Fighting Fire with Fire — Literally

Carla Staver
May 18, 2022

Yale Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Associate Director of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS), Carla Staver, has started hundreds of fires – experimental ones – in African savannas to learn more about how they start and stop burning, and their impact on the environment. Savanna fires are the most common fires on earth and make a large contribution to the global carbon cycle, so a quantitative understanding of their behavior is more critical than ever. To learn more, please click here for an informative video interview with Carla Staver. 

News & Updates

Back to the beach: Why did evolution return some animals to the water?

November 20, 2025
In most narratives, the story of evolution is the story of organisms emerging from the ocean and eventually populating the land. But for some species that evolution also...

YIBS postdocs illuminate new insights into river metabolism across the Western United States

November 14, 2025
A new Science study co-authored by YIBS researchers sheds light on the significant role that rivers in the western United States play in absorbing carbon dioxide from the...
Edward P. Bass Distinguished Lecture: "To know our trees" with W. John Kress

Edward P. Bass Distinguished Lecture: "To know our trees" with W. John Kress

November 5, 2025
Dear YIBS community, Please join us in attending the Edward P. Bass Distinguished Lecture: "To know our trees" with W. John Kress Date: Wednesday, November 5th from 5:00 - 6:...