Score = morel ecological pipeline with species-specific overrides:
Habitat overlay: peak-season potential (host trees + soils + terrain +
climatology). Elevation 6,990–10,990 ft (2,130–3,350 m), host switched to
cottonwood / aspen / burned conifer, soil pH 5.0–7.5, seasonal curve May–Jun
snowmelt.
Live overlay: same factors × today's weather (SNOTEL antecedent precip,
soil temp 0 cm ≥4°C trigger, PRISM 30-day rolling, Open-Meteo 7-day forecast,
MODIS NDVI anomaly).
Disturbance bonus dominates: 1–3 yr-old burn perimeters (MTBS + NIFC)
get a multiplier up to 1.00×, FACTS forestry treatments up to 0.85×. Greene
et al. 2010 documented post-fire morel abundance >100× baseline.
Hard zeros: elevation <5,580 ft (1,700 m), urban polygons + 820 ft /
250 m buffer.
Uncertainty is folded into the score directly (score × (1 − 0.6·unc)) —
cells far from verified iNat observations simply appear dimmer.
Key references:
- Greene et al. (2010) — post-fire morel pulse
- Larson et al. (2016) — M. tomentosa burn obligate
- Mihail et al. (2007) — soil temp / moisture triggers
- Pilz et al. (2007) — commercial harvest data PNW
- Trent Blizzard (GeoForager) — FACTS disturbance signal