Fire Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Lightning ignition efficiency in Canadian forests.","authors":"Sean C P Coogan, Alex J Cannon, Mike D Flannigan","doi":"10.1186/s42408-025-00376-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42408-025-00376-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Lightning-caused fires have a driving influence on Canadian forests, being responsible for approximately half of all wildfires and 90% of the area burned. We created a climatology (2000-2020) of daily lightning efficiency (i.e., the ratio of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes to lightning-caused wildfires that occurred) over the meteorological summer for four ecozones and a subset of British Columbia (BC) ecoprovinces. We estimated lightning efficiency using data from the Canadian Lightning Detection Network and the Canadian National Fire Database. We used the ERA5 reanalysis as inputs for fuel moisture variables (i.e., Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC), Duff Moisture Code (DMC), and Drought Code (DC)) from the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System, as well as variables relating to the amount of precipitation and lightning flashes. We examined relationships between lightning efficiency, day-of-year, and the above variables using a combination of linear models, Spearman's correlations, and Random Forest (RF) regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Lightning efficiency increased non-linearly (i.e., quadratic) over the summer in the Montane Cordillera Ecozone, and decreased linearly in the Boreal Plains and Boreal Shield West. Lightning efficiency in the Boreal Shield East showed a slight decline over the summer; however, this model was not significant. DMC and DC were more strongly correlated with lightning efficiency than FFMC in most zones. We ran RF regression both with and without DC (because of multicollinearity with day-of-year), and day-of-year, DMC, and DC (when present) were the most important variables for all ecozones, while results were more variable for the ecoprovinces.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Lightning efficiency, and, thus, the probability of a lightning strike igniting a wildfire, changes over the summer and varies by region. Therefore, models predicting lightning-caused fire occurrence, or other similar applications involving lightning ignition, may benefit by accounting for seasonal lightning efficiency in addition to the traditional fuel moisture variables. Our work is generally consistent with findings from more localized studies relating to lightning-caused fires.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42408-025-00376-1.</p>","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"21 1","pages":"34"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12104117/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144157632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Temporal and spatial pattern analysis of escaped prescribed fires in California from 1991 to 2020.","authors":"Shu Li, Janine A Baijnath-Rodino, Robert A York, Lenya N Quinn-Davidson, Tirtha Banerjee","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00342-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42408-024-00342-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prescribed fires play a critical role in reducing the intensity and severity of future wildfires by systematically and widely consuming accumulated vegetation fuel. While the current probability of prescribed fire escape in the United States stands very low, their consequential impact, particularly the large wildfires they cause, raises substantial concerns. The most direct way of understanding this trade-off between wildfire risk reduction and prescribed fire escapes is to explore patterns in the historical prescribed fire records. This study investigates the spatiotemporal patterns of escaped prescribed fires in California from 1991 to 2020, offering insights for resource managers in developing effective forest management and fuel treatment strategies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results reveal that the months close to the beginning and end of the wildfire season, namely May, June, September, and November, have the highest frequency of escaped fires. Under similar environmental conditions, areas with more records of prescribed fire implementation tend to experience fewer escapes. The findings revealed the vegetation types most susceptible to escaped prescribed fires. Areas with tree cover ranging from 20 to 60% exhibited the highest incidence of escapes compared to shrubs and grasslands. Among all the environmental conditions analyzed, wind speed stands out as the predominant factor that affects the risk of prescribed fire escaping.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings mark an initial step in identifying high-risk areas and periods for prescribed fire escapes. Understanding these patterns and the challenges of quantifying escape rates can inform more effective landscape management practices.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42408-024-00342-3.</p>","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"21 1","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11717834/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142970075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Wildfire risk perception survey: insights from local communities in Tuscany, Italy.","authors":"Silvia Calvani, Riccardo Paoloni, Cristiano Foderi, Niccolò Frassinelli, Judith A Kirschner, Alessio Menini, Glenda Galeotti, Francesco Neri, Enrico Marchi","doi":"10.1186/s42408-025-00380-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42408-025-00380-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Wildfire is a complex chemical, physical, and sociological phenomenon deeply rooted in the historical relationship between humans and fire. Today the wildfire risk is one of the human challenges. Effective management requires collaboration among multiple stakeholders across different levels. The risk perception and vulnerability at the local community level explain why and how individuals consider certain policies or mitigation behaviors. Thus, wildfire risk fits within the framework of socio-ecological systems.This study focused on four fire-prone areas in Tuscany, Italy, aiming to explore local wildfire risk perception. Risk perception is a social parameter, derived from media habits, memory, history, concerns, and beliefs. Two different surveys were used to consult two groups: experts (e.g., wildfire technicians, policymakers, business activities, and rural associations) and non-experts (e.g., random residents, students, and tourists), then compared to investigate possible gaps. Several questions were asked regarding demographics, relationship with the territory, current management system, relationship with fire and media, risk perception, and others.Results were compared according to the critical area or the type of respondents, and several analyses were conducted to identify weaknesses, strengths, and areas for improvement to raise awareness and lower the risk.