Southern
Research Station

Education

Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Ecology, 2010

University of Florida

M.S. in Forestry, 2005

University of Florida

B.S. in Animal Science, 2001

University of Florida

Featured Publications and Products

• Loudermilk, Louise; Stanton, Alison; Scheller, Robert M.; Dilts, Thomas E.; Weisberg, Peter J.; Skinner, Carl; Yang, Jian. 2014. Effectiveness of fuel treatments for mitigating wildfire risk and sequestering forest carbon: a case study in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
• Cannon, Jeffery B.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, Louise; Dickinson, Matthew; Peterson, Chris J. 2014. The influence of experimental wind disturbance on forest fuels and fire characteristics.
• Loudermilk, Louise; Scheller, Robert; Weisberg, Peter; Yang, Jian; Dilts, Thomas; Karam, Sarah; Skinner, Carl. 2013. Carbon dynamics in the future forest: the importance of long-term successional legacy and climate–fire interactions.
• Loudermilk, EL; O'Brien, Joseph; Mitchell, RJ; Hiers, JK; Cropper, WP; Grunwald, S; Grego, J; Fernandez, J. 2012. Linking complex forest fuel structure and fire behavior at fine scales.
• Hiers, J. Kevin; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Mitchell, R. J.; Grego, John M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2009. The wildland fuel cell concept: an approach to characterize fine-scale variation in fuels and fire in frequently burned longleaf pine forests.
• Loudermilk, E.L.; Hiers, J.K.; O’Brien, J.J.; Mitchell, R.J.; Singhania, A.; Fernandez, J.C.; Cropper, W.P., Jr..; Slatton, K.C. 2009. Ground-based LIDAR: a novel approach to quantify fine-scale fuelbed characteristics.

