scholarly journals Wildfire Impact and the “Fire Paradox” in a Natural and Endemic Pine Forest Stand and Shrubland

Fire ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Arévalo ◽  
Agustín Naranjo-Cigala
Keyword(s):  
Canary Islands ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Nutrient Cycle ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Fire Occurrence

Fire is a powerful force that has shaped forests for thousands of years. It also provokes widespread social concern due to possible economic damage, social effects, impact on homes and properties, and other social effects including fatalities. Regions with seasonal variations in aridity have a fire regime dependent on climate resulting from the role of precipitation and temperature in fire occurrence, implying a synchrony of fire occurrence at regional scale. This spatial and temporal variation of fire regimes regulates the structure, diversity, regeneration dynamics, and nutrient cycle of an area. In the Canary Islands, fires are recurrent in pine forests, although their occurrence in the same area more than once within a 20-year period is rare. The main aim of this work is to reveal, over a 50-year period, fire occurrence and impact on the Canary Islands and how the islands are immersed in a “fire paradox”—a process typical of protected areas, where fire suppression becomes one of the main aims of forest management.

scholarly journals The origins of prescribed burning in Scandinavian forestry: the seminal role of Joel Wretlind in the management of fire-dependent forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Sarah Cogos ◽  
Samuel Roturier ◽  
Lars Östlund
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The State ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Forest Manager ◽  
Forest District

AbstractIn Sweden, prescribed burning was trialed as early as the 1890s for forest regeneration purposes. However, the origins of prescribed burning in Sweden are commonly attributed to Joel Efraim Wretlind, forest manager in the State Forest district of Malå, Västerbotten County, from 1920 to 1952. To more fully understand the role he played in the development of prescribed burning and the extent of his burning, we examined historical records from the State Forest Company’s archive and Wretlind’s personal archive. The data showed that at least 11,208 ha was burned through prescribed burning between 1921 and 1970, representing 18.7% of the Malå state-owned forest area. Wretlind thus created a new forestry-driven fire regime, reaching, during peak years, extents close to historical fire regimes before the fire suppression era, and much higher than present-day burning. His use of prescribed fire to regenerate forests served as a guide for many other forest managers, spreading to all of northern Sweden during the 1950–1960s. Our analysis of Wretlind’s latest accounts also shows how he stood against the evolutions of modern forestry to defend a forestry system based on the reproduction of natural processes, such as fire.

Fine-scale factors influence fire regimes in mixed-conifer forests on three high mountains in Mexico

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa L. Yocom ◽  
Peter Z. Fulé ◽  
Donald A. Falk ◽  
Celia García-Domínguez ◽  
Eladio Cornejo-Oviedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Conifer Forests ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Scale Factors ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forests

We investigated the influence of broad- v. fine-scale factors on fire in an unusual landscape suitable for distinguishing the drivers of fire synchrony. Our study was conducted in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, in north-eastern Mexico. We worked in nine sites on three parallel mountains that receive nearly identical broad-scale climatic influence, but between which fires are unlikely to spread. We collected and cross dated samples from 357 fire-scarred trees in nine sites in high-elevation mixed-conifer forests and identified fire dates. We used Jaccard similarity analysis to evaluate synchrony among sites and quantified relationships between climate and fire occurrence. Fires were historically frequent (mean fire interval ranged from 8 to 16 years in all sites) and dates of fire exclusion ranged from 1887 to 1962. We found low fire synchrony among the three mountains, indicating a strong influence of fine-scale factors on fire occurrence. Fire regime attributes were similar across mountains despite the independence of fire dates. La Niña events were associated with fire over time, although not significantly since the 1830s. Our results highlight the importance of scale in describing fire regimes and suggest that we can use fire history to understand controls on complex ecosystem processes and patterns.

