Department of Forestry & Watershed Management

Assistant Professor J.M. Varner

Dr. J. Morgan Varner, III

Assistant Professor

Wildland Fire Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information:

Office: 211 Forestry Bldg.

Email: jmvarner@humboldt.edu

Ph. 707.826.5622

Fax. 707-826-5634

 

Personal and Research Interests:

My teaching and research interests focus on helping fire managers and foresters manage fuels and fire. My three research areas are: 1) applied fire management issues; 2) dynamics of fuels; and, 3) post-fire tree damage. I have research sites in northern California, southern Oregon, and maintain a presence at my graduate study sites in Alabama and northern Florida. The focus of my current research is evaluating the linkages among fuel properties, fire behavior, and subsequent fire effects. Undergraduate and graduate students work with me on small laboratory experiments, computer simulations, and on large landscapes in the region. I encourage students with an interest in fire, fuels, and how they influence forests and rangelands to contact me. Humboldt's Wildland Fire Management Program is among the best in the US- we have local expertise in fire ecology, regional planning, and fuels management. Our location and relationships with personnel from nearby National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, California Park Service, Save-the-Redwoods League, and many large and small private timberland owners provide many opportunities for students at any level.

 

Education and Degrees:

Ph.D. (2005) University of Florida School of Natural Resources and Environment, Fire Ecology

M.S. (2000) Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Forest Ecology

B.S. (1997) University of Idaho College of Natural Resources, Forest Resources

 

Courses Taught:

FOR 116 The Forest Environment

FOR 323 Fire Behavior & Suppression

FOR 422 Wildland Fire Use

FOR 423 Wildland Fuels Management

FOR 424/685 Wildland Fire Seminar

FOR 430/530 Advanced Forest Ecology

FOR 479 Forestry Capstone

 

Select Publications:

Varner, J.M., J.K. Hiers, R.D. Ottmar, D.R. Gordon, F. E. Putz, and D.D. Wade. 2007. In Press. Overstory tree mortality resulting from re-introducing fire to long-unburned longleaf pine forests: the importance of duff moisture. Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

Kane, J.M., E.E. Knapp, and J.M. Varner. 2006. Variation in loading of mechanically masticated fuel beds in northern California and southwestern Oregon. Pp. 341-350 in: Fuels Management—How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins,CO.

Keyes, C.R. and J.M. Varner. 2006. Pitfalls in the silvicultural treatment of canopy fuels. Fire Management Today 66(3):46-50.

Varner, J.M., J.S. Kush, and R.S. Meldahl. 2006. Characteristics of sap trees used by overwintering Sphyrapicus varius (Yellow-bellied sapsuckers) in an old-growth pine forest. Southeastern Naturalist 5: 127-134.

Varner, J.M., D.R. Gordon, F.E. Putz, and J.K. Hiers. 2005. Novel fire effects in southeastern pine forests: smoldering fire and overstory pine mortality. Restoration Ecology 13: 539-544.

Fonda, R. and J.M. Varner. 2005. Burning characteristics of cones from eight pine species. Northwest Science 78:322-333.

Varner, J.M. and J.S. Kush. 2004. Old-growth longleaf pine forests and savannas of the southeastern USA: Status and trends. Natural Areas Journal 24:141-149.

Varner, J.M. 2004. Fuels of southeastern wildlands. USDA Forest Service Encyclopedia of Southern Fire Science. http://www.forestryencyclopedia.net/Encyclopedia/Fire%20Science

Varner, J.M. 2004. Fuel consumption in southeastern wildlands. USDA Forest Service Encyclopedia of Southern Fire Science. http://www.forestryencyclopedia.net/Encyclopedia/Fire%20Science

Varner, J. M., J. S. Kush, and R. S. Meldahl. 2003. Structure of old-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests in the mountains of Alabama. Castanea 68: 211-221.

Varner, J. M., J. S. Kush, and R. S. Meldahl. 2003. Vegetation of frequently burned old-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) savannas on Choccolocco Mountain, Alabama, USA . Natural Areas Journal 23: 43-52; cover photograph.