Scientists & Staff
Brian Miranda
Current Research
Brian provides GIS, programming, statisitical analysis and modeling support for research on forest disturbance and future forest conditions. His research explores interactions among forests, people, fire and other disturbances, such as defoliating insects, browsers and wind. He uses simulation models (specifically LANDIS-II) to explore long-term impacts of management decisions, including timber harvest and fire and fuels management.Research Interests
Brian's research interestes include combining forest simulation modeling and wildlife habitat evaluations. Simulation models provide information about potential future conditions, which can be very useful in planning wildlife habitat management and conservation. De Jager, Nathan R.; Rohweder, Jason J.; Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Fox, Timothy J.; Romanski, Mark C. 2017. Modelling moose—forest interactions under different predation scenarios at Isle Royale National Park, USA. Ecological Applications. 21 p. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1526.Why This Research is Important
Our research helps forest managers decide how to minimize risks due to fire and other disturbances. We can model potential outcomes of alternative management decisions or priorities, and inform the decision-makers of the possible consequences.Education
- SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, M.S. Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management, 2002
- SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, B.S. Environmental and Forest Biology, 1999
Professional Organizations
- The Wildlife Society
- International Association for Landscape Ecology
- International Association of Wildland Fire
Featured Publications & Products
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Miranda, Brian R.; Shvidenko, Anatoly Z.; Sturtevant, Brian R. 2020. Simulating Growth and Competition on Wet and Waterlogged Soils in a Forest Landscape Model. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Miranda, Brian R.; Dreaden, Tyler J.; Pinchot, Cornelia C.; Jacobs, Douglass F. 2022. Beyond blight: Phytophthora root rot under climate change limits populations of reintroduced American chestnut. Ecosphere
- De Jager, Nathan R.; Drohan, Patrick J.; Miranda, Brian M.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Stout, Susan L.; Royo, Alejandro A.; Gustafson, Eric J.; Romanski, Mark C. 2017. Simulating ungulate herbivory across forest landscapes: A browsing extension for LANDIS-II. Ecological Modelling. 350: 11-29.
- Miranda, Brian; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Schmelzer, Isabelle; Doyon, Frederik; Wolter, Peter. 2016. Vegetation recovery following fire and harvest disturbance in central Labrador — a landscape perspective. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 46: 1009-1018.
- Miranda, Brian R; Sturtevant, Brian R; Stewart, Susan I; Hammer, Roger B. 2012. Spatial and temporal drivers of wildfire occurrence in the context of rural development in northern Wisconsin, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 21: 141-154.
- Sturtevant, Brian R.; Scheller, Robert M.; Miranda, Brian R.; Shinneman, Douglas; Syphard, Alexandra. 2009. Simulating dynamic and mixed-severity fire regimes: a process-based fire extension for LANDIS-II. Ecological Modelling. 220: 3380-3393.
- Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R.; Yang, Jian; He, Hong S.; Gustafson, Eric J.; Scheller, Robert M. 2009. Studying fire mitigation strategies in multi-ownership landscapes: balancing the management of fire-dependent ecosystems and fire risk. Ecosystems. 12: 445-461.
- Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Yang, Jian; Gustafson, Eric J. 2009. Comparing fire spread algorithms using equivalence testing and neutral landscape models. Landscape Ecology. 24: 587-598.
- Yang, Jian; He, Hong S.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R.; Gustafson, Eric J. 2008. Comparing effects of fire modeling methods on simulated fire patterns and succession: a case study in the Missouri Ozarks. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38: 1290-1302.
Publications & Products
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Kern, Christel C.; Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Bronson, Dustin R.; Kabrick, John M. 2020. Climate adaptive silviculture strategies: How do they impact growth, yield, diversity and value in forested landscapes?. Forest Ecology and Management
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R. 2020. How do forest landscapes respond to elevated CO2 and ozone? Scaling Aspen‐FACE plot‐scale experimental results. Ecosphere
- Bugmann, Harald ; Seidl, Rupert ; Hartig, Florian ; Bohn, Friedrich ; Brůna, Josef ; Cailleret, Maxime ; François, Louis ; Heinke, Jens ; Henrot, Alexandra-Jane ; Hickler, Thomas ; Hülsmann, Lisa ; Huth, Andreas ; Jacquemin, Ingrid ; Kollas, Chris ; Lasch-Born, Petra ; Lexer, Manfred J.; Merganič, Ján ; Merganičová, Katarína ; Mette, Tobias ; Miranda, Brian R.; Nadal-Sala, Daniel ; Rammer, Werner ; Rammig, Anja ; Reineking, Björn ; Roedig, Edna ; Sabaté, Santi ; Steinkamp, Jörg ; Suckow, Felicitas ; Vacchiano, Giorgio ; Wild, Jan ; Xu, Chonggang ; Reyer, Christopher P. O. 2019. Tree mortality submodels drive simulated long-term forest dynamics: assessing 15 models from the stand to global scale. Ecosphere
- Marquardt, Paula E.; Miranda, Brian R.; Telewski, Frank W. 2019. Shifts in Climate-Growth Relationships of Sky Island Pines. Forests
- Gustafson, Eric ; Miranda, Brian ; Sturtevant, Brian. 2018. Can Future CO2 Concentrations Mitigate the Negative Effects of High Temperature and Longer Droughts on Forest Growth?. Forests
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Kubiske, Mark E.; Miranda, Brian R.; Hoshika, Yasutomo ; Paoletti, Elena. 2018. Extrapolating plot-scale CO2 and ozone enrichment experimental results to novel conditions and scales using mechanistic modeling. Ecological Processes
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Miranda, Brian. 2018. Chapter 16: PnET-Succession. In: Scheller, Robert, ed. Forecasting forested landscapes: An introduction to LANDIS-II with exercises, 5th edition. Portland, OR: LANDIS-II Foundation. 16 p.
