Journal ArticleDOI
The global fire–productivity relationship
Juli G. Pausas,E. Ribeiro +1 more
TLDR
In this paper, the intermediate fire-productivity model has been validated across all world ecosystems, including Antarctica, and it has been suggested that on a global scale, fire activity changes along the productivity/aridity gradient following a humped relationship.Abstract:
Aim
It has been suggested that on a global scale, fire activity changes along the productivity/aridity gradient following a humped relationship, i.e. the intermediate fire–productivity hypothesis. This relation should be driven by differing relative roles of the main fire drivers (weather and fuel) along the productivity gradient. However, the full intermediate fire–productivity model across all world ecosystems remains to be validated.
Location
The entire globe, excluding Antarctica.
Methods
To test the intermediate fire–productivity hypothesis, we use the world ecoregions as a spatial unit and, for each ecoregion, we compiled remotely sensed fire activity, climate, biomass and productivity information. The regression coefficient between monthly MODIS fire activity and monthly maximum temperature in each ecoregion was considered an indicator of the sensitivity of fire to high temperatures in the ecoregion. We used linear and generalized additive models to test for the linear and humped relationships.
Results
Fire occurs in most ecoregions. Fire activity peaked in tropical grasslands and savannas, and significantly decreased towards the extremes of the productivity gradient. Both the sensitivity of fire to high temperatures and above-ground biomass increased monotonically with productivity. In other words, fire activity in low-productivity ecosystems is not driven by warm periods and is limited by low biomass; in contrast, in high-productivity ecosystems fire is more sensitive to high temperatures, and in these ecosystems, the available biomass for fires is high.
Main conclusion
The results support the intermediate fire–productivity model on a global scale and suggest that climatic warming may affect fire activity differently depending on the productivity of the region. Fire regimes in productive regions are vulnerable to warming (drought-driven fire regime changes), while in low-productivity regions fire activity is more vulnerable to fuel changes (fuel-driven fire regime changes).read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Forest Fire Characterization Using Landsat-8 Satellite Data in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary
TL;DR: In this article , the authors employed Landsat-8 satellite data during 2014-2020 for spatiotemporal analysis of forest fire in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS), where the normalized burn ratio (NBR) was used to delineate forest fire-affected locations along with visual interpretation techniques.
Journal ArticleDOI
Proportion of forest area burned at high-severity increases with increasing forest cover and connectivity in western US watersheds
Emily J. Francis,Pariya Pourmohammadi,Zachary L. Steel,Brandon M. Collins,Matthew D. Hurteau +4 more
Journal ArticleDOI
Experimental burns in an open savanna: Greater fuel loads result in hotter fires
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors investigated fire behavior in a Cerrado open savanna of Central Brazil by conducting prescribed fires in areas with different fire-free intervals: one year, two years, and four years (FI-4).
Journal ArticleDOI
Changes in vegetation greenness related to climatic and non-climatic factors in the Sudano-Sahelian region
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors analyzed the vegetation greenness trends in relation to rainfall variability in a well-known water-limited environment by using time series of satellite data in the Sudano-Sahelian region during 2001-2020.
Journal ArticleDOI
Post-Fire Recovery of Plant Biodiversity Changes Depending on Time Intervals since Last Fire in Semiarid Shrublands
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors assessed the recovery of biodiversity facets across different times since the last fire in semiarid shrublands in Northeast Iran and quantified changes in plant biodiversity facets, including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, and the diversity of seven functional traits.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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Craig D. Allen,Alison K. Macalady,Haroun Chenchouni,Dominique Bachelet,Nate G. McDowell,Michel Vennetier,Thomas Kitzberger,Andreas Rigling,David D. Breshears,Edward H. Hogg,Patrick Gonzalez,Rod Fensham,Zhen Zhang,Jorge Castro,N.A. Demidova,Jong Hwan Lim,Gillian Allard,Steven W. Running,Akkin Semerci,Neil S. Cobb +19 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the first global assessment of recent tree mortality attributed to drought and heat stress and identify key information gaps and scientific uncertainties that currently hinder our ability to predict tree mortality in response to climate change and emphasizes the need for a globally coordinated observation system.
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Anthony L. Westerling,Anthony L. Westerling,Hugo G. Hidalgo,Daniel R. Cayan,Daniel R. Cayan,Thomas W. Swetnam +5 more
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Generalized Additive Models: An Introduction With R
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