Fire Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Assessment of the surface forest fuel load in the Ukrainian Polissia","authors":"S. Sydorenko, V. Gumeniuk, F. De Miguel-Díez, O. Soshenskiy, I. Budzinskyi, V. Koren","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00265-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00265-z","url":null,"abstract":"There is a clearly increasing trend of wildfires that become catastrophic in some countries such as the United States, Australia, Russia, Portugal, Greece, and Spain. Fuel is one of the key components that influences fire behavior and its effects. Assessing the fuel load and distribution of its components in the landscape provides effective fire management treatments in terms of fire prevention campaigns on a scientific basis. This study aims to evaluate the litter, duff, and herb fuels in highly flammable coniferous forest types in Ukrainian Polissia. To estimate relationships between forestry variables that reflect the characteristics of the pine stand (DBH, height of the stand, age, relative density, stock of the plantation etc.) and the load of litter, duff, and herb fuels (CWD, FWD, litter, live grass, etc.), correlation analysis was used. To analyze difference between groups of sampling plots that have different forests, we use generalized linear mixed models including random effects of sampling plot type. Cluster analysis was performed using k-means partitioning method and Calinski-Harabasz criterion. To assess the significance of individual variables on which the variation of forest fuel depends, the random forest algorithm was used; for variable selection, we used two parameters: the percent increase in mean squared error and the Gini impurity index. The research revealed that in the pine forest stands, the stock of litter and duff varies from 15.5 (15 years) to 140 ton/ha (139 years). When modeling, the humidity level of the forest site (soil) significantly affects the dynamics of forest fuel accumulation. In fresh types of forest-growing conditions, the forest litter stock increases to the age of 80–90 years; then, it strongly decreases, while in wet forest types, continuous forest fuel stock accumulation is established during the entire growth period. Moreover, the results showed that the forest fuel load was influenced by the soil fertility. The stock of live and dead herbaceous fuel in fresh and wet conditions is not statistically different, and soil moisture has not had a significant impact. Fine woody debris stocks were more dependent on stand productivity and practically does not depend on the soil fertility index, site moisture content, and its age and ranged from 0.4 to 1.9 t/ha (1 h), from 0.1 to 2.2 t/ha (10 h), and from 0 to 1.6 t/ha (100 h). The obtained results enabled to develop mathematical models for estimating litter and duff stocks in the Polissia forest stands based on stand characteristic and the soil humidity level. Moreover, the results will serve as basis to develop local forest fuel models as well as to determine potential fire hazards and a fire behavior modeling process in coniferous forests of that region. These models constitute the basis for the national set of fuel model development for each nature zone of Ukraine.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"115 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140572090","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":"Wildfires alter stream ecosystem functioning through effects on leaf litter","authors":"Javier Pérez, Cecilia Brand, Alberto Alonso, Alaia Sarasa, Diana Rojo, Francisco Correa-Araneda, Luz Boyero","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00268-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00268-w","url":null,"abstract":"Wildfires have strong impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, whose frequency, severity, and intensity are increasing with climate change. Moreover, the expansion of exotic monoculture plantations, such as those of eucalypts, increases this risk. When wildfires do not cause the disappearance of riparian vegetation, they still imply the fall of leaf litter exposed to the fire (i.e., crown scorch), which consequences for ecosystems are unknown. To explore how these leaf litter inputs may affect stream ecosystem functioning, we conducted a microcosm experiment where we quantified the decomposition of leaf litter from three tree species (alder, oak, and eucalypt) under two conditions (control litter simulating natural entries and litter subjected to 150 °C for 3 h mimicking exposure to fire). We also examined the interaction between this factor and a temperature rise (which is often associated to the loss of riparian vegetation caused by the wildfire) by manipulating water temperature (10, 12.5, and 15 °C). Finally, we explored the effects of these variables on the growth of a common detritivore, the caddisfly Sericostoma pyrenaicum. Control alder presented the highest decomposition rates, which were notably reduced due to fire exposure. On the contrary, eucalypt litter decomposition was even slower than that of oak and hardly showed any effect derived from fire exposure. The different leaf litter types determined detritivore growth, to a greater extent than variation related to warming, which generally had negligible effects. Our study shows the negative effects of wildfires on stream ecosystem functioning even when they only involve brief exposure of leaf litter to the fire. Effects are greater on the most palatable native species, which represents the highest quality input in streams of the study area. Our results highlight the importance of protecting riparian forests, especially those composed of native species, against wildfires.