Search results for "wildfires"
showing 10 items of 13 documents
Tree species flammability based on plant traits: A synthesis.
2021
Abstract The occurrence of large and recurring forest fires has long been associated with fire-prone environments, but this perception has been shifted rapidly in recent decades as Earths' landscapes have become increasingly threatened by severe and unpredictable fires as a result of climate changes. In this regard, the flammability of trees is a topic of great interest for ecology, management, and the development of sustainable restoration and rehabilitation plans. Tree species differ in regard to flammability, and many plant functional traits contribute to flammability at species, community and vegetation level. The relationship between plant traits and flammability at species level is im…
Fire benefits flower beetles in a Mediterranean ecosystem
2018
Despite the abundance of plants that benefit from fire in Mediterranean ecosystems, little is known about the possible presence of fire-favoured insects (other than bark beetles). For two years we sampled invertebrates after two large wildfires in eastern Spain and demonstrate that two flower beetle species, Protaetia morio and P. oblonga (Cetoniidae), show a pyrophilous behaviour. These beetles were much more numerous after the fires than in unburnt plots around the fire perimeter; in addition, these species tended to increase in number with the distance from the fire perimeter and with fire recurrence, especially P. morio. These results were maintained for the two postfire years sampled. …
Plant-animal interactions in fire-prone ecosystems
2018
SÍNTESIS Estudiar cómo responden las interacciones ecológicas a las perturbaciones es clave para abordar la creciente pérdida de biodiversidad en diferentes ecosistemas. En la Tierra existen especies que han evolucionado ante la presencia recurrente de perturbaciones naturales, como ocurre en ecosistemas con incendios frecuentes. En ellos el fuego se originó poco después de la aparición de las primeras plantas terrestres y también algunos de los patrones de incendios característicos que todavía permanecen. Sin embargo, las actividades humanas están alterando los patrones naturales de incendios, lo que puede suponer una amenaza incluso para las especies que presentan una rápida recuperación …
The decline of the cork oak growing in Sicily is accompanied by the loss of the functions proper to agroforestry systems
2021
The cork oak is one of the most important tree species in the Mediterranean basin, where it covers more than 2 million hectares. Among evergreen oaks, Quercus suber stands out for the variety of cultural systems in which it has been successfully employed, including typical agroforestry systems. Accordingly, a wide range of ecosystem services may be associated to cork oak, including the preservation of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and forage production. In the Mediterranean, the cork oak represents a key species for many natural and seminatural landscapes and habitats, as well as playing a prominent role for the economic and social development of local communities. However, there is in…
Land area fractions and population fractions exposed to extreme climate impact events derived from ISIMIP2b output data
2020
This dataset contains the land area fractions and population fractions exposed ('le' for land exposed and 'pe' for population exposed) to the following six extreme climate impact events: crop failures (lec/pec), drought (led/ped), heatwaves (leh/peh), river floods (ler/per), tropical cyclones (let/pet) and wildfire (lew/pew). It is the data behind Lange et al., 2020. The data are provided on a global 0.5° grid and in annual time steps. It was derived from multi-model climate impacts simulations generated within the second round (ISIMIP2b, https://www.isimip.org/protocol/2b, Frieler et al., 2017) of the Intersectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, https://www.isimip.org). The …
Soil biogeochemistry and microbial community dynamics in Pinus pinaster Ait. forests subjected to increased fire frequency.
2022
Fire frequency might increase in many fire-dominated ecosystems of the world due to the combined effects of global warming, land-use change and increased human pressures. Understanding how changes in fire frequency can affect the main soil biogeochemical dynamics, as well as the microbial community, in the long term is utmost important. Here we determined the effect of changes in fire frequency and other fire history characteristics on soil C and N dynamics and the main microbial groups (using soil fatty acid profiles), in Pinus pinaster forests from central Spain. Stands were chosen to differ in the number of fires (1 to 3) occurred between 1976 and 2018, in the time elapsed since the last…
Previous fire occurrence, but not fire recurrence, modulates the effect of charcoal and ash on soil C and N dynamics in Pinus pinaster Aiton forests.
2021
Abstract Understanding the effects of fire history on soil processes is key to characterise their resistance and resilience under future fire events. Wildfires produce pyrogenic carbonaceous material (PCM) that is incorporated into the soil, playing a critical role in the global carbon (C) cycle, but its interactions with soil processes are poorly understood. We evaluated if the previous occurrence of wildfires modulates the dynamic of soil C and nitrogen (N) and microbial community by soil ester linked fatty acids, after a new simulated low-medium intensity fire. Soils with a different fire history (none, one, two or three fires) were heat-shocked and amended with charcoal and/or ash deriv…
The influence of fire history, plant species and post-fire management on soil water repellency in a Mediterranean catchment : The Mount Carmel range,…
2017
Fire is a key factor impacting soil hydrology in many Mediterranean catchments. Soil water repellency (SWR) can stimulate land degradation processes by reducing the affinity of soil and water thereby triggering a reduction in soil fertility and increasing soil and water losses. The effects of two consequent fires (1989 and 2005) on SWR were assessed in the Carmel Mountains, Israel. Fire history, plant recovery and post-fire management (14 treatments) were investigated as determining factors in a time dependent system. In total 210 locations were investigated 9 times from October 2011 to February 2012, which totals 1890 water drop penetration tests that were performed. During each visit to t…
Emerging contaminants related to the occurrence of forest fires in the Spanish Mediterranean
2017
Forest fires can be a source of contamination because, among others, of the use of chemicals to their extinction (flame retardants, FRs), or by the production of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) derived from high temperature alteration of organic matter. Up to our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the direct (PAHs 16 on the USA EPA's priority list), and indirect [tri- to hepta- brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)] contamination related to forest fires. The abundance and distribution of these contaminants were monitored on two Mediterranean hillslopes, one burned and one unburned, near Azuébar (S…
Convergence in critical fuel moisture and fire weather thresholds associated with fire activity in the pyroregions of Mediterranean Europe
2021
Wildfires are becoming an increasing threat to many communities worldwide. There has been substantial progress towards understanding the proximal causes of increased fire activity in recent years at regional and national scales. However, subcontinental scale examinations of the commonalities and differences in the drivers of fire activity across different regions are rare in the Mediterranean zone of the European Union (EUMed). Here, we first develop a new classification of EUMed pyroregions, based on grouping different ecoregions with similar seasonal patterns of burned area. We then examine the thresholds associated with fire activity in response to different drivers related to fuel moist…