Demographic Effects of Severe Fire in Montane Shrubland on Tasmania’s Central Plateau

Australian montane sclerophyll shrubland vegetation is widely considered to be resilient to infrequent severe fire, but this may not be the case in Tasmania. Here, we report on the vegetative and seedling regeneration response of a Tasmanian non-coniferous woody montane shrubland following a severe fire, which burned much of the Great Pine Tier in the Central Plateau Conservation Area during the 2018–2019 fire season when a historically anomalously large area was burned in central Tasmania. Our field survey of a representative area burned by severe crown fire revealed that more than 99% of the shrubland plants were top-killed, with only 5% of the burnt plants resprouting one year following the fire. Such a low resprouting rate means the resilience of the shrubland depends on seedling regeneration from aerial and soil seedbanks or colonization from plants outside the burned area. Woody species’ seedling densities were variable but generally low (25 m−2). The low number of resprouters, and reliance on seedlings for recovery, suggest the shrubland may not be as resilient to fire as mainland Australian montane shrubland, particularly given a warming climate and likely increase in fire frequency.

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A spatial and temporal assessment of fire regimes on different vegetation types using MODIS burnt area products

Bothalia ◽

10.4102/abc.v46i2.2148 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nokuphila L.S. Buthelezi ◽

Onisimo Mutanga ◽

Mathieu Rouget ◽

Mbulisi Sibanda

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Type ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Fire Season ◽

Burned Area ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Remotely Sensed Data ◽

Burnt Area ◽

Coastal Belt ◽

Kwazulu Natal

Background: The role of fire in maintaining grassland diversity has been widely recognised; however, its effect in KwaZulu-Natal grasslands is still rudimentary. In that regard, understanding fire regimes of different vegetation types in KwaZulu-Natal is a critical step towards the development of effective management strategies that are specific to each vegetation type. Objective: To assess the effect of different vegetation types on fire regimes in KwaZulu-Natal using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) burnt fire products. Method: Ten years of fire data for four different vegetation types (Ngongoni Veld, KwaZuluNatal Sandstone Sourveld, Eastern Valley Bushveld and KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt) were extracted from the MODIS products and used as a basis to establish three parameters: annual burnt areas, fire season and fire frequency. The total burnt area within each vegetation type over the 10-year period was quantified. Results: The KZN Sandstone Sourveld had a high-burnt area of 80% in 2009 with KwaZuluNatal Coastal Belt having the least burnt area of less than 5%. Ngongoni Veld and the KwaZuluNatal Sandstone Sourveld had the highest fire frequency, while the coastal region had low fire frequencies. Results showed high fire prevalence during the late period of the dry season (which extends from June to August) across all the vegetation types. Conclusion: This study underscores the potential of remotely sensed data (MODIS burned area products) in providing a comprehensive view of fire patterns in different vegetation types

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Understanding the Impact of Different Landscape-Level Fuel Management Strategies on Wildfire Hazard in Central Portugal

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050522 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 522

Author(s):

Akli Benali ◽

Ana C. L. Sá ◽

João Pinho ◽

Paulo M. Fernandes ◽

José M. C. Pereira

Keyword(s):

Management Strategies ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Fire Season ◽

Burned Area ◽

Treatment Area ◽

Fuel Treatment ◽

The North ◽

Wildfire Hazard ◽

Central Portugal ◽

The Impact

The extreme 2017 fire season in Portugal led to widespread recognition of the need for a paradigm shift in forest and wildfire management. We focused our study on Alvares, a parish in central Portugal located in a fire-prone area, which had 60% of its area burned in 2017. We evaluated how different fuel treatment strategies may reduce wildfire hazard in Alvares through (i) a fuel break network with different extents corresponding to different levels of priority and (ii) random fuel treatments resulting from a potential increase in stand-level management intensity. To assess this, we developed a stochastic wildfire simulation system (FUNC-SIM) that integrates uncertainties in fuel distribution over the landscape. If the landscape remains unchanged, Alvares will have large burn probabilities in the north, northeast and center-east areas of the parish that are very often associated with high fireline intensities. The different fuel treatment scenarios decreased burned area between 12.1–31.2%, resulting from 1–4.6% increases in the annual treatment area and reduced the likelihood of wildfires larger than 5000 ha by 10–40%. On average, simulated burned area decreased 0.22% per each ha treated, and cost-effectiveness decreased with increasing area treated. Overall, both fuel treatment strategies effectively reduced wildfire hazard and should be part of a larger, holistic and integrated plan to reduce the vulnerability of the Alvares parish to wildfires.