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140603065","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":"Review of fuel treatment effects on fuels, fire behavior and ecological resilience in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in the Western U.S.","authors":"Jeanne C. Chambers, Eva K. Strand, Lisa M. Ellsworth, Claire M. Tortorelli, Alexandra K. Urza, Michele R. Crist, Richard F. Miller, Matthew C. Reeves, Karen C. Short, Claire L. Williams","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00260-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00260-4","url":null,"abstract":"Sagebrush ecosystems are experiencing increases in wildfire extent and severity. Most research on vegetation treatments that reduce fuels and fire risk has been short term (2–3 years) and focused on ecological responses. We review causes of altered fire regimes and summarize literature on the longer-term effects of treatments that modify (1) shrub fuels, (2) pinyon and juniper canopy fuels, and (3) fine herbaceous fuels. We describe treatment effects on fuels, fire behavior, ecological resilience, and resistance to invasive annual grasses. Our review revealed tradeoffs in woody fuel treatments between reducing canopy fuels vs. increasing understory herbaceous vegetation (fuels) and fire behavior. In pinyon-juniper expansion areas, all treatments decreased crown fire risk. Prescribed fire and cut and broadcast burn treatments reduced woody fuels long-term but had higher risk of invasion. Mechanical treatments left understory vegetation intact and increased native perennial plants. However, cut and leave treatments increased downed woody fuel and high-intensity wildfire risk, while cut and pile burn and mastication caused localized disturbances and annual grass invasion. Ecological outcomes depended on ecological resilience; sites with warm and dry conditions or depleted perennial native herbaceous species experienced lower recovery and resistance to invasive annual grasses. In invasive annual grass dominated areas, high-intensity targeted grazing reduced fine fuels but required retreatment or seeding; in intact ecosystems with relatively low shrub cover, dormant season targeted grazing reduced fine fuel and thus fire spread. Preemergent herbicides reduced annual grasses with differing effects in warm and dry vs. cool and moist environments. The information largely exists to make informed decisions on treatments to mitigate effects of wildfire and improve ecological resilience at local, project scales. Primary considerations are the short- vs long-term tradeoffs in fuels and fire behavior and thus fire severity and the likely ecological response.\u0000","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"128 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140312599","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":"Correction: Global impacts of fire regimes on wildland bird diversity","authors":"Fátima Arrogante‑Funes, Inmaculada Aguado, Emilio Chuvieco","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00269-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00269-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000<b>Correction: Fire Ecol 20, 25 (2024)</b>\u0000</p><p>\u0000<b>https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00259-x</b>\u0000</p><br/><p>After publication of the original article (Arrogante-Funes et al. 2024), it came to the authors’ attention that there was some missing information in the Acknowledgements and Funding information sections, which have been highlighted below in bold:</p><p>\u0000<b>Acknowledgements</b>\u0000</p><p>This research was conducted within the framework of Spanish National Project RTI2018 097538 B I00. In addition, Fátima Arrogante Funes was supported by a predoctoral scholarship (FPI) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PRE2019 089208). <b>The authors would like to thank the European project FirEurisk for its support, funded by the European Union. Grant agreement ID: 101003890</b>.</p><p>\u0000<b>Funding</b>\u0000</p><p>The Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades has supported this research (grant no. RTI2018 097538 B I00) (grant no. PRE2019 089208). <b>This research was supported by the FirEUrisk project, funded by the European Union (Grant agreement ID: 101003890).</b>\u0000</p><p>The original article has been updated\u0000</p><ul data-track-component=\"outbound reference\"><li><p>Arrogante-Funes, F., I. Aguado, and E. Chuvieco. 2024. Global impacts of fire regimes on wildland bird diversity. <i>Fire Ecol</i> 20: 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00259-x.</p><p>Article Google Scholar </p></li></ul><p>Download references<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" height=\"16\" role=\"img\" width=\"16\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon-eds-i-download-medium\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\"></use></svg></p><h3>Authors and Affiliations</h3><ol><li><p>Environmental Remote Sensing Research Group, Department of Geology, Geography and Environment, Universidad de Alcala, Colegios 2, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain</p><p>Fátima Arrogante‑Funes, Inmaculada Aguado & Emilio Chuvieco</p></li></ol><span>Authors</span><ol><li><span>Fátima Arrogante‑Funes</span>View author publications<p>You can also search for this author in <span>PubMed<span> </span>Google Scholar</span></p></li><li><span>Inmaculada Aguado</span>View author publications<p>You can also search for this author in <span>PubMed<span> </span>Google Scholar</span></p></li><li><span>Emilio Chuvieco</span>View author publications<p>You can also search for this author in <span>PubMed<span> </span>Google Scholar</span></p></li></ol><h3>Corresponding author</h3><p>Correspondence to Fátima Arrogante‑Funes.