Article
Plant Sciences
Renxue Fan, Mingyu Sun, Xianjin Zhu, Qiufeng Wang
Summary: This study examines the differences and spatial variations in evapotranspiration between forests and grasslands in China. The results show that forests have significantly higher evapotranspiration than grasslands, but the difference becomes non-significant after controlling for precipitation. The effects of latitude and temperature on spatial variations differ between forests and grasslands, with precipitation being the dominant factor. This research contributes to the understanding of evapotranspiration spatial variations in terrestrial ecosystems in China or globally.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jon E. Keeley, Janin Guzman-Morales, Alexander Gershunov, Alexandra D. Syphard, Daniel Cayan, David W. Pierce, Michael Flannigan, Tim J. Brown
Summary: Autumn and winter Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires in southern California play a substantial role in area burned and societal losses, affected by multiple factors. Area burned is mainly determined by wind intensity and number of human-ignited fires. To reduce fire losses, emphasis can be placed on maintenance of utility lines and planning urban growth.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stef Haesen, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Pieter De Frenne, Jonathan Lenoir, Juha Aalto, Michael B. Ashcroft, Martin Kopecky, Miska Luoto, Ilya Maclean, Ivan Nijs, Pekka Niittynen, Johan van den Hoogen, Nicola Arriga, Josef Bruna, Nina Buchmann, Marek Ciliak, Alessio Collalti, Emiel De Lombaerde, Patrice Descombes, Mana Gharun, Ignacio Goded, Sanne Govaert, Caroline Greiser, Achim Grelle, Carsten Gruening, Lucia Hederova, Kristoffer Hylander, Jurgen Kreyling, Bart Kruijt, Martin Macek, Frantisek Malis, Matej Man, Giovanni Manca, Radim Matula, Camille Meeussen, Sonia Merinero, Stefano Minerbi, Leonardo Montagnani, Lena Muffler, Roma Ogaya, Josep Penuelas, Roman Plichta, Miguel Portillo-Estrada, Jonas Schmeddes, Ankit Shekhar, Fabien Spicher, Mariana Ujhazyova, Pieter Vangansbeke, Robert Weigel, Jan Wild, Florian Zellweger, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: Ecological research often uses coarse-gridded climate data based on standardized temperature measurements, which may not accurately represent forest microclimates. A study in Europe found significant differences between sub-canopy and free-air temperatures, with sub-canopy air temperatures averaging 2.1 degrees Celsius lower in summer and 2.0 degrees Celsius higher in winter. High-resolution forest sub-canopy temperature maps could improve modeling of biological processes and species distributions in the future.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stef Haesen, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Pieter De Frenne, Jonathan Lenoir, Juha Aalto, Michael B. Ashcroft, Martin Kopecky, Miska Luoto, Ilya Maclean, Ivan Nijs, Pekka Niittynen, Johan van den Hoogen, Nicola Arriga, Josef Bruna, Nina Buchmann, Marek Ciliak, Alessio Collalti, Emiel De Lombaerde, Patrice Descombes, Mana Gharun, Ignacio Goded, Sanne Govaert, Caroline Greiser, Achim Grelle, Carsten Gruening, Lucia Hederova, Kristoffer Hylander, Juergen Kreyling, Bart Kruijt, Martin Macek, Frantisek Malis, Matej Man, Giovanni Manca, Radim Matula, Camille Meeussen, Sonia Merinero, Stefano Minerbi, Leonardo Montagnani, Lena Muffler, Roma Ogaya, Josep Penuelas, Roman Plichta, Miguel Portillo-Estrada, Jonas Schmeddes, Ankit Shekhar, Fabien Spicher, Mariana Ujhazyova, Pieter Vangansbeke, Robert Weigel, Jan Wild, Florian Zellweger, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: Microclimate research has gained renewed interest in the past decade, and its importance for ecological processes is increasingly recognized. To improve ecological models, there is a growing need for high-resolution microclimatic temperature grids across broad spatial extents. In this study, we present a new set of open-access bioclimatic variables for microclimate temperatures of European forests at a resolution of 25 x 25 m(2).
