Article
Ecology
Luke Collins, Hamish Clarke, Michael F. Clarke, Sarah C. McColl Gausden, Rachael H. Nolan, Trent Penman, Ross Bradstock
Summary: The aim of this study was to identify the environmental drivers of interannual variation in wildfire extent and severity in south-eastern Australia. The results showed that climatic potential for large and severe forest fires has increased since the 1950s, likely due to anthropogenic climate change. The magnitude and severity of the 2019-2020 fires reflected extreme climatic conditions, indicating the increasing size and severity of wildfires.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Lena Vila-Vilardell, Miquel De Caceres, Miriam Pique, Pere Casals
Summary: Vegetation structure affects the vulnerability of a forest to drought events and wildfires. Management decisions, such as thinning intensity and type of understory treatment, influence competition for water resources and amount of fuel available. Our study highlights the importance of managing the understory to further increase forest resistance to both disturbances.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Review
Agronomy
Alison Lullfitz, Lynette Knapp, Shandell Cummings, Stephen D. Hopper
Summary: The Noongar people have a long history of utilizing underground storage organs (USOs) as important food resources, with extensive plant knowledge and technology. However, there is a common practice of 'extractive' documentation of their knowledge, which could have negative implications for the Noongar people and SWAFR conservation outcomes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. Park Williams, Benjamin Cook, Jason E. Smerdon
Summary: Southwestern North America has been experiencing a megadrought since 2000, with lower precipitation and higher temperatures. This drought, which spans from 2000 to 2021, is the driest 22-year period since 800 AD, with 19% of the severity in 2021 attributed to climate change. The drought severity in southwestern North America from 2000 to 2018 exceeded that of a megadrought in the late-1500s. Following the exceptional drought severity in 2021, which is 19% attributable to anthropogenic climate trends, the period from 2000 to 2021 is the driest 22-year period since at least 800 AD, and it is likely to persist through 2022, matching the duration of the late-1500s megadrought.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Francesco Pirotti, Opeyemi Adedipe, Brigitte Leblon
Summary: This study investigates the sensitivity of Sentinel-1 C-band backscatter to the moisture content of tree canopies in a specific area in Portugal. The results show that the backscatter values are inversely correlated with the local incidence angle over canopies, and the correlation is stronger in wet scenarios. The backscatter values can discriminate between wet and dry forest environments, but are less sensitive to the transition between dry and extremely dry conditions. The study also finds that C-VH backscatter is more sensitive in capturing burnt canopies and can capture post-fire recovery after approximately 360 days.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhaobin Mu, Dolores Asensio, Jordi Sardans, Roma Ogaya, Joan Llusia, Iolanda Filella, Lei Liu, Xinming Wang, Josep Penuelas
Summary: Soil mineral elements concentrations are important for plant-soil cycles, and are significantly influenced by drought conditions. This study found that chronic and seasonal drought led to changes in soil mineral element concentrations, with soil microclimate, biological activity, and organic matter being the main drivers. Soil water content was closely related to the variations in soil mineral element concentrations. Most mineral elements showed higher concentrations in wet seasons, chronic drought resulted in potassium limitation and sulfur accumulation, posing potential risks to vegetation and water quality. Certain trace elements exhibited increased extractability under drought conditions, potentially impacting plant health and water quality negatively.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhou Wang, Ru Huang, Qichao Yao, Xuezheng Zong, Xiaorui Tian, Ben Zheng, Valerie Trouet
Summary: Accounting for 41.7% of China's total land area, grasslands are crucial for the livelihoods of over 20 million people. This study examined the spatiotemporal patterns and seasonality of grassland fires in China from 2008 to 2020. The research revealed that most grassland fires occurred in Inner Mongolia, with distinct differences in fire seasonality between northern and southwestern China. The findings contribute to decision-making by fire prevention and management authorities in China.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Justine Laoue, Michel Havaux, Brigitte Ksas, Beatrice Tuccio, Caroline Lecareux, Catherine Fernandez, Elena Ormeno
Summary: This study compares the response of Quercus pubescens to natural drought and amplified drought, and finds that the oak tree is highly resistant to drought, but loses some antioxidant defenses and photoprotection under amplified drought conditions.
