scholarly journals Large fires and their ecological consequences: introduction to the special issue

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Williams ◽  
Ross A. Bradstock
Keyword(s):  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Large Fires ◽  
Historical Range

In the last decade, extensive fires have occurred on most continents, affecting a wide range of ecosystems. We convened a Symposium at the 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress in 2006 to address the issue of large fires and their ecological consequences in landscapes. The 10 papers presented here variously discuss the place of large fires in the context of historical fire regimes, the heterogeneity of fire regime components that are associated with large fires, and the ecological consequences of large fires. The discussions cover a range of biomes, from tropical to temperate, across the world. Three consistent themes emerged: firstly, large fires are usually a part of the Historical Range of Variability; secondly, large fires are inherently heterogeneous, leaving footprints of spatial and temporal diversity that may influence landscapes for decades; and thirdly, large fires have been perceived as socially and ecologically ‘disastrous’, due to obvious and significant deleterious effects on life and property, and the scale of immediate environmental impact. However, the papers presented here indicate that the long-term ecological impacts of individual large fires are not necessarily disastrous. Crucial impacts of large fires on ecosystems may depend largely on their rate of recurrence as well as landscape-scale variation in severity. The incidence and characteristics of large fires may change in the future, as a consequence of global climate change, and other social drivers of landscape change.

Flammable Australia

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Face ◽  
Emerging Issues

In Flammable Australia: Fire Regimes, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing World, leading researchers in fire ecology and management discuss how fire regimes have shaped and will continue to shape the distribution and abundance of Australia’s highly diverse plants and animals. Central to this is the exploration of the concept of the fire regime – the cumulative pattern of fires and their individual characteristics (fire type, frequency, intensity, season) and how variation in regime components affects landscapes and their constituent biota. Contributions by 44 authors explore a wide range of topics including classical themes such as pre-history and evolution, fire behaviour, fire regimes in key biomes, plant and animal life cycles, remote sensing and modelling of fire regimes, and emerging issues such as climate change and fire regimes, carbon dynamics and opportunities for managing fire regimes for multiple benefits. In the face of significant global change, the conservation of our native species and ecosystems requires an understanding of the processes at play when fires and landscapes interact. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of this complex science, in the context of one of the world’s most flammable continents.

Climate and human influence on late Holocene fire regimes in the British Virgin Islands

2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 679-690
Author(s):  
Joshua R. Mueller ◽  
Mitchell J. Power ◽  
Colin J. Long
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regime ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
British Virgin Islands ◽  
Landscape Modification ◽  
Anthropogenic Landscape ◽  
European Settlement

AbstractGlobal climate change poses significant threats to the Caribbean islands. Yet, little is known about the long-term disturbance regimes in island ecosystems. This research investigates 2000 yr of natural and anthropogenic fire disturbance through the analysis of a latitudinal transect of sediment records from coastal salt ponds in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The two research objectives in this study are (1) to determine the fire regime history for the BVI over the last 2000 yr and (2) to explore ecological impacts from anthropogenic landscape modification pre- and post-European settlement. The magnitude of anthropogenic landscape modification, including the introduction of agriculture, was investigated through a multiproxy approach using sedimentary records of fossil pollen and charcoal. Our results suggest fire regimes from Belmont Pond, Thatch Island, and Skeleton Pond have been influenced by human activity, particularly during the postsettlement era, from 500 cal yr BP to modern. Our results suggest that fire regimes during the Medieval Climate Anomaly were responding to changes in climate via dominant atmospheric drivers. The presettlement fire regimes from these islands suggest that fires occurred every 90 to 120 yr. This research represents a significant data contribution to a region with little disturbance and vegetation data available.

scholarly journals The recent fire history of the Table Mountain National Park and implications for fire management

Koedoe ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg G. Forsyth ◽  
Brian W. Van Wilgen
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Table Mountain ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Large Fires

