Articles

Making a World of Difference in Fire and Climate Change

Together with other stressors, interactions between fire and climate change are expressing their potential to drive ecosystem shifts and losses in biodiversity. Closely linked to human well-being in most regio...

Authors: Mary R. Huffman

Historical Pyrogeography of Texas, USA

Synthesis of multiple sources of fire history information increases the power and reliability of fire regime characterization. Fire regime characterization is critical for assessing fire risk, identifying clim...

Authors: Michael C. Stambaugh, Jeffrey C. Sparks and E. R. Abadir

Vegetation Response after Post-Fire Mulching and Native Grass Seeding

Post-fire mulch and seeding treatments, often applied on steep, severely burned slopes immediately after large wildfires, are meant to reduce the potential of erosion and establishment of invasive plants, espe...

Authors: Penelope Morgan, Marshell Moy, Christine A. Droske, Leigh B. Lentile, Sarah A. Lewis, Peter R. Robichaud and Andrew T. Hudak

Vegetation Recovery and Fuel Reduction after Seasonal Burning of Western Juniper

The decrease in fire activity has been recognized as a main cause of expansion of North American woodlands. Piñon-juniper habitat in the western United States has expanded in area nearly 10-fold since the late...

Authors: Jonathan D. Bates, Rory O’Connor and Kirk W. Davies

Quaking Aspen Regeneration Following Prescribed Fire in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA

Prescribed fire is commonly used for restoration, but the effects of reintroducing fire following a century of fire exclusion are unknown in many ecosystems. We assessed the effects of three prescribed fires, ...

Authors: Ellis Q. Margolis and Calvin A. Farris

Student Wildland Fire Groups: Common Challenges and Shared Solutions

Student fire groups, collegiate-level groups explicitly organized around topics related to wildland fire, are widespread across the country. Student fire groups are at times participants in wildland fire-orien...

Authors: Daniel S. Godwin and Jena Ferrarese

A Comparison of Rangeland Monitoring Techniques for Modeling Herbaceous Fuels and Forage in Central Arizona, USA

While fire and rangeland managers frequently have different land management roles and objectives, their data needs with regards to herbaceous biomass (fuel loads and forage) often overlap, and can be served wi...

Authors: Edward C. Rhodes, Doug R. Tolleson, Jay P. Angerer, John A. Kava, Judith Dyess and Tessa Nicolet

Modeling Climate-Fire Connections within the Great Basin and Upper Colorado River Basin, Western United States

The specific temporal patterns of antecedent conditions associated with fire occurrence in the Great Basin and Upper Colorado River Basin are poorly understood. Using 25 years of combined fire and climate data...

Authors: James D. Arnold, Simon C. Brewer and Philip E. Dennison

Changes in Severity Distribution after Subsequent Fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA

Understanding the distribution of fire severity patches across a landscape is of critical importance to managers and researchers. Of particular interest are those areas that burn multiple times. Understanding ...

Authors: Valentijn Hoff, Casey C. Teske, James P. Riddering, Lloyd P. Queen, Eric G. Gdula and Windy A. Bunn

Characteristics of Burns Conducted under Modified Prescriptions to Mitigate Limited Fuels in a Semi-Arid Grassland

In semi-arid grasslands of the North American Great Plains, fire has traditionally been viewed as having few management applications, and quantitative measurements of fire behavior in the low fuel loads charac...

Authors: David J. Augustine, Justin D. Derner and David P. Smith

Modeling Wildfire Spread in Mountain Pine Beetle-Affected Forest Stands, British Columbia, Canada

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins; MPB) has killed lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) across 20 million hectares of central British Columbia, Canada, since the late 1990s, ch...

Authors: Daniel D. B. Perrakis, Rick A. Lanoville, Stephen W. Taylor and Dana Hicks

Barriers to Understanding the Influence of Use of Fire by Aborigines on Vegetation

Authors: Omer C. Stewart

Introduction to Omer C. Stewart’s Article

Authors: M. Kat Anderson

Fire on Earth: An Introduction. 2014. By A.C. Scott, D.M.J.S. Bowman, W.J. Bond, S. J. Pyne, and M.E. Alexander. Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. 434 pages. Paperback, US$89.95; hardcover, US$149.95. ISBN 978-1-119-95356-2

Authors: Leda N. Kobziar

Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems: Ecology, Evolution and Management. 2012. By J.E. Keeley, W.J. Bond, R.A. Bradstock, J.G. Pausas, and P.W. Rundel. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom. 515 pages. Hardback. US$127. ISBN 978-0-521-82491-0

Authors: David L. Peterson

Vegetation Fires and Global Change. 2013. By Johann G. Goldammer and 58 contributing authors. Kessel Publishing House, Remagen-Oberwinter, Germany. 398 pages. Soft-cover. |US$48 (€35). ISBN 978-3-941300-78-1

Authors: David L. Peterson

Intercomparison of Fire Size, Fuel Loading, Fuel Consumption, and Smoke Emissions Estimates on the 2006 Tripod Fire, Washington, USA

Land managers rely on prescribed burning and naturally ignited wildfires for ecosystem management, and must balance trade-offs of air quality, carbon storage, and ecosystem health. A current challenge for land...