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Changes in the woody component of an East African savanna during 25 years

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467499001017 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 15 (5) ◽

pp. 545-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Claudius A. D. M. Van De Vijver ◽

Charles A. Foley ◽

Han Olff

Keyword(s):

Woody Species ◽

Original Data ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Tree Density ◽

Severe Drought ◽

East African ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Northern Tanzania ◽

Total Tree ◽

Large Decline

Changes in density, structure and species composition of the woody component of the two predominant savanna types in Tarangire National Park, northern Tanzania, during a period of 25 y were investigated. The park is known for its large, increasing elephant numbers and high frequency of fires. In 1996 a study on woody species density, composition and age structure, which was first performed in 1971, was repeated, using the same transects and method. Access to the original data of 1971 allowed for a full comparison of the changes and an investigation whether these could be related to changes in elephant numbers and fire frequency. The total tree density declined during the 25 y, but the decline was not evenly distributed over the different height classes. Although the density of trees taller than 5 m declined significantly, the greatest decline occurred in the density of trees shorter than 1 m. The density of trees in the intermediate height class of 1–5 m did not decline. Although damage to trees by elephants increased during the 25-y period, c. 25% showed no browse damage and, except for some severely damaged trees, elephant damage was not found to reduce tree vigour. Elephants affected the size distribution of the savanna woody component much more than the density, while the data suggest no significant effect of fire on changes in tree density. The large decline in density of small trees was attributed to a severe drought in 1993. Based on large numbers of elephants during the past decades and on relatively low elephant impact on the total tree density, the present study suggests that the current elephant number of 2300 can be sustained in the park without causing detrimental effects, provided that their current range is maintained.

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PERFIL DOS INCÊNDIOS FLORESTAIS NO BRASIL DE 1994 A 1997

FLORESTA ◽

10.5380/rf.v32i2.2287 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ronaldo Viana Soares ◽

Juliana Ferreira Santos

Keyword(s):

Forest Fire ◽

Vegetation Type ◽

Secondary Growth ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

Size Class ◽

Fire Season ◽

Burned Area ◽

Native Forest ◽

Fire Statistics ◽

Fire Control

O conhecimento do perfil dos incêndios florestais é muito importante para o planejamento do controle dos mesmos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer o perfil dos incêndios florestais no país através de dados coletados, em áreas protegidas, no período de 1994 a 1997, através de formulários preenchidos por empresas e instituições florestais. Foram registrados e informados 1.957 incêndios e apesar deste número não representar a totalidade dos incêndios ocorridos no período estudado, constituiu-se numa base confiável para se conhecer as principais características dos incêndios. Os resultados mostraram que a área média atingida por incêndio no período analisado foi de aproximadamente 135 ha, sendo Minas Gerais o estado líder, tanto em número de incêndios informados (62,7% do total) como em área queimada (25,2%). O grupo Incendiários foi a principal causa dos incêndios, com 56,6% das ocorrências, vindo a seguir as Queimas para limpeza com 22,1%. Com relação à área queimada o grupo Queimas para limpeza , com 74,1% da superfície atingida, foi a principal causa, ficando o grupo Incendiários em segundo lugar com 19,8%. A principal estação de incêndios no país se estende de julho a novembro, quando ocorreram 79,2% dos incêndios, correspondendo a 98,6% da área atingida. O maior número de incêndios (39,7% das ocorrências) foi registrado em Outro tipo de vegetação, que inclui cerrado, capoeira e campo. Com relação à área atingida, entretanto, 92,5% foi registrada em Florestas Nativas. Quanto à distribuição dos incêndios através das classes de tamanho, 23,9% foi enquadrado na classe I ( 0,1 ha). É importante ressaltar que quanto maior a eficiência no combate aos incêndios, maior é a concentração dos mesmos na classe I. Apesar de corresponder a apenas 2,4% das ocorrências, os incêndios da classe V ( 200,0 ha) foram responsáveis por 94,5% da área queimada. FOREST FIRE STATISTICS IN BRAZIL FROM 1994 TO 1997 Abstract Forest fire statistics knowledge is an important tool for fire control planning. The objective of this research was to collect information on forest fire occurrence in Brazilian protected areas in the period of 1994 to 1997. The analyzed variables were the number of fires and burned areas per state of the federation, monthly distribution, probable causes, affected vegetation, size class distribution, and average burned area per fire. Results showed that the average burned area per fire was approximately 135 ha and Minas Gerais ranked first, both in number of registered fires (62.7%) and burned surface (25.2%). Incendiary, with 56.6% of the occurrences was the leading cause, followed by debris burning with 22.1%. However, as for the affected area, Debris burning was the leading cause (74.1%), followed by Incendiary (19.8%). The fire season extends from July to November, when 79.2% of the fires occurred, corresponding to 98.6% of the burned surface. Miscellaneous, that includes savanna, secondary growth forest, and grassland were the most affected vegetation type (39.7% of the occurrences). In relation to the burned surface, Native Forest (92.5%) ranked first. The distribution of the registered fires through the size classes presented 23.9% of the occurrences in Class I ( 0.1 ha), whereas 94.5% of the burned area were result of Class V ( 200 ha) fires. Size Class II (0.1 to 4.0 ha), with 49.1% of the occurrences, ranked first in number of registered fires during the analyzed period.

