Lori Daniels, Inaugural Koerner Chair, Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, UBC

Dr. Lori Daniels is the inaugural Koerner Chair of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC-Vancouver.  I study the impacts of natural and human disturbances and climate change on forests. With my diverse research team, our on-going projects investigate wildfires, forest dynamics, and social-ecological resilience across British Columbia. Our collaborative partnerships with all levels of government, First Nations, community forests, environmental organizations, and forest managers aim to translate science into active conservation, restoration and management.

Presentation Abstract

How has the Cariboo landscape changed over the last century?  What does this mean for forest and community resilience? Members of my research team and I will share insights to these questions by demonstrating our multiple lines of evidence research approach – tree rings revealing fire scars and forest histories, supported by historical photographs, documents, and oral histories shared by our collaborators. The contrasts with modern forest structures, fuel loads, and likelihoods of crown fire are indicators of a need for transformative change.  We will share ideas from our most recent research on how to make our landscapes more resilient and coexist with fire.