Authors: Stacy A. Drury, Narasimhan Sim Larkin, Tara T. Strand, ShihMing Huang, Scott J. Strenfel, Erin M. Banwell, Theresa E. O’Brien and Sean M. Raffuse

Survival and Recovery Following Wildfire in the Southern Range of the Coast Redwood Forest

Fire plays a central role in determining structure, composition, and recruitment in many forest types. In coast redwood forests, the role of fire is not well understood and scant literature exists on post-fire...

Authors: Rachel Lazzeri-Aerts and Will Russell

Post-Fire Seeding in Western United States Forests: Perspectives of Resource Managers

Recent reviews have brought into question the effectiveness of post-fire seeding in mitigating soil erosion and non-native plant invasions, yet millions of dollars continue to be spent annually on post-fire se...

Authors: Donna L. Peppin, Anne L. Mottek-Lucas and Peter Z. Fulé

Northern Rockies Pyrogeography: an Example of Fire Atlas Utility

We demonstrated the utility of digital fire atlases by analyzing forest fire extent across cold, dry, and mesic forests, within and outside federally designated wilderness areas during three different fire man...

Authors: Penelope Morgan, Emily K. Heyerdahl, Carol Miller, Aaron M. Wilson and Carly E. Gibson

Fire as an Ecological and Silvicultural Factor in the Ponderosa Pine Region of the Pacific Slope

This article presents evidence in support of the author’s belief that complete prevention of forest fires in the ponderosa pine region of the Pacific Slope¹ has certain undesirable ecological and silvicultural ef...

Authors: Harold Weaver and Arthur A. Brown

Introduction to H. Weaver’s Article

Authors: Jan W. van Wagtendonk

Prescribed Burning in Fire-Prone Landscapes. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Online Issue Number 1, Volume 11, August 2013. Ecological Society of America, Washington, D.C., USA. http://www.esajournals.org/toc/fron/11/s1

Authors: C. Alina Cansler and Andrew J. Larson

Fire Effects on Basal Area, Tiller Production, and Mortality of the C₄ Bunchgrass, Purple Threeawn

Fire behavior associated with wild and prescribed fires is variable, but plays a vital role in how a plant responds to fire. Understanding the relationship between fire behavior and rangeland plant community r...

Authors: Dustin J. Strong, Amy C. Ganguli and Lance T. Vermeire

Seasonal Variation in Flammability Characteristics of Quercus marilandica and Quercus stellata Leaf Litter Burned in the Laboratory

Historically, the Cross Timbers forest of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas burned frequently. Fire managers in the region often have varied success when conducting prescribed fires, with one hypothesis being that f...

Authors: John R. Weir and Ryan F. Limb

Short-Term Effects of Repeated Wildfires in Oak-Juniper Woodlands

Fire can shape both the structure and composition of vegetation communities, especially those dominated by species with different regeneration strategies. The dominant species of oak-juniper communities in cen...

Authors: Charlotte M. Reemts and Laura L. Hansen

Unauthorized Firesetting as Socioecological Disturbance: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Incendiary Wildfires in Georgia, USA, 1987–2010

I analyzed the spatiotemporal patterning of intentional, unauthorized landscape fires in the state of Georgia, USA, for the years 1987 through 2010 with the aim of delineating socioecological constraints on an...

Authors: Michael R. Coughlan

Foliar Consumption across a Sudden Oak Death Chronosequence in Laboratory Fires

The recent introduction and spread of sudden oak death (SOD; caused by Phytopthora ramorum) has caused heavy mortality in native tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus [Hook. & Arn.] Manos et al. = Lithocarpus dens...

Authors: Howard Kuljian and J. Morgan Varner

Lepidoptera Pest Species Response to Mid-Summer Fire

In the American Midwest, summer fires are infrequent, and there is little information on their impact on ecosystems. After an accidental wildfire in a 20 ha grassland restoration, new growth provided effective...

Authors: T. R. Evans, C. J. M. Musters, E. D. Cashatt and G. R. de Snoo

Human Fires and Wildfires on Sydney Sandstones: History Informs Management

There is a concept in fire ecology that some natural (pre-European) fire regimes were dominated by infrequent high intensity fires ignited by lightning. In Australia, some ecologists extend this to most or all...

Authors: Vic Jurskis and Roger Underwood

Is the Longleaf Type a Climax?

Authors: H. H. Chapman

Introduction to H.H. Chapman’s Article

Authors: Brian P. Oswald

Ignition Stories: Indigenous Fire Ecology in the Indo-Australian Monsoon Zone. 2013. By Cynthia Fowler. Carolina Academic Press, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 274 pages. Paper. US$38. ISBN 978-1-61163-115-9

Authors: Don L. Hankins

Contrasting Fire Regimes in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest and a Savanna Ecosystem in the Western Ghats, India

Tropical dry forests and savannas constitute more than half of all tropical forests and grasslands, but little is known about forest fire regimes within these two extensive types of ecosystems. Forest fire reg...