Article
Forestry
Kathryn Allen, Stephen B. Stewart, Carly Tozer, Doug Richardson, Craig Nitschke, James Risbey, Andrew Dowdy, Matthew Brookhouse, Paul Fox-Hughes, Mike Peterson, Patrick J. Baker
Summary: Climate projections indicate that dangerous fire weather will become more common in the future. By examining tree-ring data from southeastern Australia, it is possible to reconstruct the number of high fire-danger days in the January-March season. The findings show an increase in high fire-danger days in the past four decades compared to the previous 390 years.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Serena R. Scholz, Richard Seager, Mingfang Ting, Yochanan Kushnir, Jason E. Smerdon, Benjamin Cook, Edward R. Cook, Seung Hun Baek
Summary: Northwestern Europe has experienced a trend of increasingly wet winters over the past 150 years, with few explanations for what may have driven this change. A study using a tree-ring based reconstruction found that the 'English Channel' mode has influenced the wetting trend in the region, with a shift from a negative phase to more neutral conditions during the 19th and 20th centuries. This mode was dominant from about 1000-1850, after which it waned in favor of the 'North-South' mode, which has a similar expression in the winter North Atlantic Oscillation.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sofia Menemenlis, Sarah M. White, Daniel E. Ibarra, Juan M. Lora
Summary: This study compares hydroclimate proxy reconstructions and paleoclimate models to analyze the discrepancies between proxies and models in the mid-Pliocene warm period. The findings show that most paleoclimate models fail to simulate the extent of recorded lakes during this time, and the inclusion of extensive lakes contradicts the regional climate simulated by the models. Uncertainties in the proxy system model parameters and interpretation of available proxy records are also quantified.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Laura Guillory, Christa Pudmenzky, Thong Nguyen-Huy, David Cobon, Roger Stone
Summary: The UniSQ Drought Monitor and Australian Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) are introduced as information services to fully capture the long- and short-term consequences of drought. The Drought Monitor, developed using a multi-index approach, showed a significant positive correlation with observed wheat yield and total pasture growth, indicating its potential as a valuable drought monitoring tool.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andres F. Almeida-naunay, Maria Villeta, Miguel Quemada, Ana M. Tarquis
Summary: Drought poses a significant challenge to Mediterranean grasslands, and accurate monitoring is crucial for their conservation and management. The Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standard Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) are commonly used to monitor meteorological drought, while the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) is used for agricultural drought estimation. This study aimed to optimize the correlation between these two types of drought by determining the best transformation of VHI and the most appropriate time scale. The results showed that SPEI had a stronger correlation with VHI compared to SPI, and the standardized SVHI index performed better than VHI in critical vegetation phases. Overall, SPEI and SVHI were the most correlated indexes, with the quarterly scale showing stronger relationships, particularly in the Mediterranean spring and autumn. These findings suggest that SPEI and SVHI could enhance the precision of vegetation monitoring during these periods.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Chunhui Lu, Jie Jiang, Ruidan Chen, Safi Ullah, Rong Yu, Fraser C. Lott, Simon F. B. Tett, Buwen Dong
Summary: Anthropogenic forcing may have increased the likelihood of the severe low precipitation event in southwestern China in May-June 2019 by approximately 6 times (1.4 times) based on the HADGEM3-GA6 (CMIP6) simulations.
BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mohamed Elhag, Silvena Boteva
Summary: The CFFDRS and NFFDRS were tested in Mediterranean forest conditions of Crete Island, showing differences in their performance in fire hazard assessment, indicating that no single system can adequately predict both soil moisture and plant moisture at the same time.
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Matthew R. Williams, Byron B. Lamont, Tianhua He
Summary: The study found that regressions of mathematically dependent variables are widely used in biology and ecology, but may lead to spurious correlations. A randomization test was developed to determine the probability of obtaining observed correlation coefficients by chance alone, showing that some conclusions from comparisons are spurious.
Article
Plant Sciences
Byron B. Lamont, Geoffrey E. Burrows, Dylan Korczynskyj
Summary: The study found that the summer treatment may not have a significant impact on seed germination, and that the water gap of seeds can open quickly in a dry heat environment, while seeds that do not germinate under dry conditions may become hard again. Future research should focus on the fate of the water gap plug in alternating treatments.
Article
Ecology
Byron B. Lamont, Ben P. Miller, Neal J. Enright, Zhaogui George Yan
Summary: Through experiments, it was found that species perform better when relatively rare in the population, promoting species coexistence at the local scale, while mixtures of species outperform monocultures, with overall performance maximized when all species are moderately rare.
ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
B. B. Lamont
Summary: This study examines the effect of treatments on the viability of ungerminated seeds at the end of the experiment. The findings suggest that prolonged duration in the treatment and low germination rate in the control group can lead to loss of viability during the experiment, resulting in underestimation of initial viability. It is recommended to estimate initial viability separately from the experiment to avoid seed death during the trial.
