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Volume 11 Issue 3 December 2015
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By Jim Agee, Managing Editor
We're pleased to announce that Fire Ecology 11(3) is now available for viewing and downloading on the journal website
fireecologyjournal.org
. The issue begins with another classic article, this one written by Leonidas Liacos, concerning fire ecology and management in Greece, with an introduction by Vasilios Papanastasis. The article was originally presented at the 1973 fire conference of the Tall Timbers Research Station. Liacos presented historical evidence that fire was part of the natural environment of Greece since prehistoric times, and
quotes Homer and other classic writers. He showed through his research that prescribed fires could reduce wildfire risk in forests and rangelands.
Papanastasis notes that prescribed fire is still forbidden in Greece, but he hopes the ecological wisdom expressed by Liacos will prevail in the future.
Our original research articles begin with a paper on the effects of prescribed fire and thinning on lichen communities in southern pine stands in Maryland, USA, by Ray and
others. Burning emerged as a strong driver of reductions in lichen diversity whereas thinning in the absence of burning did not. This work calls attention to an understudied component of biodiversity that appears to be sensitive to fire management.
Kral and others compared heat characteristics of small-scale fire approaches (burn boxes, burn tables, and propane burners) to growing- and dormant-season grassland prescribed fires. The three small-scale techniques had similarly shaped time-temperature profiles, but adjustments should be made in each of the techniques to better mimic prescribed fires.
Quintero and others analyzed the changes in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in the organic and the top mineral soil layer in a post-fire chronosequence of Pinus douglasiana dominated forests in central-western Mexico 8 yr, 28 yr, and 60 yr following high-severity fire. They found that fire significantly affected the total C, N, and P contents in the organic layer, explained mainly by mass losses, but no losses in the mineral soil. They observed a fast recovery of C, N, and P, perhaps resulting from the high capacity of Pinus douglasiana to regenerate following high-severity fires.
Lashley and others looked at the availability of key wildlife foods (fleshy fruits and understory biomass) in the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem (LLPE) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA. They measured the availability of key wildlife foods in upland pines following dormant-season (December to February) and growing-season (April to June) fires in a chronosequential design. They also quantified the relative contributions of the upland hardwood and bottomland hardwood forest types, which often are intentionally suppressed in the LLPE. Key wildlife foods in the LLPE are maximized by varying fire season and fire frequency, and maintaining diverse vegetation types.
Jones and Russell analyzed fire scars from stumps, downed logs, and live trees of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains of California, USA, in order to estimate fire return intervals (FRI) for individual trees, mean FRI across samples, and seasonality of historical fires. While their results suggest a longer estimate of fire return intervals than previously documented for this forest type, high variation within and between samples clouded distinctions and illustrates a culturally constructed fire regime characterized by temporal and spatial heterogeneity.
McCaw and Middleton investigated the response of overstorey and mid-storey trees in tall open forest of Eucalyptus diversicolor, Eucalyptus jacksonii, and Corymbia calophylla in Western Australia over an 8-year period following complete crown scorch by high intensity fire. More than 85 % of these species remained alive four years after fire, having replaced their crowns by re-sprouting from epicormic buds on the stem and larger branches.
The results of the study provide further evidence to support the view that tall open eucalypt forests in south-west Western Australia rarely experience complete stand replacement even following intense fires, and that multi-aged stands are common.
Hyde and others evaluated two LANDFIRE fuel loading raster options, Fuels Characteristic Classification System (LANDFIRE-FCCS) and Fuel Loading Model (LANDFIRE-FLM) layers, with measured fuel loadings for a 20 000 ha mixed conifer study area in northern Idaho, USA. Fuel loadings were compared and then placed into two emissions models, the First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) and Consume, for a subsequent comparison of consumption and emissions. Supplementing LANDFIRE-represented data with locally measured data, especially for duff and coarse woody debris, will produce more accurate emissions estimates.
Impact of fire on California shrublands has been well studied but nearly all of this work has focused on plant communities. Impact and recovery of the chaparral fauna has received only scattered attention. Van Mantgem and others synthesized what is known for the diversity of animal taxa associated with California shrublands and outlined the primary differences between plant and animal responses to fire. Fire regime characteristics may have a much greater effect on postfire recovery of animal communities than plant communities in these shrubland ecosystems.
We conclude issue 11(3) with a book review. Ernesto Alvarado reviewed Current International Perspectives on Wildland Fires, Mankind and the Environment, edited by Brigitte Leblon and Martin E. Alexander (2015, Nova Science Publishers).
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Special Publication:
2005-2015
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In recognition of our 10 years of publication, for our recent conference we chose some of our favorite articles from over the years for a
"Best of Fire Ecology" compilation.
Abstracts for these papers were included in our conference program.
If you missed the conference, you can
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Surface fire in a Pinus douglasiana forest in Sierra de Manantlán, Mexico.
Photo by
Salvador García
Online Reader
on your computer, tablet or phone.
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New! Entire Journal issue as a PDF
Now you can read the journal cover to cover in one convenient, downloadable PDF.
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520 Authors, and Counting!
Did you know you can search our journal by Author? We have 520 authors published to date, and each year that number grows. You can search by Author, and receive contact information and a listing of all their publications in Fire Ecology.
We also offer Article Indexing
You can now view a listing of our published articles
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All of our Abstracts are now in Spanish!
Click on the PDF link for the abstract in Spanish.