Fire regimes and their correlates in the Darwin region of northern Australia

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen Price ◽  
Bryan Baker
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Generalized Linear Modelling

A nine year fire history for the Darwin region was created from Landsat imagery, and examined to describe the fire regime across the region. 43% of the region burned each year, and approximately one quarter of the fires occur in the late dry season, which is lower than most other studied areas. Freehold land, which covers 35% of the greater Darwin region, has 20% long-unburnt land. In contrast, most publicly owned and Aboriginal owned land has very high fire frequency (60-70% per year), and only 5% long unburnt. It seems that much of the Freehold land is managed for fire suppression, while the common land is burnt either to protect the Freehold or by pyromaniacs. Generalized Linear Modelling among a random sample of points revealed that fire frequency is higher among large blocks of savannah vegetation, and at greater distances from mangrove vegetation and roads. This suggests that various kinds of fire break can be used to manage fire in the region. The overall fire frequency in the Darwin region is probably too high and is having a negative impact on wildlife. However, the relatively low proportion of late dry season fires means the regime is probably not as bad as in some other regions. The management of fire is ad-hoc and strongly influenced by tenure. There needs to be a clear statement of regional fire targets and a strategy to achieve these. Continuation of the fire mapping is an essential component of achieving the targets.

Planned and unplanned fire regimes on public land in south-east Queensland

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martyn Eliott ◽  
Tom Lewis ◽  
Tyron Venn ◽  
Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Asset Protection ◽  
Occurrence Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Service State ◽  
Open Forests

Land management agencies in Queensland conduct planned burning for a variety of reasons, principally for management of fuels for human asset protection and biodiversity management. Using Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service’s archived manually derived fire reports, this study considered the individual components of the fire regime (extent, frequency and season) to determine variation between planned and unplanned fire regimes in south-east Queensland. Overall, between 2004 and 2015, planned fire accounted for 31.6% and unplanned fire 68.4% of all fire on Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service state-managed land. Unplanned fire was more common in spring (September–October), and planned fire was more common in winter (June–August). Unplanned fire affected 71.4% of open forests and woodlands (148563ha), whereas 58.8% of melaleuca communities (8016ha) and 66.6% of plantations (2442ha) were burnt with planned fire. Mapping fire history at a regional scale can be readily done with existing publicly available datasets, which can be used to inform the assessment of planned burning effectiveness for human asset protection and the management of biodiversity. Fire management will benefit from the continued recording of accurate fire occurrence data, which allows for detailed fire regime mapping and subsequent adaptive management of fire regimes in the public domain.

scholarly journals Quantifying pyrodiversity and its drivers

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1948) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary L. Steel ◽  
Brandon M. Collins ◽  
David B. Sapsis ◽  
Scott L. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Topographic Roughness ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Ecological Pattern

Pyrodiversity or variation in spatio-temporal fire patterns is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of ecological pattern and process, yet no consensus surrounds how best to quantify the phenomenon and its drivers remain largely untested. We present a generalizable functional diversity approach for measuring pyrodiversity, which incorporates multiple fire regime traits and can be applied across scales. Further, we tested the socioecological drivers of pyrodiversity among forests of the western United States. Largely mediated by burn activity, pyrodiversity was positively associated with actual evapotranspiration, climate water deficit, wilderness designation, elevation and topographic roughness but negatively with human population density. These results indicate pyrodiversity is highest in productive areas with pronounced annual dry periods and minimal fire suppression. This work can facilitate future pyrodiversity studies including whether and how it begets biodiversity among taxa, regions and fire regimes.

