, Alexander I.; Thomas, Jan Christian. 2017. New Jersey fuel treatment effects: Wildfire Airborne Sensor Program - orthorectified long-wave infrared and visible data images. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2017-0063

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
NRS-2011-07	Fireflux Experiments Improve Safety of Prescribed Burns in the New Jersey Pine Barrens Predicting the effects of smoke from low-intensity prescribed fires on local air-quality is being made easier by new tools developed by Forest S ...	2011
NRS-2017-85	New high resolution infrared data aids in the monitoring of fine scale wildland fire effects Wildfires and prescribed fires in the northeastern U.S. are often too small to evaluate using satellite data in the public domain and are too la ...	2017