Authors: Narendran Kodandapani

The LANDFIRE Refresh Strategy: Updating the National Dataset

The LANDFIRE Program provides comprehensive vegetation and fuel datasets for the entire United States. As with many large-scale ecological datasets, vegetation and landscape conditions must be updated periodic...

Authors: Kurtis J. Nelson, Joel Connot, Birgit Peterson and Charley Martin

Potential Effects of Disturbance Types and Environmental Variability on Sagebrush-Steppe Community Dynamics

While fire is widely recognized as an important factor shaping sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems, little is known about the role other natural events play in these systems. Using a state-and-transition modeli...

Authors: Louisa B. Evers, Richard F. Miller and Paul S. Doescher

The Influence of Fire on the Radiocarbon Signature and Character of Soil Organic Matter in the Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, USA

Forest fires contribute a significant amount of CO₂ to the atmosphere each year, and CO₂ emissions from fires are likely to increase under projected conditions of global climate change. In addition to volatilizin...

Authors: Katherine Heckman, John Campbell, Heath Powers, Beverly Law and Chris Swanston

Creating Hotter Fires in the Sonoran Desert: Buffelgrass Produces Copious Fuels and High Fire Temperatures

Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare [L.] Link) can create a grass-fire cycle in many parts of the world because it is a highly competitive, fire-tolerant grass and can replace less fire-tolerant native plants. Fuel l...

Authors: Christopher J. McDonald and Guy R. McPherson

Opportunities for Improved Fire Use and Management in California: Lessons from Western Australia

As the large scale of fuel treatments needed to promote ecosystem health and reduce heavy fuel loads becomes clear in California’s mixed conifer forests, managers are beginning to focus on how to scale up pres...

Authors: Rick J. Sneeuwjagt, Tim S. Kline and Scott L. Stephens

The Disappearance of the Tropical Forests of Africa

Authors: André Marie A. Aubréville

Introduction to A.M.A. Aubréville’s Article

Authors: Mark A. Cochrane

Smoldering Combustion and Ground Fires: Ecological Effects and Multi-Scale Significance

Although fires in wetlands would seem to be rare or impossible by definition, these ecosystems do occasionally experience fire. A common feature of fires in wetlands is smoldering combustion in organic soils, ...

Authors: Adam C. Watts and Leda N. Kobziar

Evaluating Methods to Restore Amphibian Habitat in Fire-Suppressed Pine Flatwoods Wetlands

Although fire is recognized as an important disturbance in longleaf pine uplands of the southeastern US, less is known about the importance of fire or other disturbances in the wetlands embedded within this ec...

Authors: Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas and John G. Himes

Foraging Wading Bird (Ciconiiformes) Attraction to Prescribed Burns in an Oligotrophic Wetland

Many wetland communities are fire prone or fire dependent, especially those dominated by forbs and grasses. Despite our considerable knowledge about fire effects on wildlife in uplands, there is a relative pau...

Authors: Louise S. Venne and Peter C. Frederick

Dynamics of Mangrove-Marsh Ecotones in Subtropical Coastal Wetlands: Fire, Sea-Level Rise, and Water Levels

Ecotones are areas of sharp environmental gradients between two or more homogeneous vegetation types. They are a dynamic aspect of all landscapes and are also responsive to climate change. Shifts in the positi...

Authors: Thomas J. Smith III, Ann M. Foster, Ginger Tiling-Range and John W. Jones

Multi-Year Salutary Effects of Windstorm and Fire on River Cane

Canebrakes are monodominant stands of cane (Arundinaria gigantea [Walter] Muhl.), a bamboo native to and once prominent in the southeastern USA. Canebrakes were important wildlife habitat within the bottomland ha...

Authors: Paul R. Gagnon, Heather A. Passmore and William J. Platt

Tree Island Response to Fire and Flooding in the Short-Hydroperiod Marl Prairie Grasslands of the Florida Everglades, USA

Within the marl prairie grasslands of the Florida Everglades, USA, the combined effects of fire and flooding usually lead to very significant changes in tree island structure and composition. Depending on fire...

Authors: Pablo L. Ruiz, Jay P. Sah, Michael S. Ross and Adam A. Spitzig

Impacts of Fire on Microbial Carbon Cycling in Subtropical Wetlands

Fire is a major determinant of the global carbon (C) balance. While it is known that C is lost through organic matter combustion, the effect fire has on soil C biogeochemistry is unclear. Studies investigating...

Authors: Cassandra A. Medvedeff, Kanika S. Inglett, Leda N. Kobziar and Patrick W. Inglett

Fire Effects on Nitrogen Cycling in Native and Restored Calcareous Wetlands

Fire is an important natural process and management tool in the Florida Everglades, but few studies have examined its effects on nutrients; nitrogen (N) in particular has received little attention across the w...

Authors: Xiaolin Liao, Patrick W. Inglett and Kanika S. Inglett

Fire and Water: New Perspectives on Fire’s Role in Shaping Wetland Ecosystems

This special issue of Fire Ecology is dedicated to furthering scientific understanding of the role fire plays in the development and functioning of wetland ecosystems. While not initially intuitive, the concept o...

Authors: Todd Z. Osborne, Leda N. Kobziar and Patrick W. Inglett