Publications

• Traylor, C.R. ; Ulyshen, M.D. ; Wallace, D. ; Loudermilk, E.L. ; Ross, C.W. ; Hawley, C. ; Atchison, R.A. ; Williams, J.L. ; McHugh, J.V. . 2022. Compositional attributes of invaded forests drive the diversity of insect functional groups.
• Robbins, Zachary J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Reilly, Matthew J.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Jones, Kate ; Gerstle, Christopher T.; Scheller, Robert M. 2022. Delayed fire mortality has long‐term ecological effects across the Southern Appalachian landscape.
• Reilly, Matthew J.; Norman, Steven P.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2022. Drivers and ecological impacts of a wildfire outbreak in the southern Appalachian Mountains after decades of fire exclusion.
• Ross, C. Wade; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Skowronski, Nicholas ; Pokswinski, Scott ; Hiers, J. Kevin; O’Brien, Joseph . 2022. LiDAR Voxel-Size Optimization for Canopy Gap Estimation.
• Peterson, Janice L.; Pitrolo, Melanie C.; Schweizer, Donald W.; Striplin, Randy L.; Geiser, Linda H.; Holm, Stephanie M.; Hunter, Julie D.; Croft, Jen M.; Chappell, Linda M.; Lahm, Peter W.; Amezquita, Guadalupe ; Brown, Timothy J.; Cisneros, Ricardo G.; Connolly, Stephanie J.; Halofsky, Jessica E.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Navarro, Kathleen M.; Nick, Andrea L.; Procter, C. Trent; Provencio, Heather C.; Pusina, Taro ; Stone, Susan Lyon; Tarnay, Leland W.; West, Cynthia D. 2022. Resource Manager Perspectives on the Need for Smoke Science.
• Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Goodrick, Scott L.; Linn, Rodman R.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Hiers, J. Kevin. 2022. Vegetation’s influence on fire behavior goes beyond just being fuel.
• Pokwinski, Scott; Gallagher, Michael; Skowronski, Nicholas; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hawley, Christie; Wallace, Derek; Everland, Alexis; Wallace, Jon; Hiers, J. Kevin. 2021. A simplified and affordable approach to forest monitoring using single terrestrial laser scans and transect sampling.
• Carpenter, Dana O.; Taylor, Melanie K.; Callaham, Mac A.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Wurzburger, Nina . 2021. Benefit or Liability? The Ectomycorrhizal Association May Undermine Tree Adaptations to Fire After Long-term Fire Exclusion.
• Gallagher, Michael R.; Maxwell, Aaron E.; Guillén, Luis Andrés; Everland, Alexis ; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Skowronski, Nicholas S. 2021. Estimation of Plot-Level Burn Severity Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning.
• Hiers, Quinn A.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hawley, Christie M.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Pokswinski, Scott ; Hoffman, Chad M.; O’Brien, Joseph J. 2021. Non-destructive fuel volume measurements can estimate fine-scale biomass across surface fuel types in a frequently burned ecosystem.
• Carpenter, Dana; Taylor, Melanie; Callaham, Mac; Hiers, J. Kevin; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph; Wurzburger, Nina. 2020. Benefit or Liability? The Ectomycorrhizal Association May Undermine Tree Adaptations to Fire After Long-term Fire Exclusion.
• Rowell, Eric ; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hawley, Christie ; Pokswinski, Scott ; Seielstad, Carl ; Queen, LLoyd ; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hudak, Andrew T.; Goodrick, Scott ; Hiers, J. Kevin. 2020. Coupling terrestrial laser scanning with 3D fuel biomass sampling for advancing wildland fuels characterization.
• Pokswinski, Scott ; Gallagher, Michael R.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Hiers, J. Kevin. 2020. Diurnal pine bark structure dynamics affect properties relevant to firebrand generation.
• Prichard, Susan ; Rowell, Eric M.; Hudak, Andrew T.; Keane, Robert E.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Lutes, Duncan C.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Chappell, Linda M.; Hall, John A.; Hornsby, Benjamin S. 2020. Fuels and Consumption.
• Hiers, J. Kevin; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Varner, J. Morgan; Butler, Bret W.; Dickinson, Matthew ; Furman, James ; Gallagher, Michael ; Godwin, David ; Goodrick, Scott L.; Hood, Sharon M.; Hudak, Andrew ; Kobziar, Leda N.; Linn, Rodman ; Loudermilk, E. Louise; McCaffrey, Sarah ; Robertson, Kevin ; Rowell, Eric M.; Skowronski, Nicholas ; Watts, Adam C.; Yedinak, Kara M. 2020. Prescribed fire science: the case for a refined research agenda.
• Hudak, Andrew T.; Kato, Akira ; Bright, Benjamin C.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hawley, Christie ; Restaino, Joseph C.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Prata, Gabriel A.; Cabo, Carlos ; Prichard, Susan J.; Rowell, Eric M.; Weise, David R. 2020. Towards spatially explicit quantification of pre- and postfire fuels and fuel consumption from traditional and point cloud measurements.
• Dell, Jane E.; Salcido, Danielle M.; Lumpkin, Will ; Richards, Lora A.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Dyer, Lee A. 2019. Interaction diversity maintains resiliency in a frequently disturbed ecosystem.
• Dell, Jane E.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Richards, Lora A.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Williams, Brett ; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hudak, Andrew T.; Dyer, Lee A. 2019. Maximizing the monitoring of diversity for management activities: Additive partitioning of plant species diversity across a frequently burned ecosystem.
• Flanagan, Steven A.; Bhotika, Smriti; Hawley, Christie; Starr, Gregory; Wiesner, Susanne; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph; Goodrick, Scott; Callaham Jr., Mac A.; Scheller, Robert M.; Klepzig, Kier D.; Taylor, R. Scott; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2019. Quantifying carbon and species dynamics under different fire regimes in a southeastern U.S. pineland.
• Loudermilk, E. Louise; Dyer, Lee ; Pokswinski, Scott ; Hudak, Andrew T.; Hornsby, Benjamin ; Richards, Lora ; Dell, Jane ; Goodrick, Scott L.; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J. 2019. Simulating groundcover community assembly in a frequently burned ecosystem using a simple neutral model.
• Krofcheck, D. J.; Loudermilk, E. L.; Hiers, J. K.; Scheller, R. M.; Hurteau, M. D. 2019. The effects of management on long‐term carbon stability in a southeastern U.S. forest matrix under extreme fire weather.
• Hawley, Christie M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Rowell, Eric M.; Pokswinski, Scott . 2018. A novel approach to fuel biomass sampling for 3D fuel characterization.
• Weise, David R.; Fletcher, Thomas H.; Johnson, Timothy J.; Hao, WeiMin ; Dietenberger, Mark ; Princevac, Marko ; Butler, Bret ; McAllister, Sara ; O’Brien, Joseph ; Loudermilk, Louise ; Ottmar, Roger ; Hudak, Andrew ; Kato, Akira ; Shotorban, Babak ; Mahalingam, Shankar ; Mell, William E. 2018. A project to measure and model pyrolysis to improve prediction of prescribed fire behavior.