This paper provides an assessment of fire regimes in the Table Mountain National Park over the past four decades. We compiled a GIS database of all fires between 1970 and 2007 and analysed the fire regime in terms of the frequency, season and size of fires and the relationship between fire occurrence and fire weather. Most fires (90.5% of area burnt) occurred in summer and autumn, the ecologically acceptable season for fires. However, mean fire return intervals declined by 18.1 years, from 31.6 to 13.5 years, between the first and last decades of the record respectively. The area subjected to short (≤ six years) intervals between fires covered > 16% of the park in the last two decades of the record, compared to ~ 4% in the first two decades. A relatively small number of large fires dominated in terms of area burnt. Of the 373 fires recorded, 40 fires > 300 ha burnt 75% of the area, while 216 fires < 25 ha burnt 3.4% of the area. Fires occurred under a wide range of weather conditions, but large fires were restricted to periods of high fire danger. Prescribed burning was a relatively unimportant cause of fires, and most (> 85%) of the area burnt in wildfires. Areas subjected to short fire return intervals should be considered for management interventions. These could include the re-establishment of extirpated fire-sensitive species, the clearing of invasive alien plants and increased precautions for the prevention or rapid suppression of future accidental fires.

Fire regime shift linked to increased forest density in a piñon–juniper savanna landscape

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Q. Margolis
Keyword(s):  
Regime Shift ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
In Fire

Piñon–juniper (PJ) fire regimes are generally characterised as infrequent high-severity. However, PJ ecosystems vary across a large geographic and bio-climatic range and little is known about one of the principal PJ functional types, PJ savannas. It is logical that (1) grass in PJ savannas could support frequent, low-severity fire and (2) exclusion of frequent fire could explain increased tree density in PJ savannas. To assess these hypotheses I used dendroecological methods to reconstruct fire history and forest structure in a PJ-dominated savanna. Evidence of high-severity fire was not observed. From 112 fire-scarred trees I reconstructed 87 fire years (1547–1899). Mean fire interval was 7.8 years for fires recorded at ≥2 sites. Tree establishment was negatively correlated with fire frequency (r=–0.74) and peak PJ establishment was synchronous with dry (unfavourable) conditions and a regime shift (decline) in fire frequency in the late 1800s. The collapse of the grass-fuelled, frequent, surface fire regime in this PJ savanna was likely the primary driver of current high tree density (mean=881treesha–1) that is >600% of the historical estimate. Variability in bio-climatic conditions likely drive variability in fire regimes across the wide range of PJ ecosystems.

scholarly journals Back to the Future: Using Long-Term Observational and Paleo-Proxy Reconstructions to Improve Model Projections of Antarctic Climate

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Bracegirdle ◽  
Florence Colleoni ◽  
Nerilie J. Abram ◽  
Nancy A. N. Bertler ◽  
Daniel A. Dixon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Past Performance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Proxy Reconstructions

Quantitative estimates of future Antarctic climate change are derived from numerical global climate models. Evaluation of the reliability of climate model projections involves many lines of evidence on past performance combined with knowledge of the processes that need to be represented. Routine model evaluation is mainly based on the modern observational period, which started with the establishment of a network of Antarctic weather stations in 1957/58. This period is too short to evaluate many fundamental aspects of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate system, such as decadal-to-century time-scale climate variability and trends. To help address this gap, we present a new evaluation of potential ways in which long-term observational and paleo-proxy reconstructions may be used, with a particular focus on improving projections. A wide range of data sources and time periods is included, ranging from ship observations of the early 20th century to ice core records spanning hundreds to hundreds of thousands of years to sediment records dating back 34 million years. We conclude that paleo-proxy records and long-term observational datasets are an underused resource in terms of strategies for improving Antarctic climate projections for the 21st century and beyond. We identify priorities and suggest next steps to addressing this.

scholarly journals Fire regimes in eastern coastal fynbos: Imperatives and thresholds in managing for diversity

Koedoe ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tineke Kraaij ◽  
Richard M. Cowling ◽  
Brian W. Van Wilgen
Keyword(s):  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Plant Management ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