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Findings revealed differences in perception, more between the two groups than across locations, highlighting gaps that need to be addressed. A general underestimation of risk, with an overall optimism, was found in the non-expert group, indicating the need for further qualitative research to understand these aspects better. The interviews suggest public action as the main component to implement change.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The paradigm shift toward prevention represents a core change and challenge. An exchange between scientific and local knowledge is desirable to address many gaps. We propose awareness raising as a possible starting point and to encourage collective actions in line with suggestions from the interviewees. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of response patterns can inform policy adjustments and resource allocation to enhance resilience and response effectiveness in future emergencies. Further research could aim to develop tools to promote a culture of fire and risk and deepen the analysis of risk perception in the most critical areas.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42408-025-00380-5.</p>","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"21 1","pages":"38"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12181119/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144474363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The influence of fire mosaics on mammal occurrence in north-western Australia","authors":"Harry A. Moore, Lesley A. Gibson, Dale G. Nimmo","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00317-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00317-4","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the relationship between fire and species habitat preferences is critical in an era of rapid environmental change. In northern Australia, large, intense, and frequent fires are thought to be a primary cause of mammal population declines, particularly through their influence on habitat suitability. Here, we used a large species presence database in combination with satellite-derived fire history data to assess the influence of fire attributes, including burn extent, frequency, and pyrodiversity, on the likelihood of occurrence of eight mammal species in north-west Western Australia. The likelihood of occurrence declined for some species with an increasing proportion of recently burnt habitat and increased for most species with an increasing proportion of long unburnt habitat. The occurrence of six species was negatively correlated with increasing fire frequency, while the occurrence of four species was positively correlated with increasing pyrodiversity. Our results indicate that fire likely plays an important role in influencing mammal occurrence in the Pilbara and support previous research indicating that frequent large-scale burns have a mostly negative impact on small to medium-sized mammals in northern Australia. To improve mammal habitat suitability, land managers should aim to reduce the extent of large late dry season burns and increase the availability of mature spinifex grasslands.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142266422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ultra-lightweight convolution-transformer network for early fire smoke detection","authors":"Shubhangi Chaturvedi, Chandravanshi Shubham Arun, Poornima Singh Thakur, Pritee Khanna, Aparajita Ojha","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00304-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00304-9","url":null,"abstract":"Forests are invaluable resources, and fire is a natural process that is considered an integral part of the forest ecosystem. Although fire offers several ecological benefits, its frequent occurrence in different parts of the world has raised concerns in the recent past. Covering millions of hectares of forest land, these fire incidents have resulted in the loss of human lives, wild habitats, civil infrastructure, and severe damage to the environment. Around 90% of wildland fires have been caused by humans intentionally or unintentionally. Early detection of fire close to human settlements and wildlife centuries can help mitigate fire hazards. Numerous artificial intelligence-based solutions have been proposed in the past decade that prioritize the detection of fire smoke, as it can be caught through remote sensing and provide an early sign of wildland fire. However, most of these methods are either computationally intensive or suffer from a high false alarm rate. In this paper, a lightweight deep neural network model is proposed for fire smoke detection in images captured by satellites or other remote sensing sources. With only 0.6 million parameters and 0.4 billion floating point operations per second, the hybrid network of convolutional and vision transformer blocks efficiently detects smoke in normal and foggy environmental conditions. It outperforms seven state-of-the-art methods on four datasets, including a self-collected dataset from the “Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer” satellite imagery. The model achieves an accuracy of more than 99% on three datasets and 93.90% on the fourth dataset. The t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding of extracted features by the proposed model demonstrates its superior feature learning capabilities. It is remarkable that even a tiny occurrence of smoke covering just 2% of the satellite image area is efficiently detected by the model. With low memory and computational demands, the proposed model works exceedingly well, making it suitable for deployment in resource constrained devices for forest surveillance and early fire smoke detection.