Joseph D. Birch
@josephdbirch.bsky.social
Belowground forest and fire ecologist, fungal fanatic, and lover of tree rings. My views are my own and may not represent any organization or affiliation.
Josephdbirch.com
Josephdbirch.com
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
A follow-up to the debunk of trees anticipating solar eclipses. Wonderfully argued by Novoplansky, the lead author. (I accidentally deleted the original post).
figsinwintertime.substack.com/p/when-scien...
figsinwintertime.substack.com/p/when-scien...
When science worships its own shadow
On trees, eclipses, and the perils of belief
figsinwintertime.substack.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:11 PM
A follow-up to the debunk of trees anticipating solar eclipses. Wonderfully argued by Novoplansky, the lead author. (I accidentally deleted the original post).
figsinwintertime.substack.com/p/when-scien...
figsinwintertime.substack.com/p/when-scien...
Do arborglyphs hurt aspen? In our newest paper we examined the ecological effects of arborglyphs. Aspen with arborglyphs had 19% faster radial growth, and no 10-yr mortality bump. This is likely because people carve the healthiest and largest trees!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
American graffiti: Spatial distribution and ecological consequences of aspen arborglyphs
Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michaux) is perhaps the most iconic tree species of the American West. The thin, white bark of aspen has long been a canvas…
www.sciencedirect.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Do arborglyphs hurt aspen? In our newest paper we examined the ecological effects of arborglyphs. Aspen with arborglyphs had 19% faster radial growth, and no 10-yr mortality bump. This is likely because people carve the healthiest and largest trees!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A short clip of the 2025 Dillon wildfire in northern California. We (the USFS Fire Behavior Assessment Team) took immediate pre-, active-, and post-fire measurements of this and other forests to understand how fire behavior shapes forest health.
September 18, 2025 at 7:15 PM
A short clip of the 2025 Dillon wildfire in northern California. We (the USFS Fire Behavior Assessment Team) took immediate pre-, active-, and post-fire measurements of this and other forests to understand how fire behavior shapes forest health.
Great visualization of the 'dripline' on trees. Fallen needles accumulate just under this tree in the golden trout wilderness.
June 18, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Great visualization of the 'dripline' on trees. Fallen needles accumulate just under this tree in the golden trout wilderness.
Sekhmet wants a phone of her own.
March 3, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Sekhmet wants a phone of her own.
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
Our newest study is out today! We found that 9 y after fire there were HUGE differences in bacterial and fungal communities between neighboring burned soils and small unburned refugia. Contact me directly if you can't access the paper and I will email you a pdf copy!
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
Redirecting
doi.org
February 8, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Our newest study is out today! We found that 9 y after fire there were HUGE differences in bacterial and fungal communities between neighboring burned soils and small unburned refugia. Contact me directly if you can't access the paper and I will email you a pdf copy!
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
Arborglyphs are fascinating, complex, and controversial. I always feel terrible for the tree and the damage it has suffered! However, this is something quite cool with finding one like this one - in southern Utah.
December 23, 2024 at 2:57 AM
Arborglyphs are fascinating, complex, and controversial. I always feel terrible for the tree and the damage it has suffered! However, this is something quite cool with finding one like this one - in southern Utah.
Despite my past trauma with bark beetles 🐞, I still find their galleries beautiful (so long as they are not in my ear)!
December 15, 2024 at 9:32 PM
Despite my past trauma with bark beetles 🐞, I still find their galleries beautiful (so long as they are not in my ear)!
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
Assad Returns To Ophthalmology At Moscow LensCrafters
Assad Returns To Ophthalmology At Moscow LensCrafters
MOSCOW—Just days after rebels seized Damascus, deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly returned to practicing ophthalmology at a Moscow LensCrafters, sources confirmed Tuesday. “Which one ...
theonion.com
December 15, 2024 at 7:44 PM
Assad Returns To Ophthalmology At Moscow LensCrafters
Meet Ol' Blue - the world's oldest blue spruce. Seen here getting a hug on its 457th birthday. We made it a cake, gave it a party hat, and sang it a song.
December 11, 2024 at 2:35 AM
Meet Ol' Blue - the world's oldest blue spruce. Seen here getting a hug on its 457th birthday. We made it a cake, gave it a party hat, and sang it a song.
Tree rings a beautiful! This is an image of a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) core with the years 1999 - 2017 visible (oldest on the left). The four pencil dots mark the year 2000 and the paired dots mark a missing ring (2002) which was extremely dry at this site.
December 10, 2024 at 9:50 PM
Tree rings a beautiful! This is an image of a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) core with the years 1999 - 2017 visible (oldest on the left). The four pencil dots mark the year 2000 and the paired dots mark a missing ring (2002) which was extremely dry at this site.
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
Here are some nice mushrooms
December 4, 2024 at 2:11 PM
Here are some nice mushrooms
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
If you know someone that is looking for a grad student opportunity in 2025 in fire ecology / dendroecology / spatial analyses -- please pass on this announcement. Julia Burton, Jed Meunier, Eric Rebitzke and myself are looking for a student to join our team and be based here at Michigan Tech.
November 13, 2024 at 4:35 PM
If you know someone that is looking for a grad student opportunity in 2025 in fire ecology / dendroecology / spatial analyses -- please pass on this announcement. Julia Burton, Jed Meunier, Eric Rebitzke and myself are looking for a student to join our team and be based here at Michigan Tech.
Reposted by Joseph D. Birch
i need a shock collar that punishes me for trying to do more research once i’ve decided it’s time to start writing.
December 2, 2024 at 4:09 PM
i need a shock collar that punishes me for trying to do more research once i’ve decided it’s time to start writing.
Call me Celebrimbor for I just made a ring from 2000 y old wood!
December 3, 2024 at 5:03 AM
Call me Celebrimbor for I just made a ring from 2000 y old wood!
Sometimes I wish I was a cat so I could snuggle under a blanket and forget about things for a while...
December 3, 2024 at 5:01 AM
Sometimes I wish I was a cat so I could snuggle under a blanket and forget about things for a while...
Biodiversity is all around us if we know how/where to look!
November 25, 2024 at 3:59 PM
Biodiversity is all around us if we know how/where to look!
Our new paper is out on the dendroclimatology of Picea pungens (blue spruce) and Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spuce)! We describe the world's oldest blue spruce (Ol' Blue) and how each species responds to climate.
Read more here:
doi.org/10.1002/ecs2...
Read more here:
doi.org/10.1002/ecs2...
Spruce up your climate analysis: Dendroclimatology of Picea engelmannii and Picea pungens
Warming and more variable climates threaten to upend historical tree ranges, climatic sensitivity, and vigor. In western North America, the species Picea engelmannii var. engelmannii Parry ex Engelma....
doi.org
November 25, 2024 at 3:54 PM
Our new paper is out on the dendroclimatology of Picea pungens (blue spruce) and Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spuce)! We describe the world's oldest blue spruce (Ol' Blue) and how each species responds to climate.
Read more here:
doi.org/10.1002/ecs2...
Read more here:
doi.org/10.1002/ecs2...