Global distribution and temporal patterns of fire on peatlands

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farina de Waard ◽  
Alexandra Barthelmes ◽  
Hans Joosten
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
North America ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Peat Fires ◽  
The Impact

<p>Peatland ecosystems provide critical ecosystem-services such as water and carbon storage and harbor unique biodiversity. Once ignited, peat fires may burn uncontrollably for weeks or months resulting in rapid ecosystem degradation and excessive CO<sub>2</sub>- Emissions. Despite the impact of peat fires on ecosystem services and climate, peatland fire regimes remain poorly characterized for many parts of the world. Here we investigate the global occurrence of peatland fires over the last two decades.</p><p>We estimate the global extent of peatland fires from 2009 to 2018 and identify drivers of variability and trends using a global peatland map (Global Peatland Database /Greifswald Mire Centre 2019), active fire detections from the Moderate Resolution imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and several fire regime and climate anomaly-datasets. The data were used to delineate 14 ‘Peatland Fire Regions’ (PFR).</p><p>Our results indicate that between 2009 and 2018 globally 553,950 km² of peatland have been affected by fire (7.88 % of the global peatland area), whereas patterns and trends are widely differing. The extent of fire-affected area in the PFRs of Boreal North America and Boreal Eurasia both exceeded 80,000 km², which for both areas accounts for ~3.5 % of the peatland area. In the same time, over 120,000 km² were affected in both Central Asia and Equatorial Asia, i.e. ~23 % of their respective peatland area.</p><p>Northern peatlands are rather subject to natural fires and fire incidence is mostly driven by climate anomalies like droughts. Large peaks in fire occurrence in Boreal North America and Boreal Eurasia were correlated with higher temperatures and less rain. The strong linkage of inter-annual fire variability to temperature anomalies suggests that in these regions fire frequency and intensity may increase in future.</p><p>In tropical regions, particularly those of Africa and Asia, peatland fires tended to occur on degraded peatlands and fires occurred often multiple times on the same site during our study period. While inter-annual variability in fire occurrence was strongly determined by climate, the long term trends in these regions are dominated by human land management. In Africa the fire affected peatland area was rather constant over the years and fires had the highest return frequency, which reflects the widespread culture of burning in land reclamation and agriculture.</p><p>Southern/Equatorial Asia and to some extent South America showed peaks correlated with ENSO associated drought events, leading to the largest fire-affected peatland area in just one year in the Equatorial Asia region of 50,900 km² (in 2015).</p>

scholarly journals Humans take control of fire-driven diversity changes in Mediterranean Iberia’s vegetation during the mid–late Holocene

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 886-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon E Connor ◽  
Boris Vannière ◽  
Daniele Colombaroli ◽  
R Scott Anderson ◽  
José S Carrión ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regime ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Regime Shifts ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Vegetation Diversity ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Regime Changes

Fire regime changes are considered a major threat to future biodiversity in the Mediterranean Basin. Such predictions remain uncertain, given that fire regime changes and their ecological impacts occur over timescales that are too long for direct observation. Here we analyse centennial- and millennial-scale shifts in fire regimes and compositional turnover to track the consequences of fire regime shifts on Mediterranean vegetation diversity. We estimated rate-of-change, richness and compositional turnover (beta diversity) in 13 selected high-resolution palaeoecological records from Mediterranean Iberia and compared these with charcoal-inferred fire regime changes. Event sequence analysis showed fire regime shifts to be significantly temporally associated with compositional turnover, particularly during the last three millennia. We find that the timing and direction of fire and diversity change in Mediterranean Iberia are best explained by long-term human–environment interactions dating back perhaps 7500 years. Evidence suggests that Neolithic burning propagated a first wave of increasing vegetation openness and promoted woodland diversity around early farming settlements. Landscape transformation intensified around 5500 to 5000 cal. yr BP and accelerated during the last two millennia, as fire led to permanent transitions in ecosystem state. These fire episodes increased open vegetation diversity, decreased woodland diversity and significantly altered richness on a regional scale. Our study suggests that anthropogenic fires played a primary role in diversity changes in Mediterranean Iberia. Their millennia-long legacy in today’s vegetation should be considered for biodiversity conservation and landscape management.