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142266425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forest structural complexity and ignition pattern influence simulated prescribed fire effects","authors":"Sophie R. Bonner, Chad M. Hoffman, Rodman R. Linn, Wade T. Tinkham, Adam L. Atchley, Carolyn H. Sieg, J. Morgan Varner, Joseph J. O’Brien, J. Kevin Hiers","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00314-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00314-7","url":null,"abstract":"Forest structural characteristics, the burning environment, and the choice of ignition pattern each influence prescribed fire behaviors and resulting fire effects; however, few studies examine the influences and interactions of these factors. Understanding how interactions among these drivers can influence prescribed fire behavior and effects is crucial for executing prescribed fires that can safely and effectively meet management objectives. To analyze the interactions between the fuels complex and ignition patterns, we used FIRETEC, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics fire behavior model, to simulate fire behavior and effects across a range of horizontal and vertical forest structural complexities. For each forest structure, we then simulated three different prescribed fires each with a unique ignition pattern: strip-head, dot, and alternating dot. Forest structural complexity and ignition pattern affected the proportions of simulated crown scorch, consumption, and damage for prescribed fires in a dry, fire-prone ecosystem. Prescribed fires in forests with complex canopy structures resulted in increased crown consumption, scorch, and damage compared to less spatially complex forests. The choice of using a strip-head ignition pattern over either a dot or alternating-dot pattern increased the degree of crown foliage scorched and damaged, though did not affect the proportion of crown consumed. We found no evidence of an interaction between forest structural complexity and ignition pattern on canopy fuel consumption, scorch, or damage. We found that forest structure and ignition pattern, two powerful drivers of fire behavior that forest managers can readily account for or even manipulate, can be leveraged to influence fire behavior and the resultant fire effects of prescribed fire. These simulation findings have critical implications for how managers can plan and perform forest thinning and prescribed burn treatments to meet risk management or ecological objectives.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142201120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Estimating masticated and cone fuel loads using the Photoload method","authors":"Sharon M. Hood, Sarah J. Flanary, Christine M. Stalling","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00302-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00302-x","url":null,"abstract":"Recognizing the complexity and varied nature of forest fuelbeds is crucial in understanding fire behavior and effects on the landscape. While current modeling efforts often consider fine and coarse woody debris surface fuel loads, those options do not always provide the most complete description of the fuelbeds. Both masticated fuels and cones can be a significant part of the fuelbed, with the potential to influence fire behavior and effects, but they are not currently captured in planar intersect methods or Photoload fuel sampling methodology. Cones are prevalent in most forested conifer stands, while mastication is a type of fuel treatment used to compact fuelbeds by shredding or chipping small trees, shrubs, and down woody debris. The treatment creates nonuniform particle sizes that violate assumptions of the planar intersect method to estimate dead surface fuel loads. The Photoload method of fuel load estimation allows visual estimates of fuel loads by particle type and the flexibility to develop photosequences of new fuel types. We created Photoload mastication sequences for estimating loading of masticated fuels, as well as cone loading sequences. Our mastication photosequences were developed from Pinus ponderosa-Pseudotsuga menziesii forests in Montana, USA, but could be used to provide a relative estimate of load for any masticated material. The cones used for developing photosequences were gathered from several forest types in the Northern Rockies, USA. We created two masticated fuel photosequences—fine particles < 7.62 cm and coarse particles ≥ 7.62 cm in width and six cone photosequences—Larix occidentalis, P. ponderosa, Pinus monticola, Pinus flexilis, Picea engelmannii, and P. menziesii. The new mastication and cone loading photosequences can be used together with existing Photoload sequences to obtain total estimates of surface fuel loads. The 1-page sequences can be printed and used in the field to estimate these additional fuel type loads quickly and easily.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"94 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142201121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fire intensity effects on serotinous seed survival","authors":"Chika K. Tada, Ella S. Plumanns-Pouton, Trent D. Penman, Alexander I. Filkov","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00295-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00295-7","url":null,"abstract":"In fire-prone environments, some species store their seeds in canopy cones (serotiny), which provides seeds protection from the passage of fire before stimulating seed release. However, the capacity of serotinous cones to protect seeds under high intensity fire is uncertain. Beyond simply “high” versus “low” fire intensity or severity, we must understand the influence of the specific characteristics of fire intensity—heat flux, exposure duration, and their dynamics—on serotinous seed survival. In this study, we tested serotinous seed survival under transient levels of radiant heat to understand the distinct and combined impacts of radiative heat flux and duration of exposure on the survival of seeds from two serotinous obligate seeder species: yellow hakea (Hakea nodosa R.Br.) and heath-leaved banksia (Banksia ericifolia subsp. ericifolia). We found differing impacts of fire intensity treatments on seed survival. Static levels of radiative heat (17 kW/m2) at long durations (600 s) reduced seed survival by 75.7% for yellow hakea and 1.5% for heath-leaved banksia compared to the control. However, dynamic heat (a short 120-s period of 40 kW/m2 followed by a slow decline) with an identical total duration (600 s) did not have comparable reductions in seed survival. This is despite both treatments having comparable radiant exposure (10,200 kJ/m2 for the former and 10,236 kJ/m2 for the latter). Both species demonstrated remarkable capacity to withstand heat treatments, particularly dynamic fire intensity—both high (40 kW/m2) and low (19 kW/m2). While almost all fire exposure treatments reduced survival from the control, most seeds remained viable and germinated upon release. Our study highlights the importance of examining dynamic rather than static fire effects on vegetation, to accurately replicate the conditions of a fire front. Serotinous seeds demonstrate good capacity to tolerate intense fire. Nonetheless, the combined effects of high heat flux at prolonged durations reduces seed survival. We suggest overly prolonged passing fire fronts may cause seed death and are a risk to obligate seeder species that rely solely on seeds for persistence post-fire.