Kansas State University

Geography master's degree graduate will present research at Rocky Mountain National Park

Submitted by Kendra McLauchlan

Recent Kansas State University geography master's degree graduate Barrie Chileen will present her thesis research in an invited outreach talk at Rocky Mountain National Park on May 22.

Chileen will share her research on vegetation response to wildfires over the past 2,500 years. Wildfire activity has been a topic of interest in the Colorado Rockies and wildfires seem to be more frequent than ever. While it is easy to see the modern impacts of wildfire on forests in the Rocky Mountains, less is known about how fire has impacted forests in the past.

In this Science Behind the Scenery presentation, Chileen will share how she reconstructed past wildfire and vegetation through materials deposited in lake mud to better understand what future fire regimes and climate scenarios may hold for Colorado Rocky Mountain forests.

This presentation is the first in a five-part Science Behind the Scenery speaker series, organized by the Continental Divide Research Learning Center at Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. The series occurs each month this summer to provide more information about park research, and what it tells us about the park and its resources.