</p><p><b>Open Access</b> This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless ","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140202724","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 landowner values and perspectives of prescribed fire in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region of the United States","authors":"Arun Regmi, Jesse K. Kreye, Melissa M. Kreye","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00258-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00258-y","url":null,"abstract":"Fire is an important ecological process that shapes structures and compositions in many ecosystems worldwide. Changes in climate, land use, and long-term fire exclusion have altered historic fire regimes often leading to more intense and severe wildfires and loss of biodiversity. There is an increasing interest by resource managers to reintroduce fire in historically fire-dependent ecosystems while enhancing the provision of ecosystem services. Restoring fire, however, is complicated by a diverse mix of public and private land ownerships in regions like the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic US, where private lands make up the majority (~ 70%) but prescribed burning is less common. To help inform policies that promote prescribed burning on private lands, we conducted a regional survey of forest landowners regarding their perspectives and willingness to pay (WTP) for prescribed fire as a management tool. We also used spatial hotspot analysis to detect regional variations in landowner opinions. Respondents had limited knowledge and experience with burning overall, but many also perceived fire as a low-risk tool and were trusting of burning professionals. Most landowners (64%) expressed interest in a variety of prescribed fire programs to help achieve management outcomes. Preferred outcomes include protecting forest health, controlling invasive species, and wildlife habitat. Also significant in explaining landowner choices were economic (e.g., cost of burning), governance (e.g., state coordination, cost-share assistance, and access to consultants), and demographic factors. According to two models, the mean WTP for the prescribed fire was $10 ha−1 and $40 ha−1 ($4 ac−1 and $16 ac−1) but could be as high as $220 ha−1 ($89 ac−1) for specific outcomes and programs. Spatial analysis revealed a north–south gradient in landowner opinions across the region, with opinions about burning more positive in the south. Pennsylvania landowners were unique within our study in that they placed the highest economic value on prescribed fire, despite having limited knowledge and experience. There is significant support by landowners to use prescribed fire to achieve management objectives on private lands in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region. Pennsylvania landowners, in particular, were strongly motivated to use prescribed fire; however, knowledge and experience are severely limited. Education, technical support, financial assistance, and access to professionals will be important for helping landowners use prescribed fire to achieve management objectives.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"108 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140166784","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 regimes and management options in mixed grassland-fynbos vegetation, South Africa","authors":"Izak P. J. Smit, Johan A. Baard, Brian W. van Wilgen","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00262-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00262-2","url":null,"abstract":"Fire regimes in South African fynbos shrublands have been quantified in the western (winter rainfall) and central (aseasonal rainfall) parts. They have not been quantified at their eastern extremity (summer rainfall), where fynbos transitions to grassland and is embedded in other fire-resistant vegetation types. We assessed fire regimes at the eastern extremity of the fynbos biome and discussed the ecological and management implications of our findings. Using remote sensing, we assessed fires over 21 years in a 350,000-ha study area at the eastern edge of the fynbos biome. Only 9% of the study area burned, almost exclusively in mixed grassland-fynbos vegetation. The largest proportion (44% of the total area burnt) burnt in late winter and early spring, but fires occurred throughout the year. Fires only occurred in 39% of the mixed grassland-fynbos vegetation. Of the mixed grassland-fynbos vegetation that did burn, 44%, 11%, 26%, and 19% experienced one, two, three, and four fires, respectively. Areas with multiple fires had return intervals ranging from 3 to 15 years, with 76% of the area with multiple fires burning every 4 to 6 years. Most large fires were preceded by two relatively dry months, when fuels were drier and more flammable. The mixed grassland-fynbos vegetation at the eastern extremity of the fynbos biome is surrounded by fire-resistant vegetation and exhibits a varied fire regime, with different parts experiencing frequent, infrequent, or no fire over 21 years. Fires were largely aseasonal, occurring throughout the year, although data over more years may reveal that a greater proportion of fires will occur in winter, when grasses are cured and rainfall is low, as well as after relatively long (> 2 months) periods of below-average rainfall. As most fires would burn out safely against fire-resistant vegetation, we conclude that lightning-ignited fires should be allowed to spread unhindered to approximate a natural and heterogeneous fire regime, provided that no neighboring properties or infrastructure are threatened. The response of the biota to fires is not well understood for this transition area, and further research is needed.