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College of Natural Resources

Physical Address:
975 W. 6th Street
Moscow, Idaho

Mailing Address:
875 Perimeter Drive MS 1138
Moscow, ID 83844-1138

Phone: 208-885-8981

Fax: 208-885-5534

Email: cnr@uidaho.edu

Web: College of Natural Resources

Directions

Leda Kobziar

Leda Kobziar, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Wildland Fire Science, Director, Master of Natural Resources

Phone

208-292-2512

Mailing Address

Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences
University of Idaho
1031 N Academic Way
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814

Degrees

  • 2006 Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley: Ecosystem Science; Environmental Science, Policy, and Management 
  • 2000 M.S., University of California at Berkeley: Forest Science; Environmental Science, Policy, and Management 
  • 1996 B.S. and B.A., The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
  • 1998 Wildland Firefighter Type II (Boulder County, CO)
  • 2008 Certified Prescribed Burn Manager (Florida, Georgia) 
  • 2011 Certified Wildland Fire Ecologist (Association for Fire Ecology)

Courses:

  • FOR 526 Fire Ecology (G; Fall, 2016-present)
  • FOR 557 Advanced Fire Behavior (G; Fall, 2016-present)
  • FOR 451 Fuels Inventory and Management (UG/G; Spring, 2016-present)
  • ENVS 497 Environmental Science Capstone Research (UG; Spring 2018-2020)
  • REM 440 Wildland Restoration Ecology (UG/G; Spring, 2016-2018; 2021-on)
  • FOR 444 Prescribed Burning for Ecologically-based Management (UG; Spring 2017-2018)
  • NRS 504 Fire Science Forum (G; Fall, 2016, 2017)
  • FOR 510 GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management (G; Spring, 2016)