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Estimates of biomass burning emissions in tropical Asia based on satellite-derived data

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-10-2335-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 2335-2351 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

D. Chang ◽

Y. Song

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Atmospheric Chemistry ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Fire Season ◽

Burned Area ◽

Published Data ◽

Tropical Asia ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Burned Areas ◽

In Fire

Abstract. Biomass burning in tropical Asia emits large amounts of trace gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere, which has significant implications for atmospheric chemistry and climatic change. In this study, emissions from open biomass burning over tropical Asia were evaluated during seven fire years from 2000 to 2006 (1 March 2000–31 February 2007). The size of the burned areas was estimated from newly published 1-km L3JRC and 500-m MODIS burned area products (MCD45A1). Available fuel loads and emission factors were assigned to each vegetation type in a GlobCover characterisation map, and fuel moisture content was taken into account when calculating combustion factors. Over the whole period, both burned areas and fire emissions showed clear spatial and seasonal variations. The size of the L3JRC burned areas ranged from 36 031 km2 in fire year 2005 to 52 303 km2 in 2001, and the MCD45A1 burned areas ranged from 54 790 km2 in fire year 2001 to 148 967 km2 in 2004. Comparisons of L3JRC and MCD45A1 burned areas using ground-based measurements and other satellite data were made in several major burning regions, and the results suggest that MCD45A1 generally performed better than L3JRC, although with a certain degree of underestimation in forest areas. The average annual L3JRC-based emissions were 123 (102–152), 12 (9–15), 1.0 (0.7–1.3), 1.9 (1.4–2.6), 0.11 (0.09–0.12), 0.89 (0.63–1.21), 0.043 (0.036–0.053), 0.021 (0.021–0.023), 0.41 (0.34–0.52), 3.4 (2.6–4.3), and 3.6 (2.8–4.7) Tg yr−1 for CO2, CO, CH4, NMHCs, NOx, NH3, SO2, BC, OC, PM2.5, and PM10, respectively, whereas MCD45A1-based emissions were 122 (108–144), 9.3 (7.7–11.7), 0.63 (0.46–0.86), 1.1 (0.8–1.6), 0.11 (0.10–0.13), 0.54 (0.38–0.76), 0.043 (0.038–0.051), 0.033 (0.032–0.037), 0.39 (0.34–0.47), 3.0 (2.6–3.7), and 3.3 (2.8–4.0) Tg yr−1. Forest burning was identified as the major source of the fire emissions due to its high carbon density. Although agricultural burning was the second highest contributor, it is possible that some crop residue combustion was missed by satellite observations. This possibility is supported by comparisons with previously published data, and this result may be due to the small size of the field crop residue burning. Fire emissions were mainly concentrated in Indonesia, India, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Furthermore, the peak in the size of the burned area was generally found in the early fire season, whereas the maximum fire emissions often occurred in the late fire season.

