Kristina Fauss, Ph.D.

Kristina focuses on plant flammability, wildfire hazard, fire ecology, and community wildfire resilience.

Kristina Fauss, Ph.D., is the first fire expert at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Her drive to better understand and restore balance between people, nature, and technology as it relates to wildfire science is an exciting and important POV to have on staff.

She started in civil engineering, applying frameworks of systems engineering to study natural hazards through the lens of human-environment interactions, which led to a doctorate in geography at University of California, Santa Barbara, focusing on wildfire hazard and ecology. At the Garden, Kristina’s role informs landscaping recommendations, conservation and restoration strategies, and educational programs. Her evaluation of suitable native plants for applications across California’s fire-prone landscapes not only involves collaboration across all Garden departments but also extends to nonprofit, academic, government, and community partners.

Through Kristina’s work, we will be able to make better informed decisions that reduce wildfire risk while supporting biodiversity and sustainable land stewardship.

Research interests: geospatial fire hazard analysis, fire movement modeling, lab combustion