Current Research

I conduct research that examines how natural and human disturbances affect plant populations and communities in Rocky Mountain forests. This research falls into three broad themes: (1) developing and utilizing information on historical vegetation reference conditions; (2) investigating how contemporary “natural” (non-management) disturbances influence vegetation; and (3) examining the impacts of contemporary land management activities on vegetation. Some of my current research projects are described below. In addition to conducting research, I also oversee the Manitou Experimental Forest in Woodland Park, CO. Manitou was established in 1938 to facilitate research on the ecology and management of southern Rockies dry conifer forests.

1. Historical reference conditions

Information on the historical overstory structures and fire regimes of dry conifer forests is essential for understanding how they have changed due to post-settlement logging, grazing, and fire suppression, and in turn, for guiding management efforts to restore more ecologically-appropriate forest conditions. My collaborators and I are using dendrochronology to reconstruct historical overstory structures and fire regimes for dry conifer forests of CO, SD, and WY, and to quantify current deviations from historical conditions.

2. Contemporary natural disturbances

A century of fire suppression and other factors have led to recent increases in wildfire frequency and severity in dry conifer forests. I am leading a team that is tackling questions about how tree species’ life histories interact with fire severity and biophysical factors to influence post-fire tree regeneration in ponderosa pine forests of AZ, CO, SD, and WY.

Recent bark beetle outbreaks have disturbed millions of hectares of subalpine forest across the Rockies. My collaborators and I are utilizing Forest Inventory and Analysis data from beetle-affected lodgepole pine forests in CO and WY to characterize overstory structure and tree regeneration approximately a decade following the outbreak, and to examine how they are related to biophysical drivers. My collaborators and I are also utilizing pre- and post-outbreak vegetation data from an Engelmann spruce – subalpine fir forest site in WY to examine how the outbreak has influenced overstory and understory plant communities.

It has long been predicted that subalpine and alpine environments would be among the first to experience climate change effects. The Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site was established in the 1980s, in part, to assess such effects for subalpine and alpine ecosystems in WY. I am on a team that is contributing to this line of inquiry using climate, overstory, and understory data that have been collected at the site since it was established. Results will improve our ability to predict the fate of subalpine and alpine ecosystems as climate changes.

3. Contemporary land management activities

Collaborative forest restoration treatments are becoming ever more common in western dry conifer forests as managers and their stakeholders strive to make them more resilient to fire, climate change, and other disturbances. I am helping to examine the impacts of such treatments on overstory and understory vegetation in dry conifer forests in CO. Results will inform assessments of whether collaborative restoration treatments are meeting desired conditions in CO and across the western US.

Extensive beetle-caused tree mortality in Rocky Mountain subalpine forests has prompted some salvage logging of dead trees. I am working with collaborators to assess the short- and long-term ecological impacts of post-outbreak salvage logging in CO lodgepole pine forests. My focus is on impacts to understory plant communities. Findings will allow managers to make more informed decisions about how best to steward the vast expanse of beetle-affected subalpine forest in the Rockies.

Research Interests

Forest ecology; Disturbance ecology; Plant community ecology; Plant population ecology; Fire ecology; Exotic plant invasions; Forest restoration; Silviculture

Education

• University of Delaware, Newark, DE, B.S. Environmental Science 1996
• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, M.S. Forest Sciences 1999
• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Ph.D. Ecology 2009