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Needle Senescence Affects Fire Behavior in Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) Stands: A Simulation Study

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11101054 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 1054 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rodrigo Balaguer-Romano ◽

Rubén Díaz-Sierra ◽

Javier Madrigal ◽

Jordi Voltas ◽

Víctor Resco de Dios

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Basin ◽

Fire Behavior ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Aleppo Pine ◽

Fire Season ◽

Burned Area ◽

Crown Fire ◽

Wind Speeds ◽

Western Mediterranean Basin ◽

Needle Senescence

Research Highlights: Pre-programmed cell death in old Aleppo pine needles leads to low moisture contents in the forest canopy in July, the time when fire activity nears its peak in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Here, we show, for the first time, that such needle senescence may increase fire behavior and thus is a potential mechanism explaining why the bulk of the annual burned area in the region occurs in early summer. Background and Objectives: The brunt of the fire season in the Western Mediterranean Basin occurs at the beginning of July, when live fuel moisture content is near its maximum. Here, we test whether a potential explanation to this conundrum lies in Aleppo pine needle senescence, a result of pre-programmed cell death in 3-years-old needles, which typically occurs in the weeks preceding the peak in the burned area. Our objective was to simulate the effects of needle senescence on fire behavior. Materials and Methods: We simulated the effects of needle senescence on canopy moisture and structure. Fire behavior was simulated across different phenological scenarios and for two highly contrasting Aleppo pine stand structures, a forest, and a shrubland. Wildfire behavior simulations were done with BehavePlus6 across a wide range of wind speeds and of dead fine surface fuel moistures. Results: The transition from surface to passive crown fire occurred at lower wind speeds under simulated needle senescence in the forest and in the shrubland. Transitions to active crown fire only occurred in the shrubland under needle senescence. Maximum fire intensity and severity were always recorded in the needle senescence scenario. Conclusions: Aleppo pine needle senescence may enhance the probability of crown fire development at the onset of the fire season, and it could partly explain the concentration of fire activity in early July in the Western Mediterranean Basin.

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Spatial and temporal variability in the ratio of trace gases emitted from biomass burning

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-11-3611-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 3611-3629 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

T. T. van Leeuwen ◽

G. R. van der Werf

Keyword(s):

Temporal Variability ◽

Field Measurement ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Trace Gases ◽

Measurement Techniques ◽

Arithmetic Mean ◽

Fire Season ◽

Burned Area ◽

Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽

Fire Emissions

Abstract. Fires are a major source of trace gases and aerosols to the atmosphere. The amount of biomass burned is becoming better known, most importantly due to improved burned area datasets and a better representation of fuel consumption. The spatial and temporal variability in the partitioning of biomass burned into emitted trace gases and aerosols, however, has received relatively little attention. To convert estimates of biomass burned to trace gas and aerosol emissions, most studies have used emission ratios (or emission factors (EFs)) based on the arithmetic mean of field measurement outcomes, stratified by biome. However, EFs vary substantially in time and space, even within a single biome. In addition, it is unknown whether the available field measurement locations provide a representative sample for the various biomes. Here we used the available body of EF literature in combination with satellite-derived information on vegetation characteristics and climatic conditions to better understand the spatio-temporal variability in EFs. While focusing on CO, CH4, and CO2, our findings are also applicable to other trace gases and aerosols. We explored relations between EFs and different measurements of environmental variables that may correlate with part of the variability in EFs (tree cover density, vegetation greenness, temperature, precipitation, and the length of the dry season). Although reasonable correlations were found for specific case studies, correlations based on the full suite of available measurements were lower and explained about 33%, 38%, 19%, and 34% of the variability for respectively CO, CH4, CO2, and the Modified Combustion Efficiency (MCE). This may be partly due to uncertainties in the environmental variables, differences in measurement techniques for EFs, assumptions on the ratio between flaming and smoldering combustion, and incomplete information on the location and timing of EF measurements. We derived new mean EFs, using the relative importance of each measurement location with regard to fire emissions. These weighted averages were relatively similar to the arithmetic mean. When using relations between the environmental variables and EFs to extrapolate to regional and global scales, we found substantial differences, with for savannas 13% and 22% higher CO and CH4 EFs than the arithmetic mean of the field studies, possibly linked to an underrepresentation of woodland fires in EF measurement locations. We argue that from a global modeling perspective, future measurement campaigns could be more beneficial if measurements are made over the full fire season, and if relations between ambient conditions and EFs receive more attention.

