New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Naturally occurring fires and increased aridity and weather instability have resulted in much of the Western United States being highly prone to catastrophic wildfire. These wildfires, which are more frequently growing to the category of mega-wildfires, result in the loss of life and property that lead to environmental, economic, and cultural degradation for the United States.

Current methods for mitigation of wildfires typically involve the process of thinning (mechanical removal of shrubs and densely growing small trees), followed by “controlled” or “prescribed” burning (intentional introduction of fire under favorable conditions) of the resulting slash (thinned brush). Unfortunately, such methods have resulted in the ignition of catastrophic mega-wildfires. In New Mexico alone, these approaches have resulted in the Cerro Grande Fire (2000) and the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire (2022) – the largest in New Mexico’s history. Due to these catastrophes, these processes for wildfire mitigation in vulnerable forested communities are becoming suspect; especially as the weather becomes more unpredictable, and with the combination of the wildfire smoke causing adverse health effects, calls for improved mitigation of wildfires have arisen. The thinned slash consists of biomass rich in cellulose and other compounds that can be precursors for biofuels and other products that are obtainable through biosynthetic methodologies. Historically, chemical access to these compounds has been hindered by their close chemical association with lignin, a recalcitrant, chemically complex biopolymer that is notoriously difficult to degrade.

We aim to tackle the “lignin barrier” problem through revolutionary, eco-friendly approaches from biochemical engineering, synthetic biology, and materials science. Oxidases (specifically laccases) and peroxidases - known to break down lignin - are found in numerous fungi and bacteria, nature’s primary forest product recyclers. Our goal is to exploit, engineer, and evolve oxidase-based methods to enable efficient, irreversible lignin depolymerization from model coniferous feedstocks that represent the typical makeup of most western thinning “waste”. Attainment of this goal will enable this project to develop revolutionary green approaches to break down fundamental barriers to using forest biomass, enabling a paradigm shift in forest fire mitigation to help sustain endangered American cultures, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Success of the science and engineering aims of this project requires close consultation with traditional forested communities of Northern Central New Mexico (NCNM). We work closely with the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University to engage with at-risk communities and forest stakeholders in NCNM. These entities include government and academic organizations, northern Pueblos, acequia associations, and small businesses and individuals who harvest forest products and engage in forest and watershed maintenance. Our comprehensive education, outreach, and community engagement plan complements the proposed research and fosters the inclusion of forested communities impacted by wildfires.

Our findings and innovations will ultimately lead to a range of powerful technologies with substantial long-term impacts beyond biomass utilization. This realization will be driven by the urgent need to address the grand challenges of sustaining our natural and agricultural environments and developing alternatives to fossil fuels and feedstocks. This fundamental research will establish a new model for economical forest sustainability and wildfire mitigation by developing highly efficient new pretreatment processes for utilizing woody biomass to enable green, sustainable production of wood-derived chemical products. It will help mitigate the enormous ecological, financial, and cultural costs of wildfires by eventually providing revenue streams to offset forest health treatment costs. The new technologies developed can provide a revolutionary new paradigm for biomass utilization to help address the burgeoning wildfire crisis in the United States and create a new economy in forested communities.