• O’Brien, J. J.; Hiers, J. K.; Varner, J. M.; Hoffman, C. M.; Dickinson, M. B.; Michaletz, S. T.; Loudermilk, E. L.; Butler, B. W. 2018. Advances in Mechanistic Approaches to Quantifying Biophysical Fire Effects.
• Scheller, Robert M.; Kretchun, Alec M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hurteau, Matthew D.; Weisberg, Peter J.; Skinner, Carl . 2018. Interactions among fuel management, species composition, bark beetles, and climate change and the potential effects on forests of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
• Krofcheck, Daniel J.; Hurteau, Matthew D.; Scheller, Robert M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2018. Prioritizing forest fuels treatments based on the probability of high-severity fire restores adaptive capacity in Sierran forests.
• Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J. 2018. The role of fuels for understanding fire behavior and fire effects.
• Loudermilk, E. L.; Scheller, R. M.; Weisberg, P. J.; Kretchun, Alec. 2017. Bending the carbon curve: fire management for carbon resilience under climate change.
• Dell, Jane E.; Richards, Lora A.; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hudak, Andrew T.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Williams, Brett W.; Dyer, Lee A. 2017. Overstory-derived surface fuels mediate plant species diversity in frequently burned longleaf pine forests.
• Krofcheck, Daniel J.; Hurteau, Matthew D.; Scheller, Robert M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2017. Prioritizing forest fuels treatments based on the probability of high-severity fire restores adaptive capacity in Sierran forests.
• Krofcheck, Daniel J.; Hurteau, Matthew D.; Scheller, Robert M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2017. Restoring surface fire stabilizes forest carbon under extreme fire weather in the Sierra Nevada.
• Butt, Kevin R.; Callaham, Mac; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Blaik, Rowan. 2016. Action of earthworms on flint burial - a return to Darwin's estate.
• O'Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hiers, J. Kevin; Pokswinski, Scott; Hornsby, Benjamin; Hudak, Andrew; Strother, Dexter; Rowell, Eric; Bright, Benjamin C. 2016. Canopy-derived fuels drive patterns of in-fire energy release and understory plant mortality in a longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) sandhill in northwest Florida, USA.
• Kretchun, Alec M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Scheller, Robert M.; Hurteau, Matthew D.; Belmecheri, Soumaya. 2016. Climate and bark beetle effects on forest productivity -- linking dendroecology with forest landscape modeling.
• O’Brien, Joseph J.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Hornsby, Benjamin; Hudak, Andrew T.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Dickinson, Matthew B.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Teske, Casey; Ottmar, Roger D. 2016. High-resolution infrared thermography for capturing wildland fire behaviour - RxCADRE 2012.
• Mayer, Audrey L.; Buma, Brian; Davis, Am??lie; Gagn??, Sara A.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Scheller, Robert M.; Schmiegelow, Fiona K.A.; Wiersma, Yolanda F.; Franklin, Janet. 2016. How landscape ecology informs global land-change science and policy.
• Silva, Carlos A.; Hudak, Andrew T.; Vierling, Lee A.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Jack, Steve B.; Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos; Lee, Heezin; Falkowski, Michael J.; Khosravipour, Anahita. 2016. Imputation of individual longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) tree attributes from field and LiDAR data.
• Bright, Benjamin C.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Hudak, Andrew T.; O'Brien, Joseph J. 2016. Introducing close-range photogrammetry for characterizing forest understory plant diversity and surface fuel structure at fine scales.
• Hudak, Andrew T.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; White, Joanne C. 2016. Introduction to special issue on remote sensing for advanced forest inventory.
• Hudak, Andrew T.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Pokswinski, Scott M.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hornsby, Benjamin S.; Klauberg, Carine; Silva, Carlos A. 2016. Mapping forest structure and composition from low-density LiDAR for informed forest, fuel, and fire management at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, USA.
• Hudak, Andrew T.; Dickinson, Matthew B.; Bright, Benjamin C.; Kremens, Robert L.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hornsby, Benjamin S.; Ottmar, Roger D. 2016. Measurements relating fire radiative energy density and surface fuel consumption - RxCADRE 2011 and 2012.
• Dickinson, Matthew B.; Hudak, Andrew T.; Zajkowski, Thomas; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Schroeder, Wilfrid; Ellison, Luke; Kremens, Robert L.; Holley, William; Martinez, Otto; Paxton, Alexander; Bright, Benjamin C.; O'Brien, Joseph; Hornsby, Ben; Ichoku, Charles; Faulring, Jason; Gerace, Aaron; Peterson, David; Mauceri, Joseph. 2016. Measuring radiant emissions from entire prescribed fires with ground, airborne and satellite sensors - RxCADRE 2012.
• Butler, Bret; Teske, C.; Jimenez, Dan; O'Brien, Joseph; Sopko, Paul; Wold, Cyle; Vosburgh, Mark; Hornsby, Ben; Loudermilk, E. Louise. 2016. Observations of energy transport and rate of spreads from low-intensity fires in longleaf pine habitat-RxCADRE 2012.
• Loudermilk, E. Louise; Kevin Hiers, J.; Pokswinski, Scott; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Barnett, Analie; Mitchell, Robert J. 2016. The path back: oaks ( Quercus spp.) facilitate longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) seedling establishment in xeric sites.
• Rowell, Eric; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Seielstad, Carl; O'Brien, Joseph. 2016. Using simulated 3D surface fuelbeds and terrestrial laser scan data to develop inputs to fire behavior models.
• Yang, Jian; Weisberg, Peter J.; Dilts, Thomas E.; Loudermilk, E. Louise; Scheller, Robert M.; Stanton, Alison; Skinner, Carl. 2015. Predicting wildfire occurrence distribution with spatial point process models and its uncertainty assessment: a case study in the Lake Tahoe Basin, USA.
• Loudermilk, E. Louise; Achtemeier, Gary L.; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Hiers, J. Kevin; Hornsby, Benjamin S. 2014. High-resolution observations of combustion in heterogeneous surface fuels.
• Loudermilk, E. Louise; Singhania, Abhinav; Fernandez, Juan C.; Hiers, J. Kevin; O'Brien, Joseph J.; Cropper Jr., Wendell P.; Slatton, K. Clint; Mitchell, Robert J. 2007. Application of ground-based LIDAR for fine-scale forest fuel modeling.