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Fa Li, Qing Zhu, William J. Riley, Lei Zhao, Li Xu, Kunxiaojia Yuan, Min Chen, Huayi Wu, Zhipeng Gui, Jianya Gong, James T. Randerson
Summary: African and South American wildfires play a significant role in global burned areas and are closely connected to local climate. However, representing the relationship between wildfires and climate remains challenging due to their heterogeneous responses. In this study, an interpretable machine learning fire model (AttentionFire_v1.0) was developed to improve the predictability of burned areas in these regions. The model revealed a strong time-lagged control from climate wetness on burned areas and predicted a reversal in burned area trends in South America under a high-emission future climate scenario. This research provides a reliable and interpretable fire model and emphasizes the importance of lagged wildfire-climate relationships in historical and future predictions.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Hadi Heidari, Travis Warziniack, Thomas C. Brown, Mazdak Arabi
Summary: This study characterizes shifts in hydroclimatology and basin characteristics of US National Forests and National Grasslands in response to climate change, predicting potential larger changes in basin characteristics for mountainous regions compared to the rest of the United States.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bin Chen, Yufang Jin
Summary: This study analyzed human- and lightning-caused ignition probability in California, USA. The results showed that human-caused ignitions were concentrated in populated areas and along traffic corridors, while lightning-caused ignitions were more remote. Precipitation, slope, human settlement, and road network were found to be the primary drivers of human-started ignitions, while snow water equivalent, lightning strike density, and fuel amount were the primary drivers of lightning-started ignitions.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Manolis Grillakis, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Anastasios Rovithakis, Konstantinos D. Seiradakis, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Robert D. Field, Matthew Kasoar, Athanasios Papadopoulos, Mihalis Lazaridis
Summary: Wildfires are a threat to human society and terrestrial ecosystems, and fire danger indices such as the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) are widely used to assess the risk. This study evaluates the correlation between FWI and observation-based burned area (BA), as well as the climate variables that contribute to FWI. The results show strong correlations between BA anomalies and FWI anomalies, as well as with the underlying deviations from climatology for temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and wind. The study also highlights the importance of relative humidity and temperature as influential factors affecting BA.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Richard S. Vachula, Jake R. Nelson, Anthony G. Hall
Summary: Although climate change plays a role in increasing wildfire activity in the US, humans also significantly contribute to wildfires, particularly on Independence Day due to the use of fireworks. The location and timing of fireworks-caused ignitions vary, with concentrations in the western and north central US on tribal lands. This study suggests that human behavior, cultural factors, and fireworks regulations affect the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of fireworks-caused ignitions. The findings have important management and policy implications, considering the predictability of these ignitions and the rising costs of wildfire mitigation.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Shuqi Xiao, Chao Wang, Kai Yu, Genyuan Liu, Shuang Wu, Jinyang Wang, Shuli Niu, Jianwen Zou, Shuwei Liu
Summary: Studies have shown that nitrogen deposition has significant effects on carbon uptake in forests and grasslands, as well as on N2O emissions from soil. However, the impact on SOC pool is limited. Overall, nitrogen deposition increases the net greenhouse gas balance in forests and grasslands.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kristina A. Dahl, John T. Abatzoglou, Carly A. Phillips, J. Pablo Ortiz-Partida, Rachel Licker, L. Delta Merner, Brenda Ekwurzel
Summary: Increases in burned forest area in the western US and southwestern Canada have been influenced by a rise in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) caused by human-induced climate change. This study uses various models to determine the contribution of emissions from major carbon producers to the long-term increase in VPD and cumulative forest fire area in the region. The research finds that these emissions contributed significantly to the rise in VPD and the area burned by forest fires. As the impacts of fires and droughts continue to escalate, this research provides insights for discussions about the responsibility of carbon producers in addressing climate risks.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Emily J. Francis, Pariya Pourmohammadi, Zachary L. Steel, Brandon M. Collins, Matthew D. Hurteau
Summary: The availability and heterogeneity of fuel influence the likelihood of high-severity fires, while connectivity has a smaller impact on potential fire transmission and area. Managing forests to reduce connectivity and fuel accumulation, and increase heterogeneity, can mitigate the risks of large high-severity fires.