  • McLauchlan, K., et al. (44 authors, Kobziar is #27). 2020. Fire as a fundamental ecological process: research advances and frontiers. Journal of Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13403
  • Stephens, S. L., Kobziar, L. N. et al. 2019. Is fire for the birds? How two rare species influence fire management across the US. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 17(7): 391-399.
  • Hiers, J.K., O’Brien, J.J., Varner, J.M., Butler, B.W., Dickinson, M., Furman, J., Gallagher, M., Godwin, D., Goodrick, S.L., Hood, S.M., Hudak, A., Kobziar, L.N., Linn, R., Loudermilk, E.L., McCaffrey, S., Robertson, K., Rowell, E.M., Skowronski, N., Watts, A.C., Yedinak, K.M., 2020. Prescribed fire science: the case for a refined research agenda. Fire Ecology 16 (11).
  • Kreye, J. K., Varner, J. M., Kobziar, L. N. 2020. Long-duration soil heating resulting from forest floor duff smoldering in longleaf pine ecosystems. Forest Science. 66 (3): 291–303.
  • Kobziar, L.N.; Pingree, M.R.A.; Watts, A.C.; Nelson, K.N.; Dreaden, T.J.; Ridout, M. 2019. Accessing the Life in Smoke: A New Application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to Sample Wildland Fire Bioaerosol Emissions and Their Environment. Fire, 2 (56).
  • Pingree, M., Kobziar, L.N. 2019. The myth of the biological threshold: A Review of Biological Responses to Soil Heating Associated with Wildland Fire. Forest Ecology and Management. 432, 1022–1029.
  • Kobziar, L.N., Pingree, M., Larson, H., Dreaden, T., Green, S., Smith, J. 2018. Pyroaerobiology: the transport and characterization of viable microorganisms by wildland fire smoke. Ecosphere.
  • Godwin, D.R., Kobziar, L.N. 2017. Effects of Fire Frequency and Soil Temperature on Soil CO2 Efflux Rates in Old-Field Pine-Grassland Forests. Forests 2017, 8(8), 274; doi:10.3390/f8080274
  • Freeman, J., Kobziar, L.N., *Rose, E. W., Cropper, W. 2017. An evaluation of the historical fire regime concept in conservation. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12942.
  • Proctor, N., Kobziar, L.N., Monroe, M. 2017. The Use of a "Ringer" in Natural History Identification Tests. The American Biology Teacher, 79(1):68-70. 2017.
  • Molina, D.M., Cardil, A., Kobziar, L.N. 2016. Practitioner perceptions of wildland fire management across south Europe and Latin America. Forests 7(9), 184; doi: 10.3390/f7090184
  • Kobziar, L.N., Watts, A.C., Godwin, D., Taylor, L. 2015. Perspectives on trends, effectiveness, and challenges To prescribed burning in the Southern US. Forests: 6(3): 561-580; doi:10.3390/f6030561
  • Kobziar, L.N., Rocca, M.E., Dicus, C.A., Hoffman, C., Sugihara, N., Thode, A.E., Varner, J.M., and Morgan, P. 2009. Challenges to Educating the Next Generation of Wildland Fire Professionals in the United States. Journal of Forestry 107(7): 339-345.
  • Freeman, J.E., and Kobziar, L.N. 2011. Tracking post-fire successional trajectories in a plant community adapted to high-severity fire. Ecological Applications 21(1): 61-74.
  • Kreye, J.K., Kobziar, L.N. 2015. The effect of mastication on surface fire behaviour, fuels consumption, and tree mortality in pine flatwoods of Florida, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 24: 573–579; http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF14186
  • Watts, A.C., Kobziar, L.N. 2015. Hydrology and fire regulate edge influence on microclimate in wetland forest patches. Freshwater Science Vol. 34, No. 4 pp. 1383-1393
  • Thom, M., Daniels, J., Kobziar, L.N., Colburn, J. 2015. Can butterflies evade fire? Pupa location and heat tolerance in fire prone habitats of Florida. PLOS 1; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126755
  • Cardil, A., Molina, D.M., and Kobziar, L.N. 2014. Extreme temperature days and potential impacts in Southern Europe, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 2, 3863-3886, doi:10.5194/nhessd-2-3863-2014.
  • Kobziar, L.N. 2014. Fire on Earth: An Introduction. Fire Ecology (review) Vol. 10 (1) doi: 10.4996/fireecology.1001088; 88-91.
  • Kreye, J.K., Kobziar, L.N., Camp, J.M. 2014. Immediate and short-term response of understory fuels following mechanical mastication in a pine flatwoods site of Florida, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 313: 340-354.
  • Watts, A.C., D.L. Watts, M.J. Cohen, J.B. Heffernan, D.L. McLaughlin, J.B. Martin, D.A. Kaplan, A.B. Murray, T.Z. Osborne, and L.N. Kobziar. 2014. Evidence of biogeomorphic patterning in a low-relief karst landscape. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 39 (15): 2027-2037. DOI: 10.1002/esp.3597.
  • Osborne, T.Z., L.N. Kobziar, and P.W. Inglett. 2013. Fire and water: new perspectives on fire’s role in shaping wetland ecosystems. Fire Ecology 9(1): 1-5. doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0901001
  • Medvedeff, C.A., K.S. Inglett, L.N. Kobziar, P.W. Inglett. 2013. Impacts of fire on microbial carbon cycling in subtropical wetlands. Fire Ecology 9(1): 21-37. doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0901021
  • Watts, A.C., and L.N. Kobziar. 2013. Smoldering combustion and ground fires: ecological effects and multi-scale significance. Fire Ecology 9(1): 124-132. doi: 10.4996/fireecology0901124
  • Kreye, J.K., Kobziar, L.N., Zipperer, W.C. 2012. Effects of fuel load and moisture content on fire behaviour and heating in masticated litter-dominated fuels. International Journal of Wildland Fire. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF12147
  • Watts, A.C., Kobziar, L.N., and Snyder, J.R. 2012. Fire Reinforces Structure of Pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium) Domes in a Wetland Landscape. Wetlands 32(3): 439-448.
  • Carvalho, E.O., Kobziar, L.N., and Putz, F.E. 2011. Fire ignition patterns affect production of charcoal in southern forests. International Journal of Wildland Fire 20: 474-477.
  • Godwin, D.R., and Kobziar, L.N. 2011. Comparison of Burn Severities of Consecutive Large-Scale Fires in Florida Sand Pine Scrub Using Satellite Imagery Analysis. Fire Ecology 7: 99-113.
  • Lavoie, E., Kobziar, L.N., Long, A.J., and Hainds, M. 2011. Problems and needs for restorationists of longleaf pine. Natural Areas Journal 31(3): 294-299.
  • Malone, S.L., Kobziar, L.N., Staudhammer, C.L., and Abd-Elrahman, A. 2011. Modeling relationships among 217 fires using remote sensing of burn severity in southern pine forests. Remote Sensing 3: 2005-2028.
  • Grissino-Mayer, H.D., Kobziar, L.N., Harley, G.L., Russell, K.P., and LaForest, L.B. 2010. The Historical Dendroarchaeology of the Ximénez-Fatio House, St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.A. Journal of Tree Ring Research 66(1): 61-73.