Professional Experience

Publications

• Rhoades, Charles C.; Hubbard, Robert M.; Elder, Kelly ; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Schnackenberg, Elizabeth ; Hood, Paul R.; Tinker, Daniel B. 2020. Tree regeneration and soil responses to management alternatives in beetle-infested lodgepole pine forests.
• 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.
• Stevens, Jens T.; Miller, Jesse E. D.; Fornwalt, Paula J. 2019. Fire severity and changing composition of forest understory plant communities.
• Brown, Peter M.; Gannon, Benjamin ; Battaglia, Mike A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Cheng, Antony S.; Baggett, L. Scott. 2019. Identifying old trees to inform ecological restoration in montane forests of the central Rocky Mountains, USA.
• Korb, Julie E.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Stevens-Rumann, Camille S. 2019. What drives ponderosa pine regeneration following wildfire in the western United States.
• Battaglia, Mike A.; Gannon, Benjamin; Brown, Peter M.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Cheng, Antony S.; Huckaby, Laurie S. 2018. Changes in forest structure since 1860 in ponderosa pine dominated forests in the Colorado and Wyoming Front Range, USA.
• Cannon, Jeffery B.; Barrett, Kevin J.; Gannon, Benjamin M.; Addington, Robert N.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Cheng, Antony S.; Underhill, Jeffrey L.; Briggs, Jennifer S.; Brown, Peter M. 2018. Collaborative restoration effects on forest structure in ponderosa pine-dominated forests of Colorado.
• Malone, Sparkle L.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Chambers, Marin E.; Iniguez, Jose M.; Sieg, Carolyn H. 2018. Mixed-severity fire fosters heterogeneous spatial patterns of conifer regeneration in a dry conifer forest.
• Rhoades, Charles C.; Pelz, Kristen A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Wolk, Brett H.; Cheng, Antony S. 2018. Overlapping bark beetle outbreaks, salvage logging and wildfire restructure a lodgepole pine ecosystem.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Stevens-Rumann, Camille S.; Collins, Byron J. 2018. Overstory structure and surface cover dynamics in the decade following the Hayman Fire, Colorado.
• Addington, Robert N.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Briggs, Jennifer S.; Brown, Peter M.; Cheng, Antony S.; Dickinson, Yvette; Feinstein, Jonas A.; Pelz, Kristen A.; Regan, Claudia M.; Thinnes, Jim; Truex, Rick; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Gannon, Benjamin; Julian, Chad W.; Underhill, Jeffrey L.; Wolk, Brett. 2018. Principles and practices for the restoration of ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Rhoades, Charles C.; Hubbard, Robert M.; Harris, Rebecca L.; Faist, Akasha M.; Bowman, William D. 2018. Short-term understory plant community responses to salvage logging in beetle-affected lodgepole pine forests.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Rocca, Monique E.; Battaglia, Michael; Rhoades, Charles C.; Ryan, Michael G. 2017. Mulching fuels treatments promote understory plant communities in three Colorado, USA, coniferous forest types.
• Briggs, Jennifer S.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Feinstein, Jonas A. 2017. Short-term ecological consequences of collaborative restoration treatments in ponderosa pine forests of Colorado.
• Owen, Suzanne M.; Sieg, Carolyn H.; Meador, Andrew J. Sanchez; Fule, Peter Z.; Iniguez, Jose M.; Baggett, L. Scott; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Battaglia, Michael A. 2017. Spatial patterns of ponderosa pine regeneration in high-severity burn patches.
• Ziegler, Justin P.; Hoffman, Chad M.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Sieg, Carolyn H.; Battaglia, Michael A.; Chambers, Marin E.; Iniguez, Jose M. 2017. Tree regeneration spatial patterns in ponderosa pine forests following stand-replacing fire: Influence of topography and neighbors.
• Foster, Adrianna C.; Shuman, Jacquelyn K.; Shugart, Herman H.; Dwire, Kathleen A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Sibold, Jason; Negron, Jose. 2017. Validation and application of a forest gap model to the southern Rocky Mountains.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Alton, Steven K.; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Brown, Peter M.; Cheng, Antony S. 2016. Did the 2002 Hayman Fire, Colorado, USA, burn with uncharacteristic severity.
• Chambers, Marin E.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Malone, Sparkle L.; Battaglia, Michael. 2016. Patterns of conifer regeneration following high severity wildfire in ponderosa pine - dominated forests of the Colorado Front Range.
• Fornwalt, Paula J. 2015. Does smoke promote seed germination in 10 Interior West Penstemon species.
• Brown, Peter M.; Battaglia, Michael A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Gannon, Benjamin; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Julian, Chad; Cheng, Antony S. 2015. Historical (1860) forest structure in ponderosa pine forests of the northern Front Range, Colorado.
• Rhoades, Charles C.; Fornwalt, Paula J. 2015. Pile burning creates a fifty-year legacy of openings in regenerating lodgepole pine forests in Colorado.
• Rhoades, Charles C.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Paschke, Mark W.; Shanklin, Amber; Jonas, Jayne L. 2015. Recovery of small pile burn scars in conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range.
• Miller, Sue; Rhoades, Chuck; Schnackenberg, Liz; Fornwalt, Paula; Schroder, Eric. 2015. Slash from the past: Rehabilitating pile burn scars.
• Abella, Scott; Fornwalt, Paula J. 2015. Ten years of vegetation assembly after a North American mega-fire.