Until recently, fire ecology was poorly understood in the eastern coastal region of the Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK), South Africa. Rainfall in the area is aseasonal and temperatures are milder than in the winter-rainfall and drier inland parts of the CFK, with implications for the management of fire regimes. We synthesised the findings of a research programme focused on informing ecologically sound management of fire in eastern coastal fynbos shrublands and explored potential east–west trends at the scales of study area and CFK in terms of fire return interval (FRI) and fire season. FRIs (8–26 years; 1980–2010) were comparable to those elsewhere in the CFK and appeared to be shorter in the eastern Tsitsikamma than in the western Outeniqua halves of the study area. Proteaceae juvenile periods (4–9 years) and post-fire recruitment success suggested that for biodiversity conservation purposes, FRIs should be ≥ 9 years in eastern coastal fynbos. Collectively, findings on the seasonality of actual fires and the seasonality of fire danger weather, lightning and post-fire proteoid recruitment suggested that fires in eastern coastal fynbos are not limited to any particular season. We articulated these findings into ecological thresholds pertaining to the different elements of the fire regime in eastern coastal fynbos, to guide adaptive management of fire in the Garden Route National Park and elsewhere in the region.Conservation implications: Wildfires are likely to remain dominant in eastern coastal fynbos, whilst large-scale implementation of prescribed burning is unattainable. Fires occurring in any season are not a reason for concern, although other constraints remain: the need for sufficient fire intensity, safety requirements, and integration of fire and invasive alien plant management.

Recent fire activity in the boreal forests of central western Siberia is unprecedented in the past 5000 years: palaeoenvironmental evidence contextualises a burning issue

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Feurdean ◽  
Andrei Cosmin Diaconu ◽  
Gabriela Florescu ◽  
Mariusz Galka ◽  
Simon M. Hutchinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Western Siberia ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
The Past ◽  
Invader Species

&lt;p&gt;Although wildfire events in Siberia have increased in frequency and intensity over recent decades, in the absence of long-term records, it is not clear how far this trend deviates from baseline conditions. Short-term datasets categorise the forest fire regime in Siberia as one of surface, litter fires alternating withdevastating crown fires, although there is significant variability within this region likely reflecting vegetation composition. However, a comprehensive understanding of how vegetation composition and properties determine fire regimes remains lacking. To address this question we used two peat records spanning the last 2500 yr and a 5000 yr, respectively of charcoal morphologies-derived fire regime, pollen-based vegetation dynamics and stable isotope and testate amoebae-based climate reconstructions from boreal forests in central western Siberia, combined with fire-related functional traits of key boreal tree species. Compared to the trend over the 5000 yr period (mean fire return interval=FRI of 400 yr), our reconstructed mean FRI of 145 yr for the last five centuries is notably the shortest in the record. Most fires in this area tend to be surface, litter fires, although over the last centuries surface fires show an increased trend towards crowning. Frequent fires between 5000 and 4000 cal yr BP and 1500 cal yr BP to the present were concurrent with the dominance of invader species (primarily Betula) and fire endurer (mainly herbs) with prevalence of resisters (Pinus sylvestris, Pinus sibirica). Longer fire return intervals (up to 500 yr) between 4000 and 1500 cal yr BP were associated with the dominance of fire resisters with a considerable proportion of fire avoiders (Abies sibirica and Picea obovata). The rising number of fire episodes and the intensification of fire events over the past 1500 years have likely promoted fire-adapted plant communities (invaders and endurers) that can rapidly reach maturity, contributing to the reduction of avoider and resister species. This trend demonstrates that fire avoider species particularly fail to regenerate if the intervals between fire episodes are too short and thatan increasing number of fire episodes can drive land cover towards more fire-adapted plant communities. Our long-term perspective shows that the current fire regime lies significantly outside baseline conditions, which may drive future change in forest composition towards an increased prevalence of invader species. This study also contributes to an understanding of disturbance regimes in Pinus-Betula forests and considers the potential of tree species to adapt to new fire regimes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Big fires and their ecological impacts in Australian savannas: size and frequency matters

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron P. Yates ◽  
Andrew C. Edwards ◽  
Jeremy Russell-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Thematic Mapper ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Ecological Implications ◽  
Savanna Fires ◽  
Large Fires ◽  
Very High

