Fire effects on ecosystems

A mismatch in wildfire impact reduction and ecological restoration in western U.S. fuel treatments

This study shows fuel treatments reduce wildfire impacts but do not restore fire-adapted forests, as benefits for fire-intolerant trees fade within nine years without seedling shifts.

Burn intensity regulates post-fire effects on soil N2O emissions: A grassland soil pyrocosm study

This study shows that low burn intensity increases N2O emissions through denitrification, while high burn intensity reduces emissions due to microbial loss and resource limitation.

Persistent but variable effect of experimental laboratory burns on microbial community resistance, resilience, and function across contrasting boreal forest soils

This study examines how laboratory burns affect microbial community resistance, resilience, and function in two boreal forest soil types, finding variable responses and links to carbon use efficiency.

Prior low-severity fires reduce the risk of persistent forest loss from subsequent fires

The paper analyzes global wildfire data to show that prior low-severity fires reduce the risk of persistent forest loss from subsequent fires, suggesting targeted fire management could mitigate forest loss.

Microbial association networks reveal hidden keystone taxa and cross-kingdom interactions after dryland wildfires

This study examines how wildfires alter soil microbial interactions in drylands, revealing increased bacterial-fungal associations and keystone taxa that drive post-fire succession.

Anthropogenic disturbance inverts microclimate stratification in tropical forests

This study shows that anthropogenic disturbance inverts vertical microclimate stratification in Amazonian forests, with burned forests having hotter understory temperatures during the day and cooler temperatures at night compared to undisturbed forests.

Microbial inoculation accelerates post-fire soil recovery in a mixed conifer forest

This study shows that microbial inoculation after wildfires speeds up soil recovery by restoring microbial diversity and nutrient cycling functions, particularly nitrogen transformations.

Vegetation and fires under climate change: a Mediterranean modelled case study from central Italy

This study models fire-vegetation dynamics in central Italy under climate change scenarios, showing that extreme fire events shape landscape resilience and influence vegetation composition over time.

ASSESSING POST-FIRE VEGETATION TRAJECTORIES USING MACHINE LEARNING AND REMOTE SENSING: EVIDENCE FROM A MEDITERRANEAN SITE

This study uses machine learning and remote sensing to analyze post-fire vegetation recovery in a Mediterranean area, finding rapid regrowth of shrubs and trees but slower recovery of coniferous stands.

The pattern of mammal change in Garig Gunak Barlu (Cobourg) National Park suggests a fire-mediated pathway to decline and one for recovery

The paper examines fire patterns and their relationship with mammal abundance in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, finding that fire management practices influence mammal population trends.

Wildfire drives a net decrease in forest live biomass across the Western United States

The paper estimates annual live forest carbon changes in the Western U.S. from 2005 to 2022, finding a 5% decline from 2015 to 2022 due to increased wildfire mortality.

An eco-evolutionary approach to defining wildfire regimes

This paper defines wildfire regimes using eco-evolutionary principles, showing that fuel availability and dryness drive fire behavior and that human activities and vegetation modify these regimes.

Combined impacts of invasive alien species and fire on ecosystems are complex, mostly negative, and understudied: a global review

This review synthesizes 464 studies on how fire and invasive alien species interact, finding mostly negative impacts and identifying key knowledge gaps.

Differential impacts of fall versus spring prescribed burns on microbial biomass, richness, and composition in young mixed conifer forests

Prolonged impact of fire on peatland fungi despite rapid recovery of vegetation, prokaryotes, and soil physicochemistry

This study shows that while vegetation, soil chemistry, and prokaryotes recover quickly after a peatland wildfire, fungal communities show prolonged and distinct recovery patterns, indicating a decoupling between above- and belowground recovery.

Historical ecology and stakeholder perspectives can inform peatland fire management

This study combines historical ecological data and stakeholder input to show how fire and land use affect peatland vegetation and carbon balance, suggesting restoration strategies to improve resilience to future fires.

Fire removes preexisting pyrogenic organic matter from the ecosystem through the mechanisms of both direct combustion and increasing mineralizability

This study investigates how subsequent fires affect pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) by testing heat fluxes and burial depths, finding that PyOM is combusted and altered, impacting carbon storage.

Accelerated biomass loss in western US forestlands due to shifting fire regime

This study quantifies accelerated biomass loss in western US forestlands due to shifting fire regimes and increased drought, showing a rise in wildfire-driven carbon loss post-2015.

Burn-induced decreases in soil microbial carbon use efficiency vary across soil types and substrates

This study measures how burning affects carbon use efficiency (CUE) in boreal forest soils using different substrates, finding that burning reduces glucose-specific CUE but has a smaller effect on pine-specific CUE.

LiDAR and hyperspectral-based structured population models show future forest fire frequency may compromise forest resilience

The paper uses LiDAR and hyperspectral data to model forest recovery after fires, finding that fire frequency may reduce resilience in Picea mariana stands.

Temporal assessment of fire severity: a case study in Brazilian savannas

The paper develops an open-source tool on Google Earth Engine to assess fire severity over time using satellite data, enabling cost-effective and scalable monitoring of wildfire impacts.

Functional and compositional diversity peak at intermediate fire frequencies when modeling the plant-fire feedback

The paper models plant communities under varying fire frequencies to show that compositional and functional diversity peak at intermediate fire frequencies, with functional similarity needed for maximum species richness.

High-severity fires undermine resilience of black spruce-dominated boreal forests in eastern North America

This study evaluates how high-severity and spring fires affect post-fire regeneration of mature black spruce forests in eastern North America, finding reduced regeneration and shifts in species composition.

Resilience not yet apparent in soil fungal communities of the boreal forest from one to five years after wildfire across a severity gradient

This study examines soil fungal community resilience in boreal forests one to five years after wildfire across different burn severities, finding no evidence of resilience and identifying fire-responsive taxa.

Human dimension of Holocene wildfire dynamics in boreal eastern Siberia

This study reconstructs Holocene wildfire dynamics in eastern Siberia and finds that human land management significantly influenced fire patterns, particularly in the Late Holocene.

Good wildfires in western U.S. forests (2010-2020)

The paper estimates that 58% of western U.S. wildfires (2010-2020) were ecologically beneficial, with low-moderate severity fires burning 3.1 million hectares, more than prescribed burning.

Evaluating Best Practices for Isolating Pyrophilous Bacteria and Fungi from Burned Soil

This study evaluates optimal soil storage and media methods for isolating pyrophilous bacteria and fungi from burned soil, finding that -80°C storage without glycerol preserves species diversity and that PyOM-based media enhances culturing of fastidious microbes.

A laboratory method for simulating the effects of subsequent fires on pyrogenic organic matter at different exposure depths in a sand matrix