• Dickinson, Yvette L.; Addington, Rob; Aplet, Greg; Babler, Mike; Battaglia, Mike; Brown, Peter; Cheng, Tony; Cooley, Casey; Edwards, Dick; Feinstein, Jonas; Fornwalt, Paula; Gibbs, Hal; Matonis, Megan; Pelz, Kristen; Regan, Claudia. 2014. Desirable forest structures for a restored Front Range.
• Ortega, J.; Turnipseed, A.; Guenther, A. B.; Karl, T. G.; Day, D. A.; Gochis, D.; Huffman, J. A.; Prenni, A. J.; Levin, E. J. T.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; DeMott, P. J.; Tobo, Y.; Patton, E. G.; Hodzic, A.; Cui, Y. Y.; Harley, P. C.; Hornbrook, R. S.; Apel, E. C.; Monson, R. K.; Eller, A. S. D.; Greenberg, J. P.; Barth, M. C.; Campuzano-Jost, P.; Palm, B. B.; Jimenez, J. L.; Aiken, A. C.; Dubey, M. K.; Geron, C.; Offenberg, J.; Ryan, M. G.; Fornwalt, P. J.; Pryor, S. C.; Keutsch, F. N.; DiGangi, J. P.; Chan, A. W. H.; Goldstein, A. H.; Wolfe, G. M.; Kim, S.; Kaser, L.; Schnitzhofer, R.; Hansel, A.; Cantrell, C. A.; Mauldin, R. L.; Smith, J. N. 2014. Overview of the Manitou Experimental Forest Observatory: Site description and selected science results from 2008 to 2013.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Kaufman, Merrill R. 2014. Understorey plant community dynamics following a large, mixed severity wildfire in a Pinus ponderosa-Pseudotsuga menziesii forest, Colorado, USA.
• Fornwalt, Paula. 2013. Invasive Species Science Update (No. 6).
• Fornwalt, Paula. 2013. The 2002 Hayman Fire - ecological benefit or catastrophe An understory plant community perspective.
• Malcolm, Karl; Rhoades, Chuck; Battaglia, Michael; Fornwalt, Paula; Hubbard, Rob; Elder, Kelly; Collins, Byron. 2012. From death comes life: Recovery and revolution in the wake of epidemic outbreaks of mountain pine beetle.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Rhoades, Charles C. 2011. Rehabilitating slash pile burn scars in upper montane forests of the Colorado Front Range.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Stohlgren, Thomas J. 2010. Impacts of mixed severity wildfire on exotic plants in a Colorado ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir forest.
• Fornwalt, Paula J. 2009. Disturbance impacts on understory plant communities of the Colorado Front Range.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Huckaby, Laurie S. 2009. Effects of past logging and grazing on understory plant communities in a montane Colorado forest.
• Fornwalt, Paula J. 2009. Lessons from the Hayman Fire: Forest understory responses to the scarify-and-seed postfire rehabilitation treatment.
• Binkley, Dan; Kashian, Daniel M.; Boyden, Suzanne; Kaye, Margot W.; Bradford, John B.; Arthur, Mary A.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Ryan, Michael G. 2006. Patterns of growth dominance in forests of the Rocky Mountains, USA.
• Huckaby, Laurie Stroh; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Stoker, Jason M.; Dennis, Chuck. 2003. Field guide to old ponderosa pines in the Colorado Front Range.
• Huckaby, Laurie Stroh; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Stoker, Jason M.; Dennis, Chuck. 2003. Identification and ecology of old ponderosa pine trees in the Colorado Front Range.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Stoker, Jason M.; Stohlgren, Thomas J. 2003. Non-native plant invasions in managed and protected ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of the Colorado Front Range.
• Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Stoker, Jason M.; Romme, William H. 2003. Using tree recruitment patterns and fire history to guide restoration of an unlogged ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir landscape in the southern Rocky Mountains after a century of fire suppression.
• Fornwalt, Paula J.; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Stoker, Jason M. 2002. Using the Forest Vegetation Simulator to reconstruct historical stand conditions in the Colorado Front Range.
• Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Huckaby, Laurie S.; Stoker, Jason M. 2001. Cheesman Lake-a historical ponderosa pine landscape guiding restoration in the South Platte Watershed of the Colorado Front Range.
• Huckaby, Laurie S.; Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Stoker, Jason M.; Fornwalt, Paula J. 2001. Landscape patterns of montane forest age structure relative to fire history at Cheesman Lake in the Colorado Front Range.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
RMRS-2016-6	A Decade after the 2002 Hayman Fire, Understory Plant Communities are Diverse and Productive In 2002, Colorado’s Hayman Fire burned research plots used to sample understory plant communities, providing an opportunity to address these c ...	2016
RMRS-2018-85	Ecological impacts of collaborative forest restoration treatments Restoration treatments are being implemented at an increasing rate in ponderosa pine and other dry conifer forests across the western United Sta ...	2018
RMRS-2016-227	Post-fire Conifer Regeneration in Severely Burned Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Forests Wildfire is an important disturbance in ponderosa pine forests of the southern Rocky Mountains. Forest Service research results from the Colorad ...	2016
RMRS-2017-198	Spatial patterns of ponderosa pine regeneration in high-severity burn patches Over the past three decades, wildfires in Southwestern United States ponderosa pine forests have increased in size and severity, leaving large p ...	2017
RMRS-2017-209	Was the 2002 Hayman Fire, Colorado, an uncharacteristically severe event? In 2002, the Hayman Fire burned across the unlogged Cheesman Lake landscape, a 3,400 hectare dry-conifer forest landscape in Colorado that had b ...	2017