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"69 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140155037","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":"Branching out: species-specific canopy architecture limits live crown fuel consumption in Intermountain West USA conifers","authors":"Elliott T. Conrad, W. Matt Jolly, Tegan P. Brown, Samuel C. Hillman","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00261-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00261-3","url":null,"abstract":"Accurate estimates of available live crown fuel loads are critical for understanding potential wildland fire behavior. Existing crown fire behavior models assume that available crown fuels are limited to all tree foliage and half of the fine branches less than 6 mm in diameter (1 h fuel). They also assume that this relationship is independent of the branchwood moisture content. Despite their widespread use, these assumptions have never been tested, and our understanding of the physiochemical properties that govern live crown flammability and consumption remains limited. To test these assumptions, we sampled branches from 11 common Intermountain West USA conifers and determined the corrected available fuel estimates using physiochemical measurements, diameter subsize class distributions, and a bench-scale consumption experiment. Additional branches were air-dried to explore interaction between moisture content and consumption. Corrected available live crown fuel was compared to existing models across species and then used to determine potential differences in crown fire energy release. Across the 11 common conifers, distinct patterns of sub 1 h fuel distributions were strong predictors of whether the existing available live crown fuel models overestimated, approximately correctly estimated, or underestimated available live fuel. Fine branchwood distributions generally fell into three archetypes: fine skewed, normally distributed, and coarse skewed. Based on our corrected estimates, existing models overestimated the potential canopy energy by 34% for an average-sized western larch and underestimated it by 18.8% for western hemlock. The critical fine branchwood consumption diameter varied with species and moisture content. Larger proportions of fine branches were consumed as the branchwood dried, and nearly all the 1 h fuel was consumed when the branches were completely dry. These results suggest that available live canopy fuel load estimates should consider species and moisture content to accurately assess and map fuel loads across landscapes. This work has implications for forest and fire management in conifer-dominated forests throughout western North America, and in other similar forests worldwide.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140155012","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":"Spatial and temporal patterns and driving factors of forest fires based on an optimal parameter-based geographic detector in the Panxi region, Southwest China","authors":"Jia Liu, Yukuan Wang, Haiyan Guo, Yafeng Lu, Yuanxin Xu, Yu Sun, Weiwei Gan, Rui Sun, Zhengyang Li","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00257-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00257-z","url":null,"abstract":"The Panxi region in China is among the areas that are most severely impacted by forest fires. Despite this, there is currently a lack of comprehensive and systematic research on the spatial and temporal distribution patterns, as well as the drivers, of forest fires in the region. To reveal bio-geo-climatic and anthropogenic influences, this study investigated the temporal and spatial characteristics of forest fires and migration patterns of the center of gravity of forest fires in Panxi. A parametric optimal geographical detection model was utilized to quantify the influence of various individual factors and their combinations on the spatial patterns of forest fire occurrence in the whole Panxi region and sub-region, by analyzing the forest fire dataset from 2004 to 2020. From 2004 to 2020, the Panxi region experienced an upward trend in the number of forest fires and the area burned. However, the trends were not consistent over the entire period. Between 2004 and 2014, both the number of fires and the area burned showed fluctuations and an overall increase. In contrast, between 2015 and 2020, there was a significant decrease in the number of fires, while the area burned showed a continued upward trend. The study identified abrupt changes in the frequency of forest fires and burned areas, primarily in 2007 and 2016. Spatially, forest fires in Panxi exhibited a positive correlation and local clustering. The river valley basin and hilly regions displayed a higher incidence of forest fires, which were concentrated mainly along the hill edges. In the whole area of Panxi, climatic factors have a predominant influence on forest fire occurrences. Specifically, evaporation, maximum temperature, average temperature, number of days without rain, and minimum temperature demonstrated the strongest explanatory power. Furthermore, this relationship was found to be reinforced when combined with topographical, human activities, and vegetation factors. The spatial variation of drought within each sub-district has a stronger explanatory power for the distribution characteristics of forest fires in the region than at the Panxi-wide scale. The factor with the maximum interaction in most regions was the dual factor of rainfall and drought. The study’s findings validate the applicability of geographic probes for identifying the drivers of fire occurrence and enhance our understanding of the drivers and their combined effects on the spatial context of the fire-incident study area.