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142201123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How bureaucracies interact with Indigenous Fire Stewardship (IFS): a conceptual framework","authors":"William Nikolakis, Russell Myers Ross, Victor Steffensen","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00303-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00303-w","url":null,"abstract":"Indigenous Fire Stewardship (IFS) is contested within settler-colonial contexts, where its development is shaped by complex and dynamic socio-cultural, legal, and political factors. This manuscript draws from the policy sciences to sketch out a “zone of interaction” between IFS and the state’s wildfire policy system. Drawing from the strategies of bureaucracies, our goal is to illustrate the patterns in this “zone of interaction,” and to identify the implications for IFS, as well as for Indigenous Peoples and landscapes. Drawing insights from the Australian and Canadian contexts where governments are restoring lands and reconciling with the laws and governance of Indigenous Peoples, we illustrate how IFS interacts with the state. We do this in two ways. Figure 1 shows that the state has three general strategies for dealing with IFS: avoidance (ignoring IFS), coping strategies (carefully considering and sometimes accommodating IFS), and learning (embracing and accommodating IFS). We document that post-wildfire, there are affective drivers that move the state’s approach from avoidance to learning; however, over time, as public attention shifts away from alternatives, the strategy moves back to either avoidance or coping strategies (where the state is required to engage with IFS, but cannot fully embrace it because of institutional, tenure, or jurisdictional issues, among other constraints). Figure 2 documents the six coping strategies available to bureaucracies in dealing with IFS, which either institutionalize, partially institutionalize, or do not institutionalize IFS. Each of these pathways has implications for IFS, and the manuscript details the effects on IFS practices, and the impacts for people and landscapes. To better support IFS, we must look beyond the institutionalization of IFS within the state, and nest IFS within Indigenous laws and governance. An Indigenous-led IFS approach can operate in parallel with the state, and develop innovative land-access arrangements and Tribal Parks to apply IFS to landscapes. New structures of engagement must be designed for this parallel space, grounded in the principle of free prior and informed consent (FPIC), and with explicit focus on deconstructing power differences.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142201122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Barriers and opportunities for implementing prescribed fire: lessons from managers in the mid-Atlantic region, United States","authors":"Erica A. H. Smithwick, Hong Wu, Kaitlyn Spangler, Mahsa Adib, Rui Wang, Cody Dems, Alan Taylor, Margot Kaye, Katherine Zipp, Peter Newman, Zachary D. Miller, Anthony Zhao","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00315-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00315-6","url":null,"abstract":"Prescribed burning is a beneficial fire management practice used by practitioners worldwide to meet multiple land management objectives, including reduction of wildfire hazard, promotion of biodiversity, and management of vegetation for wildlife and human interests. Meeting these objectives can be difficult due to the need for institutional coordination, resource and policy constraints, and community support. We examined these dynamics in the United States’ mid-Atlantic region because prescribed fire use is increasing in the region to meet a broadening set of land management objectives. Managers are at the frontlines of these challenges and hold significant experience and knowledge for enhancing wildland fire management policy and strategy. Towards better leveraging this insight, we conducted focus groups with fire managers in land management agencies in the region to identify managers’ perceived barriers and opportunities for implementing prescribed fire. We found manager perceptions to be hierarchical, with barriers and opportunities expressed across landscape, community, and individual levels. Limited institutional coordination across landscapes was seen by managers as an opportunity for expanding prescribed fire implementation, whereas coping with shared fear or stress about burning among individual managers or individual community members was seen as a significant barrier. Yet, despite different prescribed burning histories and policies at the state level, barriers and opportunities were similar among managers in the mid-Atlantic region. Managers in the mid-Atlantic region confront barriers to prescribed fire use but are also uniquely positioned to recognize opportunities to enhance its implementation. This work sheds light on these barriers and opportunities, revealing that managers desire greater opportunities for landscape-level fire planning and coordination across agencies as well as greater opportunities for community engagement and interpersonal trust-building within complex social-management networks. Manager perspectives from the mid-Atlantic provide lessons for other regions across the globe grappling with new or broadened land-management strategies that include beneficial fire use.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142201125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}