This report details a study where temporal changes in tree and snags residuals were monitored annually following four boreal fires in Ontario using 50 sample plots. The goal was to examine the changes in residual trees and snags during the immediate post fire period in the boreal forest, where natural fire disturbances are common.--Document.
Large and intense wildfires are integral to the globally important boreal forest biome. While much is known about boreal wildfires, the focus on forest remnants that either escape or survive these intense fires is a recent phenomenon: academics now study ecological processes of wildfire residuals, forest policymakers use their patterns to design harvest strategies, forest managers consider their economic value, and conservationists recognize their intrinsic ecological importance. Ecology of Wildfire Residuals in Boreal Forests is the first book to explore ecological patterns and processes of what does not burn within boreal wildfires. Following a brief introduction to the boreal forest biome, it discusses the processes that form wildfire residuals; how they are studied, with various approaches and methods; the types, extent, and ecological functions of wildfire residuals; and their role in forest management applications, all in the context of ecological scale. This book is a reference for researchers and graduate students studying boreal forest ecology, as well as for policymakers and forest managers. It adopts a non-reductionist perspective that will be of interest to scientists from conservation science, forest ecology, forest management, and timber production. Brings together fire behaviour, ecological scale, vegetation ecology, and conservation biology to provide a cross disciplinary, multi-scale, and an integrative discussion of forest fire residuals Captures the state of knowledge with a meta-analysis of research trends during the past few decades, with a comprehensive review of the literature, a compilation of key references, and a list of key topics relevant to the study of boreal wildfire residuals Identifies the major gaps and uncertainties in the present body of knowledge, including a critique of study techniques and reporting practices to date, and proposes a set of terms and definitions and a list of research questions and priorities Includes the authors’ observations and research experience from boreal Canada, and information extracted from interactions with North American and European ecologists, forest managers, and conservationists
In many places in the world, forests dominate landscapes and provide various products. Future climate change could profoundly alter the productivity of forest ecosystems and species composition. Until now, climate impact research has primarily focused on the likely impacts of rise in temperature, increased atmospheric CO2 concentration, and varying precipitation on unmanaged forests. The issue that now needs to be addressed is how to sustainably manage climate change for timber production and biomass. Though climate change is a global issue, impacts on forests depend on local environmental conditions and management methods, so this book will look at the issue under varying local contexts.
Drawing from a decade-long collaboration between Japan and Russia, this important volume presents the first major synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of the coniferous forests growing on permafrost at high latitudes. It presents ecological data for a region long inaccessible to most scientists, and raises important questions about the global carbon balance as these systems are affected by the changing climate. Making up around 20% of the entire boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, these ‘permafrost forest ecosystems’ are subject to particular constraints in terms of temperature, nutrient availability, and root space, creating exceptional ecosystem characteristics not known elsewhere. This authoritative text explores their diversity, structure, dynamics and physiology. It provides a comparison of these forests in relation to boreal forests elsewhere, and concludes with an assessment of the potential responses of this unique biome to climate change. The book will be invaluable to advanced students and researchers interested in boreal vegetation, forest ecology, silviculture and forest soils, as well as to researchers into climate change and the global carbon balance.
Fire plays a key role in Earth system processes. Wildfires influence the carbon cycle and the nutrient balance of our planet, and may even play a role in regulating the oxygen content of our atmosphere. The evolutionary history of plants has been intimately tied to fire and this in part explains the distribution of our ecosystems and their ability to withstand the effects of natural fires today. Fire Phenomena and the Earth System brings together the various subdisciplines within fire science to provide a synthesis of our understanding of the role of wildfire in the Earth system. The book shows how knowledge of fire phenomena and the nature of combustion of natural fuels can be used to understand modern wildfires, interpret fire events in the geological record and to understand the role of fire in a variety of Earth system processes. By bringing together chapters written by leading international researchers from a range of geological, environmental, chemical and engineering disciplines, the book will stimulate the exchange of ideas and knowledge across these subject areas. Fire Phenomena and the Earth System provides a truly interdisciplinary guide that can inform us about Earth’s past, present and beyond. Readership: Advanced students and researchers across a wide range of earth, environmental and life sciences, including biogeochemistry, paleoclimatology, atmospheric science, palaeontology and paleoecology, combustion science, ecology and forestry.
Fire intensity within forest fires varies as weather and site conditions change, leaving live forest patches, and individual trees, as well as dead structure as standing trees and downed stems. Such remnant structure from pre-burn forests are collectively known as post-fire residuals. This review of the literature is focused on establishing the state of knowledge on post-fire residuals as relevant to directions in Ontario's Forest management guide for natural disturbance pattern emulation (NDPE). It covers information reported for boreal North America, captured from reports that are published and universally accessible. The report includes a description of the methodological steps followed in searching, reviewing, and synthesizing literature; definitions and descriptions of post-fire residuals; abundance and variability of specific types of post-fire residual structure; and associations of post-fire residual structure with forest cover, site conditions, and fire behaviour. It also identifies knowledge gaps and uncertainties about aspects of post-fire residual structure that are relevant to the NDPE guide directions.--Includes text from document.
This book has been published a decade after Fires Effects on Ecosystems by DeBano, Neary, and Folliott (1998), and builds on their foundation to update knowledge on natural post-fire processes and describe the use and effectiveness of various restoration strategies that may be applied when human intervention is warranted. The chapters in this book,
