Dr. Dicus, our resident fire guru, comes to Cal Poly from down on the bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There, he was a Gilbert Research Fellow and received a Ph.D. in Forestry at Louisiana State University. He received an M.S. in Forest Resources from Utah State University and a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Louisiana Tech University.

Dr. Dicus sits on the Board of Directors of The Association for Fire Ecology and also the San Luis Obispo County FireSafe Council. He is also is active in the Society of American Foresters and the International Association of Wildland Fire. He enjoys spending time with his family and church activities, surfing, backpacking, and writing music.

Tradeoffs in Fire Hazard Versus Societal Benefits in Wildland-Urban Interface Communities

Projects

• Fire in the wildland-urban interface
• Effects of forest management practices on fuel loads and subsequent fire behavior
• Residual ecosystem effects from fuels modification treatments
• Forest regulation

Awards

• Louisiana Tech School of Forestry Featured Alumnus (2005-2006)
• CAFES New Faculty Award Nominee
• Alpha Zeta Honor Society
• Delta Chi Fraternity Borelli Family Leadership Award
• Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society
• Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
• Xi Sigma Pi Forestry Honor Society

Publications

• Accepted. Dicus, C.A. Changes to simulated fire behavior and societal benefits after two Levels of thinning in a mixed-conifer wildland-urban interface community. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland: Bushfire 2006 Special Edition.
• Accepted. Dicus, C.A. Equipping Tomorrow's Fire Managers. Pages 000-000 in Narog, M.G., technical coordinator. Proceedings of the 2002 Fire Conference on Managing fire and fuels in the remaining wildlands and open spaces of the southwestern United States. December 2-5, 2002, San Diego, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-189, Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• Dicus, C.A. and T.J. Dean. 2008. Tree-soil interactions affect production of loblolly and slash pine. Forest Science 54(2):134-139.
• Dicus, C.A., and M.P. Zimmerman. 2007. Quantifying fire behavior vs. community benefits of southern California shrublands and grasslands. Pages 214-221 in R.E. Masters and K.E.M. Galley (eds.). Proceedings of the 23rd Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference: Fire in Grassland and Shrubland Ecosystems. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL.
• Dicus, C.A. 2006. Essential elements of sustainable fire management in the wildland-urban interface. Proceedings of 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress.
• Dicus, C.A. 2006. Management strategies in the wildland-urban interface of southern California and their effect on fire behavior and environmental impacts. In Proceedings to the Bushfire 2006 Research Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
• Dicus, C.A. 2006. The conundrum of wildland fire management: winners and losers. In Proceedings, International Urban Disaster Risk Reduction and Regeneration Planning: Integrating Practice, Policy, and Theory.
• Jacobson, K.W., and C.A. Dicus. 2006. Effects of lop and scatter slash treatment on potential fire behavior and soil erosion following a selection harvest in a coast redwood forest. Proceedings of 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress.
• Just, E., and C.A. Dicus. 2006. Effects of fuel loading on potential fire behavior and soil erosion in coast redwood stands. Proceedings of 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress.
• Dicus, C.A., and M.S. Scott. 2006. Reduction of potential fire behavior in wildland-urban interface communities in southern California: a collaborative approach. P. 729-738 in Andrews, Patricia L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. Fuels Management - How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 28-30 March 2006; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
• Dicus, C.A., and M.P. Anderson. 2005. Benefits versus Fire Risk of Native and Invasive Vegetation in the Wildland/Urban Interface. P. 64-70 in Proceedings, California Invasive Plant Council 2004 Symposium - "Benefits versus Fire Risk of Native and Invasive Vegetation in the Wildland/Urban Interface": Ventura, CA, October 7-9.
• Thompson, R. P., and C.A. Dicus. 2005. Characterizing the Regulatory Environment Affecting the Forest Products Industry in California. Research Report to the California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops.
• Londo, A, B. Oswald, and C. Dicus. 2005. Living on the Edge: Wildland Fire Management Laboratory Manual. ISBN 0-9762175-0-3.
• Dicus, C.A.  2004.  Fuel loading and potential fire behavior after harvest in coast redwoods stands.  In Proceedings, Second International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress, Orlando, FL, November 16-20.
• Dicus, C.A. 2004.  Misguided Inaction Threatens Our Forests.  Automated Builder 393:16.
• Dicus, C.A., and K. Delfino.  2003.  Comparison of the California Forest Practice Rules and two major certification systems.  Technical Report to the California Forest Products Commission.
• Dicus, C.A., and K. Delfino.  2003.   Overbearing regulations: Rules could hamper forest sustainability.  California Forests 7(1):8-9.
• Dicus, C.A. and T.J. Dean.  2002.  Nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency in stands of loblolly and slash pine.  In Proceedings, Eleventh Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, Knoxville, TN, March 20-22, 2001.
• Dicus, C.A. and T.J. Dean. 1999.  Effects of  above-ground biomass allocation on soil nitrogen demand and below-ground productivity: The influence of stand density.  pp. 213-216 in Proceedings, Tenth Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, Shreveport, LA, February 16-17, 1999.
• Dicus, C.A., and T.J. Dean. 1998. Stand density effects on biomass allocation patterns and subsequent soil nitrogen demand. pp. 564-568 C Proceedings, Ninth Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, Clemson, SC, February 25-27, 1997, Waldrop, T.A., ed. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-20. Asheville, NC: USDA, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 628p.
• Jenkins, M.J., C.A. Dicus, and E.G. Hebertson. 1998. Post-fire succession and disturbance interactions on an Intermountain subalpine spruce-fir forest. pp. 219-229 in Fire in ecosystem management: shifting the paradigm from suppression to prescription, Teressa L. Pruden and Leonard A. Brennan (eds.). Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings, No. 20. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL.
• Jenkins, M.J., C.A. Dicus, and J.E. Godfrey. 1998. Restoration of mixed conifer communities using prescribed fire in Bryce Canyon National Park. pp. 231-235 in Fire in ecosystem management: shifting the paradigm from suppression to prescription, Teressa L. Pruden and Leonard A. Brennan (eds.). Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings, No. 20. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL.
• In preparation. Dicus, C.A., and M.S. Scott. A partnered approach to reduce fire risk in a southern California wildland-urban interface community. International Journal of Wildland Fire.
• In preparation. Dicus, C.A., and K.W. Jacobson. Effects of a selection harvest in Sequoia sempervirens on fuels loading characteristics. Forest Ecology & Management.
• In preparation. Dicus, C.A., and K.W. Jacobson. Effects of a selection harvest in Sequoia sempervirens on potential fire behavior and post-fire effects. Forest Ecology & Management.
• In preparation. Dicus, C.A., D. Turner, and K. Dargan. Critical elements in effective fire management in the wildland-urban interface. Journal of Forestry.

Presentations

• Speaker at over 30 regional, national, and international professional conferences.