Fire suppression and ecosystem carbon storage
David Tilman,Peter B. Reich,Hope Phillips,Mary Menton,Ami Patel,Erin Vos,David W. Peterson,Johannes M. H. Knops +7 more
TLDR
A 35-year controlled burning experiment in Minnesota oak savanna showed that fire frequency had a great impact on ecosystem carbon (C) stores, with most carbon stored in woody biomass.Abstract:
A 35-year controlled burning experiment in Minnesota oak savanna showed that fire frequency had a great impact on ecosystem carbon (C) stores. Specifically, compared to the historical fire regime, fire suppression led to an average of 1.8 Mg·ha−1·yr−1 of C storage, with most carbon stored in woody biomass. Forest floor carbon stores were also significantly impacted by fire frequency, but there were no detectable effects of fire suppression on carbon in soil and fine roots combined, or in woody debris. Total ecosystem C stores averaged ∼110 Mg/ha in stands experiencing presettlement fire frequencies, but ∼220 Mg/ha in stands experiencing fire suppression. If comparable rates of C storage were to occur in other ecosystems in response to the current extent of fire suppression in the United States, fire suppression in the USA might account for 8–20% of missing global carbon.read more
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Fire as a global 'herbivore': the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems.
TL;DR: The recent literature is reviewed, drawing parallels between fire and herbivores as alternative consumers of vegetation, and pointing to the common questions and some surprisingly different answers that emerge from viewing fire as a globally significant consumer that is analogous to herbivory.
Journal ArticleDOI
The global distribution of ecosystems in a world without fire
TL;DR: Comparison of global 'fire off' simulations with landcover and treecover maps show that vast areas of humid C(4) grasslands and savannas, especially in South America and Africa, have the climate potential to form forests.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Importance of Land-Use Legacies to Ecology and Conservation
David R. Foster,Frederick J. Swanson,John D. Aber,Ingrid C. Burke,Nicholas Brokaw,David Tilman,Alan K. Knapp +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, the importance of land-use history and its legacies in most ecological systems has been recognized as a legitimate and essential subject of environmental science, and recognition of these historical legacies adds explanatory power to our understanding of modern conditions at scales from organisms to the globe and reduces missteps in anticipating or managing for future conditions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ecosystem carbon loss with woody plant invasion of grasslands.
Robert B. Jackson,Jay L. Banner,Esteban G. Jobbágy,William T. Pockman,William T. Pockman,Diana H. Wall +5 more
TL;DR: A clear negative relationship between precipitation and changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen content when grasslands were invaded by woody vegetation is found, with drier sites gaining, and wetter sites losing, soilorganic carbon.
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Contrasting Effects of Plant Richness and Composition on Insect Communities: A Field Experiment
TL;DR: In insect communities, insect species richness increased as plant species richness and plant functional group richness increased, and both factors may explain how the loss of plant diversity influences higher trophic levels.
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