Jesse K. Kreye, Ph.D.

Jesse K. Kreye, Ph.D.

  • Assistant Research Professor
  • Fire and Natural Resources Management
202 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA 16802

Areas of Expertise

  • Fire Ecology
  • Fire Behavior and Effects

Education

  • Ph.D., Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (2012)
  • M.S., Natural Resources (Forestry), Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA (2008)
  • B.S., Forestry (Wildland Fire Management), Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA (2004)

Recent Research Publications

Kreye, J.K., Kane, J.M., Varner, J.M. 2023. Multivariate roles of litter traits on moisture and flammability of temperate northeastern North American tree species. Fire Ecology 19:1-12.

Regmi, A., Kreye, M.M., Kreye, J.K. 2023. Forest landowner demand for prescribed fire as an ecological tool in Pennsylvania, USA. Forest Policy and Economics 148, 102902.

Gallagher, M.R., Kreye, J.K., Machtinger, E., Everland, A., Schmidt, N., Skowronski, N.S. 2022. Can restoration of fire-dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick-borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States?  Ecological Applications 

Nieves, J.M., Ward, J.S., Royo, A.A., McDill, M.E., Kreye, J.K., Steiner, K.C. 2022. Stand and site characteristics affect the probability of stump sprouting in some eastern North American hardwoods. Forest Ecology and Management 511

Varner, J.M., Kane, J.M., Kreye, J.K., Shearman, T.M. 2021. Litter flammability of 50 southeastern North American tree species: Evidence for mesophication gradients across multiple ecosystems. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 153.

Kane, J.M., Kreye, J.K., Barajas-Ramirez, R., Varner, J.M. 2021. Litter trait driven dampening of flammability following deciduous forest community shifts in eastern North America. Forest Ecology and Management 489:119100.

Dems, C.L., Taylor, A.H., Smithwick, E.A.H., Kreye, J.K., Kaye, M.W. 2021. Prescribed fire alters structure and composition of a mid-Atlantic oak forest up to eight years after burning. Fire Ecology 17:1-13. 

Alexander, H.D., Siegert, C., Brewer, J.S., Kreye, J.K., Lashley, M.A., McDaniel, J.K., Paulson, A.K., Renninger, H.J., Varner, J.M. 2021. Mesophication of oak landscapes: evidence, knowledge gaps, and future research. BioScience biaa169.

Cansler, et al. 2020. The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire. Scientific Data 7:1-14.

Kreye, J.K., Kane, J.M., Varner, J.M., Hiers, J.K. 2020. Radiant heating rapidly increases litter flammability through impacts on fuel moisture. Fire Ecology 16:1-10.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Kobziar, J.K. 2020. Long-duration heating resulting from forest floor duff smoldering in longleaf pine ecosystems. Forest Science 66:291-303.

Reed, W.P., Varner, J.M., Knapp, E.E., Kreye, J.K. 2020. Long-term changes in masticated woody fuelbeds in northern California and southern Oregon. International Journal of Wildland Fire 29:807-819.

Cansler, C.A., et al. 2020. The fire and tree mortality database, for empirical modeling of individiual tree mortality after fire. Scientific Data 7:1-14.

Shearman, T.M., Varner, J.M., Kreye, J.K. 2019. Pyrogenic flowering of Aristida beyrichiana following 50 years of fire exclusion. Ecosphere 10:e02541.

Kreye, J.K., Hiers, J.K., Varner, J.M., Hornsby, B., Drukker, S.,  O'Brien, J.J. 2018. Effects of solar heating on the moisture dynamics of forest floor litter in humid environments: composition, structure, and position matter. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 48:1-12.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Hamby, G.H. 2018. Mesophytic litter dampens flammability in fire-excluded pyrophytic oak-hickory woodlands. Ecosphere 9:1-10.

Varner, J.M., Kuljian, H., Kreye, J.K. 2017. Fires without tanoak: the effects of a non-native disease on future community flammability. Biological Invasions 19:2307-2317.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Dugaw, C., Engber, E., Quinn-Davidson, L. 2017. Patterns of duff ignition and smoldering beneath old Pinus palustris: Influence of tree proximity, moisture content, and ignition vectors. Forest Science 16:165-172.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Kane, J.M., Knapp, E.E., Reed, W.P. 2016. The impact of fuelbed aging on laboratory fire behaviour in masticated woody fuels.  International Journal of Wildland Fire 25:1002-1008.

Varner, J.M., Kane, J.K., Hiers, J.K., Kreye, J.K., Veldman, J.W. 2016. Suites of fire-adapted traits of oaks in the southeastern USA: Multiple strategies for persistence. Fire Ecology 12:48-64.

Varner, J.M., J.K. Kreye, J.K. Hiers, and J.J. O'Brien. 2016. Recent advances in understanding duff consumption and post-fire longleaf pine mortality. Pages 335-338 in Proceedings of the 18th Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference. eGTR-SRS-212. USDA Forest Service, Southern Res. Sta., Asheville, NC.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Kobziar, L.N. 2016. Mechanical mastication as a fuels treatment in southeastern forests. Pages 198-205 in Proceedings of the 18th Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference. eGTR-SRS-212. USDA Forest Service, Southern Res. Sta., Asheville, NC.

Varner, J.M., Kane, J.M., Kreye, J.K., Engber, E. 2015. The flammability of litter: a synthesis. Invited Submission, Current Forestry Reports 1:91-99.

Kreye, J.K., Kobziar, L.N. 2015. The impact 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.

Varner, J.M., Kane, J.M., E.M. Banwell, Kreye, J.K. 2015. Flammability of litter from southeastern trees. A preliminary assessment.  Pages 183-187 in: Holley, .A.G., Conner, K.F., Haywood, J.D. (eds.) Proceedings of the 17th Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference. eGTR-SRS-203. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 551 p.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Dugaw, C.J. 2014. Spatial and temporal variability of forest floor duff characteristics in long-unburned Pinus palustris forests.  Canadian Journal of Forest Research 44:1477-1486.

Kreye, J.K, Brewer, N.W., Morgan, P., Varner, J.M., Smith, A.M., Hoffman, C.M., Ottmar, R.D. 2014. Fire behavior in masticated fuels: A review. Forest Ecology and Management 314:193-207.

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.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Hiers, J.K., Mola, J. 2013. Toward a mechanism for eastern deciduous forest mesophication: the role of litter drying. Ecological Applications 23:1976-1986.

Kreye, J.K., Kobziar, L.N., Zipperer, W.C. 2013. Experimental burning in masticated palmetto/gallberry: effects of fuel loading and moisture content on fire behavior and lethal heating in compact litter-dominated fuelbeds. International Journal of Wildland Fire 22:440-445.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Dugaw, C.J., Cao, J., Szecsei, J., Engber, E.A. 2013. Pine cones facilitate ignition of forest floor duff. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 43:512-516.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M, Knapp, E.E. 2012. Moisture desorption in mechanically masticated fuels: effects of particle fracturing and fuelbed compaction.  International Journal of Wildland Fire 21:894-904.

Kreye, J.K., Varner, J.M., Knapp, E.E. 2011. Effects of Particle Fracturing and Moisture Content on Fire Behaviour in Masticated Fuelbeds Burned in a Laboratory. International Journal of Wildland Fire 20:308-317.