Article
Plant Sciences
Byron B. Lamont
Summary: This study examines the interaction effects between climate and fire regime in controlling vegetation and species composition. It finds that over long periods of time, plant communities and traits oscillate in response to changes in climate and fire regime. Four case studies illustrate how climate change promotes the evolution of adaptive traits in plants. However, the study suggests that species conservation is at risk due to anthropogenic climate change and associated fire regime alteration.
Letter
Plant Sciences
Juli G. Pausas, Byron B. Lamont, Jon E. Keeley, William J. Bond
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wen-Yong Guo, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Franziska Schrodt, Wolf L. Eiserhardt, Brian S. Maitner, Cory Merow, Cyrille Violle, Madhur Anand, Michael Belluau, Hans Henrik Bruun, Chaeho Byun, Jane A. Catford, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini, Eduardo Chacon-Madrigal, Daniela Ciccarelli, J. Hans C. Cornelissen, Anh Tuan Dang-Le, Angel de Frutos, Arildo S. Dias, Aelton B. Giroldo, Kun Guo, Alvaro G. Gutierrez, Wesley Hattingh, Tianhua He, Peter Hietz, Nate Hough-Snee, Steven Jansen, Jens Kattge, Tamir Klein, Benjamin Komac, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Koen Kramer, Sandra Lavorel, Christopher H. Lusk, Adam R. Martin, Maurizio Mencuccini, Sean T. Michaletz, Vanessa Minden, Akira S. Mori, Ulo Niinemets, Yusuke Onoda, Josep Penuelas, Valerio D. Pillar, Jan Pisek, Bjorn J. M. Robroek, Brandon Schamp, Martijn Slot, Enio Egon Sosinski, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Nelson Thiffault, Peter van Bodegom, Fons van der Plas, Ian J. Wright, Wu-Bing Xu, Jingming Zheng, Brian J. Enquist, Jens-Christian Svenning
Summary: Safeguarding Earth's tree diversity is crucial for biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, current protected areas provide limited protection for a large number of tree species, which are under significant human pressure. Including priority areas in conservation efforts can greatly improve the protection of tree species and overall terrestrial biodiversity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Byron B. Lamont, Pablo Gomez Barreiro, Rosemary J. Newton
Summary: Fire plays a crucial role in promoting seed germination in fire-prone vegetation. Leucadendron, a member of the Proteaceae family, displays three different syndromes for smoke-heat dormancy-release/germination. The thickness of the seed coat is a key factor in water uptake and germination, independent of seed-storage location or morphology.
SEED SCIENCE RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tianhua He, Byron B. Lamont
Summary: By studying the 100-million-year-old Phylica flowering shoots in Burmese amber, we have successfully recalibrated the phylogenetic history of Rhamnaceae, tracing its origin back to more than 260 million years ago. This suggests that the origin of flowering plants extends well beyond 290 million years. Furthermore, we found that hard-seededness, fire-proneness, and heat-released seed dormancy have a similarly long history in this clade.
Review
Plant Sciences
B. B. Lamont
Summary: Both C3 and C4 grasses are capable of expressing smoke sensitivity, but their response depends on the region's climate and fire regime that also dictate which photosynthetic pathway dominates.
Review
Ecology
Byron B. B. Lamont, Juli G. G. Pausas
Summary: Internal and environmental factors control seed dormancy and germination through three basic dormancy-release pathways: maternal structures and embryo physiology, imposed-dormancy release, and release from inherent dormancy by light/dark or cold stratification. On-plant seed storage and frugivorous seeds are recognized as special types of physical dormancy. Warm stratification and heat can promote germination. Levels of germination determine the net effect of inherent- and imposed-dormancy release, while seasonal fluctuations can lead to secondary dormancy.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Byron B. Lamont, James Grey
Summary: A study found a functional link between the extrafloral nectaries and elaiosomes in the shrub, Adenanthos cygnorum, which enhances the plant's reproductive success by attracting ants. This relationship has three components that enhance species fitness: foliage protection, seed transport, and escape from granivores.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Editorial Material
Ecology
Byron B. Lamont
Summary: Zylstra et al. recently reported that after 75 years without burning, wet sclerophyll forest experiences a significant decrease in flammability, requiring a reevaluation of fire management. This finding also emphasizes the vertical dimension of fires, highlighting the benefits of a mosaic of fire types (high pyrodiversity) for species conservation.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)