  • Outstanding Instructor, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 2018.
  • Presidential Leadership Award, The Association for Fire Ecology, 2017
  • President, Association for Fire Ecology (2015-2017)
  • Associate Editor, Fire Ecology
  • Erasmus Mundus International Forestry Scholar’s Fellowship, BOKU University, Austria, 2013.
  • Erasmus Mundus International Forestry Scholar’s Fellowship, Universitat de Lleida, Spain, 2013.
  • Outstanding Faculty Member, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, for excellence in graduate education and advising, 2012.
  • Supervising Outstanding Dissertation Award, University of Florida, 2012.
  • Open Access Publishing Award, University of Florida, 2012.

GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDEES

  • Adam Watts was awarded the Association for Fire Ecology Graduate Student Excellence Award, 2013
  • David Godwin was selected as a USDA Presidential Management Fellow, 2012;
  • Leland Taylor was recognized as Outstanding Forestry Student of the Year, University of Florida, 2011
  • Adam Watts was awarded the Best Student Presentation at the 24th Tall Timbers Research Station Fire Ecology conference 2009, and,
  • Sparkle Malone was awarded the Graduate Student Excellence Award by the Association for Fire Ecology, 2009

Research

  • 2016-2020 PI — Pyroaerobiology: the aerosolization and transport of living microorganisms through wildland fire smoke.
  • 2015-2018 PI — The consequences of soil heating on tree mortality, seed banks, and soil carbon respiration (Joint Fire Science Program: Florida)
  • 2015-2018 Co-PI — Southern Fire Exchange Knowledge Exchange Consortium (Joint Fire Science Program)
  • 2014-2016 PI — Food, Fuel, and Fire: Effects of Fuel Treatments on Wildlife Habitat Quality in Longleaf Pine (Joint Fire Science Program- GRIN, Johanna Freeman, Graduate Researcher)
  • 2013-2015 PI — Southern Fire Exchange Knowledge Exchange Consortium (Joint Fire Science Program)
  • 2012-2014 PI — Delayed mortality and fire-climate interactions in cypress swamps, Big Cypress National Preserve (USDI National Park Service, FL)
  • 2011-2013 PI — The Southern Fire Exchange: Putting Fire Science on the Ground (Joint Fire Science Program)
  • 2011-2012 PI — Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cavity Tree Monitoring: Immediate and Delayed Mortality Due to Fire (USDI National Park Service: Big Cypress National Preserve, FL)
  • 2011-2013 PI — Will climate change alter wildfire behavior and effects in seasonally dry wetlands? (Joint Fire Science Program GRIN, Adam Watts, Graduate Researcher)
  • 2011-2013 PI — The Influence of Prescribed Fire and Understory Fuels Mastication on Soil Carbon Respiration Rates (Joint Fire Science Program- GRIN, David Godwin, Graduate Researcher)
  • 2010-2013 PI — Characterization of Masticated Fuelbeds and Fuel Treatment Effectiveness in Southeastern Us Pine Ecosystems (Joint Fire Science Program)
  • 2009-2011 PI — Fuel Buffers in the Wildland Urban Interface: Impacts on Invasive Species (USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station)
  • 2009-2010 PI — Monitoring Masticated Fuelbeds and Fuel Treatment Effectiveness in the Osceola National Forest (USDA Forest Service- American Recovery and Restoration Act)
  • 2008-2011 Co-PI — National Needs Fellowship for Graduate Research in Adaptive Management (USDA)

Outreach

  • 2009-2015: PI of the Southern Fire Exchange Consortium: Our mission is to increase the availability and application of fire science information for natural resource management and to serve as a conduit for fire managers to share new research needs with the research community.
    http://southernfireexchange.org/index.html
    The SFE is a member of the national network of knowledge exchange consortia, funded by the Joint Fire Science Program. The regional exchanges were established to accelerate the awareness, understanding, and adoption of fire science information within ecologically similar regions.

Contact Us

College of Natural Resources

Physical Address:
975 W. 6th Street
Moscow, Idaho

Mailing Address:
875 Perimeter Drive MS 1138
Moscow, ID 83844-1138

Phone: 208-885-8981

Fax: 208-885-5534

Email: cnr@uidaho.edu

Web: College of Natural Resources

Directions