Fire regimes of western larch – lodgepole pine forests in Glacier National Park, Montana

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1711-1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Barrett ◽  
Stephen F. Arno ◽  
Carl H. Key
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
Western Larch ◽  
The North ◽  
North Fork

We conducted a detailed investigation of fire frequencies, patterns of fire spread, and the effects of fire on tree succession in the western larch – lodgepole pine (Larixoccidentalis – Pinuscontorta var. latifolia) forests west of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana. Master fire chronologies for 1650 to the present were constructed based on tree fire scars and fire-initiated age-classes. Two kinds of primeval fire regimes were identified: (i) a mixed-severity regime ranging from nonlethal underburns to stand-replacing fires at mean intervals of 25–75 years and (ii) a regime of infrequent stand-replacing fires at mean intervals of 140–340 years. The former regime is characteristic of the North Fork Flathead valley and appears to be linked to a relatively dry climate and gentler topography compared with the McDonald Creek – Apgar Mountains and Middle Fork Flathead areas, where the latter fire regime predominates. Fire frequency in the entire North Fork study area was 20 fire years per century prior to 1935 and 2 per century after 1935. In the other two study areas it was 3–5 per century both before and after 1935. We suggest that fire suppression has altered the primeval fire regime in the North Fork, but not in the central and southern areas.

Large fires, fire effects and the fire-regime concept

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 688 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Malcolm Gill ◽  
Grant Allan
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Spatial Variables ◽  
Historical Series ◽  
Large Fires

‘Large’ fires may be declared so because of their absolute or relative area. Huge fires – with areas of more than 106 ha (104 km2) have occurred across a wide spectrum of Australian environments and are known on other continents. Such large fires are rare whereas fires with much smaller areas are common. Large fires are initiated by single or multiple ignitions and become large because of some combination of: rapid rates of spread; long ‘life’; merging, and failure of initial suppression operations. Fires as ecological ‘events’ occur within a ‘regime’ – an historical series. Both events and regimes have effects that may be discerned in terms of water, land, air or organisms. What have been regarded as the components of ‘regimes’ have differed between observers, the main issue being whether or not spatial variables need to be included; ‘area’ involvement is briefly addressed. The current trend toward fire-regime control through fuel treatment, including management (prescribed) burning, and fire suppression may be expected to continue. These trends, among others, can be expected to change fire regimes. What is regarded as ‘large’ among fires may change as the planet becomes increasingly human-dominated.

Stratigraphic Charcoal Analysis on Petrographic Thin Sections: Application to Fire History in Northwestern Minnesota

1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Charcoal Analysis ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Good Correspondence ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Fire Scar

Results of stratigraphic charcoal analysis from thin sections of varved lake sediments have been compared with fire scars on red pine trees in northwestern Minnesota to determine if charcoal data accurately reflect fire regimes. Pollen and opaque-spherule analyses were completed from a short core to confirm that laminations were annual over the last 350 yr. A good correspondence was found between fossil-charcoal and fire-scar data. Individual fires could be identified as specific peaks in the charcoal curves, and times of reduced fire frequency were reflected in the charcoal data. Charcoal was absent during the fire-suppression era from 1920 A.D. to the present. Distinct charcoal maxima from 1864 to 1920 occurred at times of fire within the lake catchment. Fire was less frequent during the 19th century, and charcoal was substantially less abundant. Fire was frequent from 1760 to 1815, and charcoal was abundant continuously. Fire scars and fossil charcoal indicate that fires did not occur during 1730–1750 and 1670–1700. Several fires occurred from 1640 to 1670 and 1700 to 1730. Charcoal counted from pollen preparations in the area generally do not show this changing fire regime. Simulated “sampling” of the thin-section data in a fashion comparable to pollen-slide methods suggests that sampling alone is not sufficient to account for differences between the two methods. Integrating annual charcoal values in this fashion still produced much higher resolution than the pollen-slide method, and the postfire suppression decline of charcoal characteristic of my method (but not of pollen slides) is still evident. Consideration of the differences in size of fragments counted by the two methods is necessary to explain charcoal representation in lake sediments.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document