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140155370","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":"Blanket bog vegetation response to wildfire and drainage suggests resilience to low severity, infrequent burning","authors":"Roxane Andersen, Paula Fernandez-Garcia, Alice Martin-Walker, Daniela Klein, Chris Marshall, David J. Large, Robert Hughes, Mark H. Hancock","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00256-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00256-0","url":null,"abstract":"In 2019, a wildfire impacted an area of blanket bog and wet heath > 60 km2 in the Flow Country peatlands of northern Scotland, a site of global significance. Unusually the footprint of the wildfire included discrete areas of degraded, restored, and near-natural blanket bogs. Following the wildfire, we surveyed vegetation in 387 quadrats in burnt and unburnt areas. The study aimed to determine whether and how proximity to human-made drains and microtopography affected fire-vegetation interactions and included older wildfire sites and unburnt control sites for context. Overall, our study suggests that the 2019 Flow Country wildfire caused mostly superficial burning; except in the most degraded area, which burned more severely and where we recorded more profound impacts on the vegetation. We found higher cover of litter, which in turn led to increased localized fire damage in quadrats close to drains compared with quadrats away from the influence of drains. We also found greater fire impacts (e.g., proportions of moss burnt and Sphagnum discoloration) on hummocks, particularly where they were higher relative to the hollows. Overall, vegetation both near and away from drains largely resembled nearby unburnt sites within 20 years. Overall, our study suggests that the 2019 Flow Country wildfire caused mostly superficial burning, except in the most degraded areas. Vegetation communities of blanket bogs associated with conservation and restoration areas in the region appear to be largely resilient to occasional, low severity wildfires. This implies that management interventions that maintain wet conditions in peatlands have the potential to help reduce the risks of severe wildfires.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140129835","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":"Global impacts of fire regimes on wildland bird diversity","authors":"Fátima Arrogante-Funes, Inmaculada Aguado, Emilio Chuvieco","doi":"10.1186/s42408-024-00259-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-024-00259-x","url":null,"abstract":"Fire is a natural disturbance that significantly impacts ecosystems and plays a crucial role in the distribution and preservation of biota worldwide. The effects of fires on bird diversity can be both positive, as they can create new habitats, and negative, as they can reduce nesting success. To fully understand the ecological implications of wildfires, we need to understand the spatial distribution of wildland bird diversity and fire regimes and how fire regimes affect wildland bird diversity ecosystems. Using data collected at a global scale, we examined effects of time-averaged fire regimes on the spatial diversity of wildland bird species. Initially, we used the MaxEnt algorithm to model the potential distribution of 1,115 wildland bird species over a 20-year period. We also processed satellite observations of burned areas (FIRECCI51) during the same period to estimate fire regime characteristics, including the average proportion of burnt vegetation, interannual variability in the burnt area, and fire intensity. Finally, the association between wild bird diversity and fire variables in each biome was determined through Spearman, Bonferroni, and Kruskal-Wallis statistics. Our findings revealed that (I) the most affected wildland bird communities are those found in tropical ecosystems, where the majority of fires occur; (II) high fire intensity values and a substantial proportion of burned vegetation have a positive impact on maintaining a diverse population of wildland birds in biomes characterized by savannah or grassland covers, as seen in temperate or tropical zones. Conversely, low fire intensity values and a smaller proportion of burned vegetation also promote greater diversity of wildland birds in boreal or temperate zones, and (III) in Mediterranean ecosystems, a clear association between wildland bird diversity and wildfires could not be established. This research could help identify areas that are ecologically vulnerable to wildfires. It could also be useful in guiding regional studies aligned with developing sustainable landscape management practices and conserving priority ecological zones in tropical ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":12273,"journal":{"name":"Fire Ecology","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140124541","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}