Tag: fire

Plain language summaries, Research summaries

When fire meets warming: Managing mountain grasslands in a hotter world

Fire has shaped mountain grasslands for thousands of years and remains essential for keeping them healthy. But as the climate warms, we need to understand how rising temperatures and fire together will affect these ecosystems. In our study, we tested how warming and different fire frequencies interact in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa. In 2017, we added small open top chambers to a long-running … Continue reading When fire meets warming: Managing mountain grasslands in a hotter world

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Plain language summaries, Research summaries

Biodiversity in soil seedbanks remains high after low-intensity fire

Prescribed burning is the act of intentionally burning an ecosystem and is used in fire-prone regions around the world to manage fuel loads or conserve biodiversity. Some ecosystems experience fires that are too hot or occur too frequently, while other areas suffer from a lack of fire. Prescribed burning at the right intensity and frequency can help minimise the risk of wildfire while also promoting … Continue reading Biodiversity in soil seedbanks remains high after low-intensity fire

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Research summaries, Plain language summaries

Not all disturbances are alike: Exploring patterns and shifts in European forest regimes

Forests are naturally shaped by events such as fires, windstorms, or insect outbreaks, known altogether as forest disturbances. The long-term characteristics of these events is defined as disturbance regime; and their trends depend on multiple factors, including site conditions (e.g., climate and soil), disturbance and management legacies, and the specific causal agents present in the region. In this study, we characterised the main disturbance regimes … Continue reading Not all disturbances are alike: Exploring patterns and shifts in European forest regimes

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Grasslands, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries, Restoration

Mapping 35 years of prescribed fire history

Authors Erin Rowland-Schaefer and Elizabeth Bach describe their latest Data Article presenting a visual record of the long fire history of Nachusa Grasslands, a tallgrass prairie restoration site in Illinois, USA. Fire has played a significant role in the development and management of tallgrass prairie ecosystems since before European colonization. While historically, fire was used by Indigenous communities to manage the movements of bison, today, … Continue reading Mapping 35 years of prescribed fire history

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Grasslands, Journal covers, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Behind the cover 3:2 – Fire protects grasslands from woody species and benefits the birds that call this landscape home

Biodiversity is most rapidly declining on grasslands of all the terrestrial biomes, and large-scale interventions are much needed to restore these landscapes. In their latest Practice Insights, Caleb Roberts and colleagues showcase long-term efforts in successfully restoring the Loess Canyons, USA, using fire as tool. Find out more about the story behind the cover of our latest issue. Imagining the Great Plains of the United … Continue reading Behind the cover 3:2 – Fire protects grasslands from woody species and benefits the birds that call this landscape home

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Grasslands, Human-wildlife interactions, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Community-level responses of African carnivores to prescribed burning

Fires are common in many ecosystems world-wide, and are frequently used as a management tool. Using South African carnivores as their focal community, Laura C. Gigliotti and colleagues explore the relative changes in carnivore intensity of use in post-fire landscapes associated with hypothesized changes in prey availability and top-down suppression. Prescribed burning is a common form of habitat management and assessing wildlife responses to burning is … Continue reading Community-level responses of African carnivores to prescribed burning

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Forests, Research summaries, Themed collections

Forests undergoing novel disturbances: understanding and managing the complex new reality of forests

Considering the vast impacts disturbances such as fire and insect outbreaks are having on forests worldwide, Alexandro B. Leverkus and Simon Thorn bring together a selection of work showcasing quality research into these disturbances and strategies being taken to manage them.

This Virtual Issue features articles from across the British Ecological Society journals that are free-to-read for a limited time. Continue reading Forests undergoing novel disturbances: understanding and managing the complex new reality of forests

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Research summaries

Integrating fire management policies within conservation planning: ‘win-win’ solutions for bird conservation and wildfire prevention

Adrián Regos and colleagues highlight how their conservation planning objectives can lead to ‘win-win’ situations for bird conservation and wildfire prevention in fire-prone abandoned landscapes. This follows the recent publication of their article, Trade‐offs and synergies between bird conservation and wildfire suppression in the face of global change. Protected areas play a key role in safeguarding biodiversity worldwide. However, their role can be seriously compromised … Continue reading Integrating fire management policies within conservation planning: ‘win-win’ solutions for bird conservation and wildfire prevention

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Translation

First steps towards active fire management on the Brazilian Cerrado – Primeiros passos em direção ao manejo ativo de fogo no Cerrado

Moving away from zero-fire policy in the Brazilian Cerrado. Associate Editor, Rafael D. Zenni comments on the recent Policy Direction, Fire management in the Brazilian savanna: First steps and the way forward by Schmidt et al. Rafael also provided a Portuguese version  of this post. The journal welcomes blog posts and abstracts in different languages. English version The Brazilian Cerrado is recognised by many as the most … Continue reading First steps towards active fire management on the Brazilian Cerrado – Primeiros passos em direção ao manejo ativo de fogo no Cerrado

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Research summaries, Translation

The spontaneous recovery of Neotropical savannas in abandoned pastures – A recuperação espontânea de savanas neotropicais em pastagens abandonadas

Mario Cava comments on the article, Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old-growth savannas, published in Journal of Applied Ecology. The authors have also provided a Portuguese translation of this post. Old-growth savannas are ancient fire-prone systems, with high endemism and species diversity. The richness of these systems is mainly represented by the ground layer. In the Brazilian Cerrado, for example, for each tree … Continue reading The spontaneous recovery of Neotropical savannas in abandoned pastures – A recuperação espontânea de savanas neotropicais em pastagens abandonadas

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