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Characterization of Fire Regime Descriptors in Botswana Using Remotely Sensed Data

Geospatial Intelligence ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-8054-6.ch043 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1034-1048

Author(s):

John Isaac Molefe

Keyword(s):

Inverse Relationship ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Burned Area ◽

Remotely Sensed Data ◽

Fire Activity ◽

Conditional Statements ◽

Fire Information ◽

Cluster Mapping

Despite its role and relevance in environmental management at all scales the use of fire has been contentious. The absence of information on fire parameters compounds the situation. This study derives fire parameter information for Botswana by analyzing MODIS fire data for (2001-2012), using conditional statements, and cluster mapping in ArcGIS. The study also related the fire information to other variables to examine how they interact with fire. The results of the study indicates that over the 12 year period the burned area has exhibited an upward trend. It has also shown that most of the fire in the country occur over the late dry season when the fires are potentially destructive. A south-north transect of fire frequency is observed, accompanied by an inverse relationship between frequency and intensity. Of all the factors, rainfall (0.638) and biomass(NDVI) (0.355) were the most significant contributors to the fire activity. The study demonstrated the utility of the MODIS fire data in characterizing the fire regime of the country and thus contribute to the policy process.

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Dynamic Changes of Soil Erosion in the Taohe River Basin Using the RUSLE Model and Google Earth Engine

Water ◽

10.3390/w12051293 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 1293 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hao Wang ◽

Hu Zhao

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

River Basin ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Yellow River ◽

Google Earth ◽

Large Area ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Rusle Model ◽

Google Earth Engine

The Taohe River Basin is the largest tributary and an important water conservation area in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. In order to investigate the status of soil erosion in this region, we conducted a research of soil erosion. In our study, several parameters of the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model are extracted by using Google Earth Engine. The soil erosion modulus of the Taohe River Basin was calculated based on multi-source data, and the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of the soil erosion intensity were analyzed. The results showed the following: (1) the average soil erosion modulus of the Taohe River Basin in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 were 1424, 1195, 1129, 1099 and 1124 t·ha−1·year−1, respectively, and the overall downward trend was obvious. (2) The ranges of soil erosion in the Taohe River Basin in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 are basically the same—mainly with slight erosion—and the soil erosion in the middle and lower reaches was more serious. (3) When dealing with the vegetation cover factor and conservation practice factor in the RUSLE model, Google Earth Engine provided a new approach for soil erosion investigation and monitoring over a large area.

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Flowering of Blandfordia grandiflora (Christmas bells) in response to fire frequency and temperature

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt20025 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 68 (6) ◽

pp. 449

Author(s):

Stephen J. Griffith ◽

Susan Rutherford

Keyword(s):

Survival Rates ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Perennial Herb ◽

Fire Season ◽

Frequency Effect ◽

High Survival ◽

Flowering Response ◽

Flowering Season ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Blandfordia Grandiflora

Blandfordia grandiflora (Blandfordiaceae) is a resprouting perennial herb in wet heathland of coastal and tableland habitats on mainland eastern Australia. It has attractive turbinate flowers of considerable horticultural value. Blandfordia grandiflora is reported to have an enhanced flowering response in the first post-fire flowering season, and management prescriptions advocate frequent fire as beneficial for the species. Nonetheless, the present study appears to be the first to document the flowering response and fate of individual plants exposed to a range of fire frequencies (3-, 6- and 9-year intervals) over an extended period. We also examined the flowering response in unburnt habitat. High survival rates (>95%) were observed for B. grandiflora plants in heathland that had remained unburnt for a minimum of 30 years. Flowering after experimental burns was found to peak in the second post-fire flowering season rather than the first, and there was no clear fire frequency effect. Maximum levels of flowering during the second post-fire season reached 38 to 56% of individuals, although in some years post-fire flowering during this peak season was as low as 23%. Comparatively few plants flowered during the second-year peak season after every fire, and ~34% of individuals in both the 6- and 9-year burn treatments failed to flower at any time. Inter-fire flowering was also observed, and in some instances this flowering was not significantly different to the level achieved during the peak post-fire flowering season. For example, ~9% of individuals flowered 5–7 times over a 12-year period despite being burnt on only four occasions. Flowering after vernalisation (winter-chilling) was observed in unburnt heathland, and the level of this response was not significantly different to peak post-fire flowering in some years. The findings are examined in the context of evolutionary and habitat processes within a climate change framework. Future studies should focus on the complex interactions between climate, fire and soil for not only B. grandiflora, but more importantly for the diverse assemblage of plant species in wet heathland.

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