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Volume 11 Issue 1 April 2015
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By Jim Agee, Managing Editor
We're pleased to announce that Fire Ecology 11(1) is now available for viewing on the journal website. This is the first issue of the journal that contains a majority of articles written by international scientists. The issue begins with another classic article, this one written by McArthur and Cheney in 1966, and introduced by Neil Burrows. This Australian paper was one of the first efforts to link fire behavior to fire effects.
The original research articles begin with two contributions from Argentina. Bertolin and others described fire emissions and carbon uptake in three lenga beech forest stands that were burned over the period 1976 to 2008. Arga?araz and others analyzed fire activity in four sierran ranges of Argentina, assessing which weather and climate conditions were mostly related to fire activity, and which land cover types were mostly burned.
In Australia, Oliveira and others assessed fine-scale fire patchiness and severity, and associated implications for biodiversity, in north Australian tropical savanna systems.
Moving to North America, Schafer and others compared relative bark thickness, the inner bark proportion, radial growth, bark accumulation, and habitat preference of five longleaf pine savanna species and six species characteristic of adjacent wetlands. The savanna species had relatively thicker bark than wetland species. Scasta and others described experiential fire education at Oklahoma State University, noting changes in student perception, knowledge, skills, abilities, subsequent prescribed fire application, area burned, career trajectory, and importance of types of instruction.
The last two papers are European. Castelli and others described an artificial intelligence system based on genetic programming for the prediction of burned areas, using only data related to the forest under analysis and meteorological data. Reyes and others described the effects of ash and black carbon on the germination behavior of 12 arboreal species with a wide geographic distribution. In six species, ash inhibited the germination percentage, while in another five species, germination was not affected by ash or by black carbon. In Quercus rubra, ash and black carbon stimulated its germination.
Interest in the journal is increasing. In the first three months of 2015, we have already received more submissions than in the entire year of 2014.
We hope you enjoy Issue 11(1)!
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New ~ Online Reader
on your computer, tablet or phone.
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New! Article Indexing
You can now view a listing of all articles ever published in Fire Ecology in one document. This Index is organized by journal volume and issue and includes a listing of all of the authors of each article. This document is downloadable, and will be updated each time we publish a new journal. View the Fire Ecology Master Index Here
About the Cover:
Coihue beech (Nothofagus dombeyi) trees burning in the February 2015 Lago Cholila Fire in Argentina. Note the snags in the foreground, remnants of a previous undated fire.
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All of our Abstracts now in Spanish!
Click on the link that says "View Article PDF" to see the abstract in Spanish.
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Upcoming Event:
AFE's 6th International
Fire Ecology & Management Congress
Advancing Ecology in Fire Management:
Knowledge Transfer Through Workshops, Presentations and Meetings
San Antonio, Texas
Nov.16-20, 2015
We are now accepting submissions for
Note: Deadline for workshop proposals is May 1st.
REGISTRATION for the Fire Congress opens June 1st. Check out our
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The Characterization of Fires in Relation to Ecological Studies, with an Introduction by Neil Burrows
Authors: A.G. McArthur and N.P. Cheney
Literature dealing with the effects of fire on vegetation and soil has been adequately summarized by Hare (1961). In some two hundred references there is almost a complete absence of a precise description of the type of fire causing the various effects described.
The pioneer Australian study of the effect of fire on soil temperature by Beadle (1940), although not describing the type of fire adequately, at least described the type of fuel in which the fires burnt and gave some dimensions whereby a reasonable estimate of the fire energy could be determined.
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Ecological Implications of Fine-Scale Fire Patchiness and Severity in Tropical Savannas of Northern Australia
Understanding fine-scale fire patchiness has significant implications for ecological processes and biodiversity conservation. It can affect local extinction of and recolonisation by relatively immobile fauna and poorly seed-dispersed flora in fire-affected areas. This study assesses fine-scale fire patchiness and severity, and associated implications for biodiversity, in north Australian tropical savanna systems.
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Fire Emissions and Carbon Uptake in Severely Burned Lenga Beech (Nothofagus pumilio) Forests of Patagonia, Argentina
Forest wildfires are recognized as sources of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) that, altering the dynamics between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon (C) exchange, influence global climate. In central Andean Patagonia, Argentina, severe wildfires affect temperate lenga beech (Nothofagus pumilio Poepp. & Endl. Krasser) forests, thereby increasing atmospheric CO2 emissions and changing natural succession paths.
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| Fire Regime, Climate, and Vegetation in the Sierras de C?rdoba, Argentina
Wildfires are a primary disturbance in the Sierras de C?rdoba, Argentina, with approximately 2 152 000 ha burned between 1993 and 2012. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of fires and their relationship with climate and vegetation in this area. Such information is of great value for fire risk assessment and the development of strategies for fire management. Our main objective was to analyze fire activity in four sierran ranges, assessing which weather and climate conditions were mostly related to fire activity, and which land cover types were mostly burned.
View Article PDF
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| Relative Bark Thickness is Correlated with Tree Species Distributions along a Fire Frequency Gradient
The probability of stem survival after fire is strongly influenced by energy allocation to bark because bark thickness affects heat transfer during fire. Greater relative investment in inner bark versus outer bark should also enhance survival because of greater moisture content of inner bark. We measured stem diameter, bark thickness, and habitat preference of five species typical of longleaf pine savannas, and six species characteristic of adjacent wetlands (pocosins), and calculated relative bark thickness, the inner bark proportion, radial growth, and bark accumulation of each species.
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| Assessment of Experiential Education in Prescribed Burning for Current and Future Natural Resource Managers
Acquiring experiential prescribed fire education is difficult for college students. In order to evaluate the effects of instruction on students, we surveyed those who were taking or had completed Oklahoma State University's (OSU) prescribed fire courses since 2000. Of those surveyed, 32 were current students and 99 were former students. We assessed changes in their perception, knowledge, skills, abilities, the total area that they have prescribed burned since leaving OSU, their career trajectories, and how they rated the importance of different types of instruction.
View Article PDF
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| Predicting Burned Areas of Forest Fires: an Artificial Intelligence Approach Authors: Mauro Castelli, Leonardo Vanneschi, and Ales Popovic
Forest fires importantly influence our environment and lives. The ability of accurately predicting the area that may be involved in a forest fire event may help in optimizing fire management efforts. Given the complexity of the task, powerful computational tools are needed for predicting the amount of area that will be burned during a forest fire. The purpose of this study was to develop an intelligent system based on genetic programming for the prediction of burned areas, using only data related to the forest under analysis and meteorological data.
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| The Effects of Ash and Black Carbon (Biochar) on Germination of Different Tree Species Authors: Otilia Reyes, Joeri Kaal, Diego Ar?n, Raquel Gago, Javier Bernal, Juan Garc?a-Duro, and Margarita Basanta
Forest fires generate large amounts of ash and biochar, or black carbon (BC), that cover the soil surface, interacting with the soil's constituents and its seedbank. This study concerns reproductive ecology assessments supported by molecular characterisation to improve our understanding of the effects of fire and fire residues on the germination behaviour of 12 arboreal species with a wide geographic distribution. For this purpose, we analysed the effects of three ash and one BC concentration on the germination of Acacia dealbata Link, A. longifolia(Andrews) Willd., A. mearnsii De Wild., A. melanoxylon R. Br., Pinus nigra Arnold, P. pinasterAiton, P. radiata D. Don, P. sylvestris L., Quercus ilex L., Q. pyrenaica Willd., Q. robur L., and Q. rubra L.
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