Savannas are the most fire-prone of the earth’s major biomes. The availability of various broad-scale satellite-derived fire mapping and regional datasets provides a framework with which to examine the seasonality, extent and implications of large fires with particular reference to biodiversity values in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. We document the significance of savanna fires in the fire-prone ‘Top End’ region of the Northern Territory, Australia, using 9 years (1997–2005) of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)- and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+)-derived fire mapping. Fire (patch) sizes from both AVHRR- and Landsat-scale mapping increased through the calendar year associated with progressive curing of grass and litter fuels. Fire frequency data at both satellite sensor scales indicate that regional fire regimes in higher rainfall regions are dominated by large (>1000 km2) fires occurring typically at short (~2–3 years) fire return intervals. In discussion, we consider the ecological implications of these patch size distributions on regional fire-sensitive biota. Collectively, assembled data illustrate that many northern Australian savanna flora, fauna and habitats embedded within the savanna matrix are vulnerable to extensive and frequent fires, especially longer-lived obligate seeder plant taxa and relatively immobile vertebrate fauna with small home ranges.

Fire regime and vegetation change in the transition from Aboriginal to European land management in a Tasmanian eucalypt savanna

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise M. Romanin ◽  
Feli Hopf ◽  
Simon G. Haberle ◽  
David M. J. S. Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Plantago Lanceolata ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
European Settlement

Using pollen and charcoal analysis we examined how vegetation and fire regimes have changed over the last 600 years in the Midlands of Tasmania. Sediment cores from seven lagoons were sampled, with a chronology developed at one site (Diprose Lagoon) using 210Pb and 14C dating. Statistical contrasts of six cores where Pinus served as a marker of European settlement in the early 19th Century and showed significant changes in pollen composition following settlement with (a) influx of ruderal exotic taxa including Plantago lanceolata L., Brassicaceae, Asteraceae (Liguliflorae) and Rumex, (b) increase in pollen of the aquatics Myriophyllum spp. and Cyperaceae, (c) a decline in native herbaceous pollen taxa, including Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae (Tubuliflorae) and (d) a decline in Allocasuarina and an initial decline and then increase of Poaceae. The presence of Asteraceae (Liguliflorae) in the pre-European period suggests that an important root vegetable Microseris lanceolata (Walp.) Sch.Bip. may have been abundant. Charcoal deposition was low in the pre-European period and significantly increased immediately after European arrival. Collectively, these changes suggest substantial ecological impacts following European settlement including cessation of Aboriginal traditions of fire management, a shift in hydrological conditions from open water lagoons to more ephemeral herb covered lagoons, and increased diversity of alien herbaceous species following pasture establishment.

Determinants of fire activity during the last 3500 yr at a wildland—urban interface, Alberta, Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma L. Davis ◽  
Colin J. Courtney Mustaphi ◽  
Amber Gall ◽  
Michael F.J. Pisaric ◽  
Jesse C. Vermaire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Fire Activity ◽  
Historical Range

AbstractLong-term records of wildfires and their controlling factors are important sources of information for informing land management practices. Here, dendrochronology and lake sediment analyses are used to develop a 3500-yr fire and vegetation history for a montane forest in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. The tree-ring record (AD 1771-2012) indicates that this region historically experienced a mixed-severity fire regime, and that effective fire suppression excluded widespread fire events from the study area during the 20th century. A sediment core collected from Little Trefoil Lake, located near the Jasper townsite, is analyzed for subfossil pollen and macroscopic charcoal (>150 μm). When comparing the tree-ring record to the 3500-yr record of sediment-derived fire events, only high-severity fires are represented in the charcoal record. Comparisons between the charcoal record and historical climate and pollen data indicate that climate and vegetation composition have been important controls on the fire regime for most of the last 3500 yr. Although fire frequency is presently within the historical range of variability, the fire return interval of the last 150 yr is longer than expected given modern climate and vegetation conditions, indicating that humans have become the main control on fire activity around Little Trefoil Lake.

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