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; de Bruijn, Arjan M. G.; Lichti, Nathanael ; Jacobs, Douglass F.; Kashian, Daniel M.; Miranda, Brian R.; Townsend, Philip A. 2018. Forecasting effects of tree species reintroduction strategies on carbon stocks in a future without historical analog. Global Change Biology
- Marquardt, Paula E.; Miranda, Brian R.; Jennings, Shane ; Thurston, Ginger ; Telewski, Frank W. 2018. Variable climate response differentiates the growth of Sky Island Ponderosa Pines. Trees
- Tonini, Francesco ; Jones, Chris ; Miranda, Brian R.; Cobb, Richard C.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Meentemeyer, Ross K. 2018. Modeling epidemiological disturbances in LANDIS-II. Ecography
- De Jager, Nathan R.; Rohweder, Jason J.; Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Fox, Timothy J.; Romanski, Mark C. 2017. Modelling moose-forest interactions under different predation scenarios at Isle Royale National Park, USA. Ecological Applications
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Miranda, Brian R.; De Bruijn, Arjan M.G.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Kubiske, Mark E. 2017. Do rising temperatures always increase forest productivity? Interacting effects of temperature, precipitation, cloudiness and soil texture on tree species growth and competition. Environmental Modelling & Software
- Gustafson, Eric J.; de Bruijn, Arjan; Lichti, Nathanael; Jacobs, Douglass F.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Foster, Jane; Miranda, Brian R.; Dalgleish, Harmony J. 2017. The implications of American chestnut reintroduction on landscape dynamics and carbon storage. Ecosphere
- Gustafson, Eric J.; De Bruijn, Arjan M. G.; Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Thompson, J. 2016. Implications of mechanistic modeling of drought effects on growth and competition in forest landscape models. Ecosphere. 7(4): 10.1002/ecs2.1253. 23 p.
- De Bruijn, A.; Gustafson, E.J.; Sturtevant, B.R.; Foster, J.R.; Miranda, B.R.; Lichti, N.I.; Jacobs, D.F. 2014. Toward more robust projections of forest landscape dynamics under novel environmental conditions: embedding PnET within LANDIS-II. Ecological Modelling. 287: 44-57.
- Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R.; Wolter, Peter T.; James, Patrick M.A.; Fortin, Marie-Josée; Townsend, Philip A. 2014. Forest recovery patterns in response to divergent disturbance regimes in the Border Lakes region of Minnesota (USA) and Ontario (Canada). Forest Ecology and Management. 313: 199-211.
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Kubiske, Mark E.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R. 2013. Scaling Aspen-FACE experimental results to century and landscape scales. Landscape Ecology. 28(9): 1785-1800.
- Doyon, Frederik; Sturtevant, Brian; Papaik, Michael J.; Fall, Andrew; Miranda, Brian; Kneeshaw, Daniel D.; Messier, Christian; Fortin, Marie-Josee; James, Patrick M.A. 2012. Assessing knowledge ambiguity in the creation of a model based on expert knowledge and comparison with the results of a landscape succession model in central Labrador. Chapter 10.. In: Perera, Ajith H.; Drew, C. Ashton; Johnson, Chris J., eds. Expert Knowledge and Its Application in Landscape Ecology. Springer: 189-210.
- Sturtevant, Brian R; Miranda, Brian R; Shinneman, Douglas J; Gustafson, Eric J; Wolter, Peter T. 2012. Comparing modern and presettlement forest dynamics of a subboreal wilderness: Does spruce budworm enhance fire risk?. Ecological Applications. 22: 1278-1296.
- Wolter, Peter T.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R.; Lietz, Sue M.; Townsend, Phillip A.; Pastor, John. 2012. Forest land cover change (1975-2000) in the Greater Border Lakes region. Research Map NRS-3. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 17 p. [Printed map included].
Research Datasets
- Wolter, Peter T.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R.; Lietz, Sue M.; Townsend, Philip A.; Pastor, John. 2012. Greater Border Lakes Region land cover classification and change detection. Newtown Square, PA: USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2012-0007.
National Research Highlights
Modeling wolf-moose forest interactions at Isle Royale National Park
Year: 2017
The loss of top predators may have unintended consequences for forest composition and function. Forest Service scientists partnered with the U.S. Geologic Survey and National Park Service to investigate the effects of alternative wolf predation scenarios on the moose and forest dynamics at Isle Royale National Park near Michigan’s border with Canada. Will the impending loss of wolves from the park affect the future state of the forest ecosystem?
Scientists Predict Survivability Factors for Northern Forests Given Elevated CO2 and Ozone Levels
Year: 2013
The researchers scaled up a high-profile 11-year ecosystem experiment called Aspen-FACE to assess how elevated carbon dioxide and ozone levels might impact real forests at the landscape scale over the course of many future decades. They determined that there will be winners and losers among species and within species groups but that managers can have considerable control over the outcomes by managing disturbance effects on forests and landscape spatial patterns. The researchers also found that changes will be gradual and that few species are likely to disappear completely because of carbon dioxide and ozone effects alone.