** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** MEGA-WILDFIRES ARE RESHAPING THE GREAT BASIN AGROECOSYSTEM, ENDANGERING NATIVE PERENNIALGRASSES AND SHRUBS THAT ARE A KEY SOURCE OF FORAGE FOR LIVESTOCK AND HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE. REESTABLISHING DIVERSE PLANT COMMUNITIES IS KEY TO INCREASE THE RESILIENCE OF GREAT BASIN RANGELANDS TO FUTURE DISTURBANCES. WHILE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT EACH YEAR ON POST-FIRE RESTORATION, IT IS OFTEN UNSUCCESSFUL. MY RESEARCH AIMS TO UNDERSTAND THE LANDSCAPE FACTORS THAT CREATE FIRE REFUGIA ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR THESE REFUGIA TO AID IN POST-FIRE RECOVERY.PLANTING HIGH-DIVERSITY SEED MIXES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO FIRE REFUGIA MAY PROTECT COSTLY RESTORATION EFFORTS FROM SUBSEQUENT WILDFIRES. HERE, I PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE HOW TO IDENTIFY FIRE REFUGIA ON THE LANDSCAPE, AND HOW THEY MAINTAIN BIODIVERSITY IN A FIRE-PRONE ECOSYSTEM. FIRST, IWILL DEVELOP SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT MODELS OF FIRE REFUGIA TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PREDICTORS ON FIRE REFUGIA. SECOND, I WILL SURVEY PLANT COMMUNITIES IN THE FIRE REFUGIA TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF BURN SEVERITY ON PLANT SPECIES DIVERSITY AND COMPOSITION. MYRESEARCH WILL ADVANCE THE FIELD OF RESTORATION ECOLOGY AND PROVIDE PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHERE AND WHAT TO PLANT IN FUTURE POST-FIRE RESTORATION. THESE OBJECTIVES ARE DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO AFRI PRIORITY AREA: BIOENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENT; AND AFRI PROGRAM AREA: SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMS: HEALTH, FUNCTIONS, PROCESSES AND MANAGEMENT (A1451).I WILL DISSEMINATE RESULTS TO END-USERS (LAND MANAGERS, RANCHERS, AND RESTORATION PRACTITIONERS) AND THE PUBLIC, CREATE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH, AND MENTOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF APPLIED SCIENTISTS.