NAFSE STudent webinar: A Likely Pyrophyte: Moisture Content, Growth Allocation, and Thermal Resistance of American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Bark Resembles Fire-Tolerant Species

Thursday, October 30, 2025 12-1pm ET

Students will share their work via webinar and connect with the fire and forestry community to establish productive working relationships.

Speaker: Maya Niesz Kutsch

Bio: Maya is a master's student pursuing a degree in Plant Science at SUNY ESF. She is studying the ecology of the American chestnut through two projects, one on the fire-related bark traits of the American chestnut and the other on the maximum viable pollination distance of the American chestnut. She received her bachelors degree in botany from Kent State University.

Webinar: The American chestnut was eradicated from the United States in the early 20th century due to the arrival of Cryphonectria parasitica, which causes the chestnut blight. However, restoration efforts are underway, and research of the American chestnut's ecological niche is underway. With this comes a reevaluation of its relationship with fire. This research project investigated the bark traits of the American chestnut, including its insulative capacity, percent moisture, and thickness. We found that the American chestnut and Chinese chestnut had higher insulative capacity against high heat than both red maple, our fire intolerant control, and white oak, our fire tolerant control. Both chestnuts also had the highest moisture content of their bark, and the thickest bark, which aligns with traits in seen fire tolerant species. These results support my hypothesis that the American chestnut has bark traits that align with expected fire tolerant traits and support the idea that the American chestnut is a fire-adapted species.