Article
Ecology
Jonathan D. Coop, Sean A. Parks, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Scott M. Ritter, Chad M. Hoffman
Summary: Wildfire activity in the western USA has increased in recent years, with larger and more extreme single-day fire spread events. The annual area burned is closely related to the number and size of these extreme events. Future warming is predicted to lead to a doubling in the number of extreme fire spread events and the area burned.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Wei Min Hao, Matthew C. Reeves, L. Scott Baggett, Yves Balkanski, Philippe Ciais, Bryce L. Nordgren, Alexander Petkov, Rachel E. Corley, Florent Mouillot, Shawn P. Urbanski, Chao Yue
Summary: The research found that the total annual area burned in Northern Eurasia declined by 53% over a 15-year period, mainly due to a decrease in grassland fires. Grassland fires in Kazakhstan accounted for 47% of the total area burned and contributed to 84% of the decline, primarily driven by wetter climate conditions and increased grazing.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joshua Lizundia-Loiola, Magi Franquesa, Martin Boettcher, Grit Kirches, M. Lucrecia Pettinari, Emilio Chuvieco
Summary: This article introduces the development process of the burned area product C3SBA10 of the Copernicus Climate Change Service and compares it with the FireCCI product. The results show a high correlation in global BA estimates between the two products, and the validation results of C3SBA10 are similar to those of the FireCCI product, both detecting most active fires within 10 days after the fire.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Volker C. Radeloff, David P. Helmers, H. Anu Kramer, Miranda H. Mockrin, Patricia M. Alexandre, Avi Bar-Massada, Van Butsic, Todd J. Hawbaker, Sebastian Martinuzzi, Alexandra D. Syphard, Susan I. Stewart
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2018)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Alexandra D. Syphard, Teresa J. Brennan, Jon E. Keeley
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandra D. Syphard, Timothy Sheehan, Heather Rustigian-Romsos, Kenneth Ferschweiler
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeff A. Tracey, Carlton J. Rochester, Stacie A. Hathaway, Kristine L. Preston, Alexandra D. Syphard, Amy G. Vandergast, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Janet Franklin, Jason B. MacKenzie, Tomas A. Oberbauer, Scott Tremor, Clark S. Winchell, Robert N. Fisher
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexandra D. Syphard, Heather Rustigian-Romsos, Michael Mann, Erin Conlisk, Max A. Moritz, David Ackerly
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Alexandra D. Syphard, Teresa J. Brennan, Jon E. Keeley
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Isabel M. Rojas, Megan K. Jennings, Erin Conlisk, Alexandra D. Syphard, Jack Mikesell, Alicia M. Kinoshita, Krista West, Doug Stow, Emanuel Storey, Mark E. De Guzman, Diane Foote, Alexandria Warneke, Amber Pairis, Sherry Ryan, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Rebecca L. Lewison
Summary: This study emphasizes the importance of considering not only climate refugia, but also other stressors such as human-induced changes in fire and hydrology, for conservation efforts. The authors introduced a new conceptual approach called "domains of refugia" to assess refugial capacity and identify areas with low exposure to multiple stressors. Results suggest that areas with high refugial capacity may be underrepresented in existing protected area networks, highlighting the need for expanding conservation efforts.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jon E. Keeley, Janin Guzman-Morales, Alexander Gershunov, Alexandra D. Syphard, Daniel Cayan, David W. Pierce, Michael Flannigan, Tim J. Brown
Summary: Autumn and winter Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires in southern California play a substantial role in area burned and societal losses, affected by multiple factors. Area burned is mainly determined by wind intensity and number of human-ignited fires. To reduce fire losses, emphasis can be placed on maintenance of utility lines and planning urban growth.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mark W. Schwartz, Alexandra D. Syphard
Summary: Agencies in California are prioritizing strategies to increase forest treatment pace and scale to reduce damage caused by wildfires, with a focus on coniferous forests. However, data shows that a majority of damage occurs in non-forested ecosystems, indicating that management strategies should be more broadly focused.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Alexandra D. Syphard, Teresa J. Brennan, Heather Rustigian-Romsos, Jon E. Keeley
Summary: One consequence of global change is the possibility of vegetation type conversion, such as the conversion from woody shrublands to grasslands in Southern California. The relative importance of short-interval fires in driving this conversion has been a subject of debate, but this study confirms that fire plays a significant role.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jon E. Keeley, Teresa J. Brennan, Alexandra D. Syphard
Summary: Drought resulted in significant dieback of southern California chaparral, which was evaluated using vegetation index and compared with fire severity. The study found a negative relationship between drought-caused dieback and fire-caused dieback, suggesting the potential impact of dieback on fire size. Lower elevation chaparral associations were more vulnerable and closer to urban environments, highlighting the concern for fire management in drought-prone regions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Miranda H. Mockrin, Dexter H. Locke, Alexandra D. Syphard, Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne
Summary: There is growing concern about the increasing size, frequency, and destructiveness of wildfires. Creating and maintaining defensible space around buildings is a commonly used strategy to mitigate the impact of wildfires. However, this study suggests that building materials and environmental context are more important factors for building survival than vegetation around buildings.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Mike Gough, Mitchell Lazarz, John Rogan
Summary: The study found that destructive fires are at least an order of magnitude larger than non-destructive fires and have higher fire severity. The primary factors leading to destructive and non-destructive fires vary by region, reflecting the complexity of decision-making for reducing wildfire risk.
Article
Ecology
Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley
Article
Forestry
Jon E. Keeley, Alexandra D. Syphard
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE
(2018)