Research Highlights

Modeled Prescribed Fire Produces Lower Carbon Emissions Through Time Than Wildfires in a Southeastern U.S. Longleaf Pine Woodland (2019)

Prescribed fire is a common management tool in southeastern pinelands, but it is not known how prescribed fire compares with wildfire in terms of carbon emissions and carbon sequestration potential in these ecosystems. USDA Forest Service scientists at the agency's Southern Research Station ran model simulations of prescribed fire and wildfire to quantify these differences. Carbon emissions were lower with prescribed fire use on a two-year interval than any wildfire regime, in addition to the benefits of prescribed fire for native species' biodiversity and habitats. 

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Rethinking how we measure forest fuels for advancing wildland fire science and management (2018)

Land managers depend on quality fire research to advance their understanding of wildland fire behavior. Cutting-edge fire behavior models output fire spread, fire intensity, and smoke plumes in three-dimensions, but forest fuels, which are used as model inputs, are not measured in similar dimensions. This research brings fuels to the forefront of fire ecology and fire science. Fuels, when measured appropriately, link fire behavior and forest response to fire – critical knowledge for frequently burned ecosystems.

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Transforming Fire Ecology (2019)

Fire ecology is an essential discipline for guiding effective forest management, but progress in the field has stalled, leaving fire managers with critical knowledge gaps. The root of the problem may lie in both the lack of appropriate measurements and a focus on describing patterns instead of uncovering mechanisms in fire effects. New research proposes a path forward to improve both the underlying science of fire ecology and its application.

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