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AFE Events
Thank you to all who attended our
6th International
Fire Ecology & Management Congress
in San Antonio, Texas in November! We so appreciate your attendance and participation in what was one of our best conferences ever!
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Association for Fire Ecology
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Present Studies and History of Burning in Greece, with an introduction by Vasilios P. Papanastasis
Greece, to those who know it only from archeological books and its ancient architecture, is associated with rocks, and bare mountains of white fine-granular marble, decorated by fine-sculptured temples, all built of white marble.
Probably, the small size pine-tree grove, ideally matched with scattered columnar cypress and olive trees, which commonly constitute the frame that beautifies the ancient Greek landscape, do not prevent [readers] from wondering whether Greeks, being in an arid country, had no choice in selecting their building material.
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Lichen Community Response to Prescribed Burning and Thinning in Southern Pine Forests of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
The effects of prescribed burning and thinning on lichen communities is a poorly understood aspect of biodiversity conservation, despite the widespread use of these practices to achieve conservation-oriented land management goals. To address this knowledge gap we documented apparent changes in the diversity and abundance of lichens following 0 to 2 growing-season burns preceded by 0 to 1 commercial thinnings within nine southern pine dominated stands on the Delmarva Peninsula of Maryland, USA.
Simulating Grassland Prescribed Fires Using Experimental Approaches
Small-scale fire approaches, like burn boxes, burn tables, and propane burners, are often used to facilitate experimental control over fire and allow greater replication. We compared characteristics of grassland prescribed fires to three experimental approaches to determine if these approaches simulate prescribed fires. We conducted prescribed fires during the growing and dormant season to compare with burn box, burn table, and propane prong approaches
Soil Carbon and Nutrient Recovery After High-Severity Wildfire in Mexico
Fire severity can increase above historical levels due to factors such as human-derived fire suppression and climate change. Studies about the effects of high-severity fires on soil carbon and nutrients in pine forest at tropical latitudes are still rare. We analyzed the changes in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents in the organic layer and the top mineral soil layer in a post-fire chronosequence of Pinus douglasiana Martínez-dominated forest stands in central-western Mexico 8 yr, 28 yr, and 60 yr following a high-severity fire.
Variability in Fire Prescriptions to Promote Wildlife Foods in the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
Prescribed fire is commonly used to restore and maintain the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystem (LLPE). A key function of the LLPE is the provisioning of food for wildlife. Despite the plethora of literature evaluating the effects of fire season and fire-return interval on plant community dynamics, little attention has been given to the response of wildlife foods to fire season or fire-return interval. We measured the availability of key wildlife foods (fleshy fruit [i.e., seed containing a nutritious pericarp] and understory plant biomass) in upland pine forest following dormant-season (December-February) and growing-season (April-June) fires in a chronosequential design.
Approximation of Fire-Return Intervals with Point Samples in the Southern Range Of the Coast Redwood Forest, California, USA
A legacy of past fires is evident in the form of blackened basal hollows found throughout the southern range of the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forest. A deeper look reveals cambial scars dating back centuries, telling a story of low- to moderate-intensity fires that burned periodically across California's Central Coast bioregion. While attempts have been made to reconstruct the fire history of this forest type, estimates of the fire-return interval vary widely, and the relationship of the fire-return interval to varying cultural influences is not fully understood.
Recovery of Tall Open Eucalypt Forest in South-Western Australia Following Complete Crown Scorch
We investigated the response of overstorey and mid-storey trees in tall open forest of Eucalyptus diversicolor F. Muell., Eucalyptus jacksonii Maiden, and Corymbia calophylla (Lindl.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson over an eight-year period following complete crown scorch by high intensity fire in March 2001. More than 90â€...% of E. diversicolor and E. jacksonii and 85â€...% of C. calophylla remained alive four years after fire, having replaced their crowns by re-sprouting from epicormic buds on the stems and larger branches.
A Case Study Comparison of Landfire Fuel Loading and Emissions Generation on a Mixed Conifer Forest in Northern Idaho, USA
The use of fire as a land management tool is well recognized for its ecological benefits in many natural systems. To continue to use fire while complying with air quality regulations, land managers are often tasked with modeling emissions from fire during the planning process. To populate such models, the Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) program has developed raster layers representing vegetation and fuels throughout the United States; however, there are limited studies available comparing LANDFIRE spatially distributed fuel loading data with measured fuel loading data.
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Faunal Responses to Fire in Chaparral and Sage Scrub in California, USA
Impact of fire on California shrublands has been well studied but nearly all of this work has focused on plant communities. Impact on and recovery of the chaparral fauna has received only scattered attention; this paper synthesizes what is known in this regard for the diversity of animal taxa associated with California shrublands and outlines the primary differences between plant and animal responses to fire. We evaluated the primary faunal modes of resisting fire effects in three categories: 1) endogenous survival in a diapause or diapause-like stage, 2) sheltering in place within unburned refugia, or 3) fleeing and recolonizing.
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Current International Perspectives on Wildland Fires, Mankind and the Environment
Wildfires are a global issue. This year's fire season in North America and Asia emphasizes the need for fire sciences that can be applied by the international fire community. Fire science is being developed mainly in a few countries. It is heartening to see that Leblon and Alexander have embarked on the quest to disseminate some of that knowledge through their book, Current International Perspectives on Wildland Fires, Mankind and the Environment. The title of this work is ambitious and creates high expectations. Does the book live up to them?
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