World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
53
Citations
12468
World Ranking
3256
National Ranking
1152

Overview

Sean A. Parks is affiliated with the US Forest Service in the United States and has focused their research primarily within the field of Environmental Science. Their work spans several subfields, including Global and Planetary Change, Ecology, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecological Modeling, and Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law.

The main topics covered in their research include:

  • Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Rangeland and Wildlife Management
  • Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
  • Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Species Distribution and Climate Change
  • Landslides and related hazards
  • Fire dynamics and safety research

Sean A. Parks has published extensively in several scientific venues, with frequent publications in:

  • Global Change Biology
  • Environmental Research Letters
  • BioScience
  • Nature Communications
  • Remote Sensing

Recent papers authored or coauthored by Sean A. Parks include:

  • "Warmer and Drier Fire Seasons Contribute to Increases in Area Burned at High Severity in Western US Forests From 1985 to 2017," 2020, Geophysical Research Letters
  • "Wildfire-Driven Forest Conversion in Western North American Landscapes," 2020, BioScience
  • "Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions," 2021, Ecological Applications
  • "Protected-area targets could be undermined by climate change-driven shifts in ecoregions and biomes," 2021, Communications Earth & Environment
  • "Fire suppression makes wildfires more severe and accentuates impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation," 2024, Nature Communications

The scientist frequently collaborates with multiple coauthors, among whom are:

  • Marc-André Parisien
  • Jonathan D. Coop
  • Ellen Whitman
  • Solomon Z. Dobrowski
  • Lisa M. Holsinger

Throughout their career, Sean A. Parks has contributed to the understanding of fire ecology and its ecological impacts, particularly within western North American forests. Their research also intersects with climate change effects on fire regimes, ecosystem transformations, and conservation efforts. The work covers both empirical studies and modeling approaches that address landscape-scale processes and fire severity patterns over time.

Best Publications

  • TerraClimate, a high-resolution global dataset of monthly climate and climatic water balance from 1958-2015.

    John T. Abatzoglou;Solomon Z. Dobrowski;Sean A. Parks;Katherine C. Hegewisch

  • Wildfire-driven forest conversion in western North American landscapes

    Jonathan D. Coop;Sean A. Parks;Camille S. Stevens-Rumann;Shelley D. Crausbay

  • Warmer and Drier Fire Seasons Contribute to Increases in Area Burned at High Severity in Western US Forests From 1985 to 2017

    S. A. Parks;J. T. Abatzoglou

  • Wildfires and climate change push low-elevation forests across a critical climate threshold for tree regeneration.

    Kimberley T Davis;Solomon Z Dobrowski;Philip E Higuera;Zachary A Holden

  • A New Metric for Quantifying Burn Severity: The Relativized Burn Ratio

    Sean A. Parks;Gregory K. Dillon;Carol Miller

  • Reserve Size, Local Human Density, and Mammalian Extinctions in U.S. Protected Areas

    S. A. Parks;A. H. Harcourt

  • Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions.

    Susan J. Prichard;Paul F. Hessburg;Paul F. Hessburg;R. Keala Hagmann;Nicholas A. Povak

  • Climate, environment, and disturbance history govern resilience of Western North American forests

    Paul F. Hessburg;Paul F. Hessburg;Carol L. Miller;Sean A. Parks;Nicholas A. Povak

  • Wildland fire as a self-regulating mechanism: the role of previous burns and weather in limiting fire progression

    Sean A. Parks;Sean A. Parks;Lisa M. Holsinger;Carol Miller;Cara R. Nelson

  • Previous Fires Moderate Burn Severity of Subsequent Wildland Fires in Two Large Western US Wilderness Areas

    Sean A. Parks;Sean A. Parks;Carol Miller;Cara R. Nelson;Zachary A. Holden

  • High-severity fire: evaluating its key drivers and mapping its probability across western US forests.

    Sean A Parks;Lisa M Holsinger;Matthew H Panunto;W Matt Jolly

  • Rarity, specialization and extinction in primates

    A. H. Harcourt;S. A. Coppeto;S. A. Parks

  • Wildland fire deficit and surplus in the western United States, 1984–2012

    Sean A. Parks;Carol Miller;Marc-André Parisien;Lisa M. Holsinger

  • Human density as an influence on species/area relationships: double jeopardy for small African reserves?

    A.H. Harcourt;S.A. Parks;R. Woodroffe

  • Latent resilience in ponderosa pine forest: effects of resumed frequent fire.

    Andrew J. Larson;R. Travis Belote;C. Alina Cansler;Sean A. Parks

  • How will climate change affect wildland fire severity in the western US

    Sean A Parks;Carol Miller;John T Abatzoglou;Lisa M Holsinger

  • Influences of prior wildfires on vegetation response to subsequent fire in a reburned Southwestern landscape

    Jonathan David Coop;Sean Aaron Parks;Sarah R. McClernan;Lisa M. Holsinger

  • Combining resource selection and movement behavior to predict corridors for Canada lynx at their southern range periphery

    John R. Squires;Nicholas J. DeCesare;Lucretia E. Olson;Jay A. Kolbe

  • Mean Composite Fire Severity Metrics Computed with Google Earth Engine Offer Improved Accuracy and Expanded Mapping Potential

    Sean A. Parks;Lisa M. Holsinger;Morgan A. Voss;Rachel A. Loehman

  • The spatially varying influence of humans on fire probability in North America

    Marc-Andre Parisien;Carol Miller;Sean A. Parks;Evan R. DeLancey;Evan R. DeLancey

  • Climate change predicted to shift wolverine distributions, connectivity, and dispersal corridors

    Kevin S. McKelvey;Jeffrey P. Copeland;Michael K. Schwartz;Jeremy S. Littell

Frequent Co-Authors

Marc-André Parisien
Marc-André Parisien Natural Resources Canada
Carol Miller
Carol Miller US Forest Service
Solomon Z. Dobrowski
Solomon Z. Dobrowski University of Montana
John T. Abatzoglou
John T. Abatzoglou University of California, Merced
Mike D. Flannigan
Mike D. Flannigan University of Alberta
Alexander H. Harcourt
Alexander H. Harcourt University of California, Davis
Michael K. Schwartz
Michael K. Schwartz US Forest Service
Philip E. Higuera
Philip E. Higuera University of Montana
John R. Squires
John R. Squires US Forest Service
Meg A. Krawchuk
Meg A. Krawchuk Oregon State University

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying Ecology and Evolution can open diverse professional doors in research, conservation, education, and more. For those looking to expand or complement their expertise, several online degree options are available that intersect with environmental fields.

Specializing in human interaction with the environment, professionals may find value in exploring online master in clinical psychology, especially to understand how psychological factors influence conservation efforts and community outreach.

For those interested in advocacy, administration, or direct service roles, online schools for human services offer programs that build practical skills applicable to environmental policy, nonprofit work, or education.

Educators exploring new specializations might wonder, can you become a speech pathologist with an education degree? While different from ecology, this demonstrates how adaptable education pathways can support career pivots into areas involving human communication and outreach.

Built environment professionals may consider naab-accredited online architecture degrees as a way to blend sustainability with design, preparing them for roles that impact sustainable urban development and green infrastructure.

Best Scientists Citing Sean A. Parks

Trending Scientists