Fire and Vegetation Dynamics
Studies from the North American Boreal Forest

A technical introduction to the behaviour of fire and its ecological consequences, using examples from the North American boreal forest.

Edward A. Johnson (Author)

9780521349437, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 June 1996

144 pages, 51 b/w illus.
22.8 x 15.2 x 1 cm, 0.245 kg

....very well written....This short work should facilitate communication between fire managers and fire ecologists, and would be useful as a text for a seminar in fire ecology, as the bibliography is extensive and appropriate. I recommend this book to all serious students of fire, whether or not they work in the boreal forest." Jane H. Bock, Plant Science Bulletin

It is almost dogma that the boreal forest in North America is a fire-dependent forest, yet ecologists often do not consider in any technical detail how forest fires produce effects on individual plants and on plant populations. Consequently, the causal connection between the behaviour of fire and its ecological consequences is poorly understood. This book sets out to correct this deficiency by assembling the relevant studies of fire intensity, rate of spread, fuel consumption, fire frequency and fire weather in the North American boreal forest. The central thesis is that the North American boreal forest has at least four wildfire characteristics that are important in understanding the dynamics of its plant populations: the large size of the burns with respect to dispersal distances, the short recurrence time of fire with respect to tree lifespans, the high mortality of plants due to the predominance of crown fires, and a good germination surface due to the large area of the forest floor which is covered by ash.

Preface
1. Fire and the boreal forest: the process and the response
2. Fires and climate
3. Forest fire behaviour
4. Fire intensity
5. Duff consumption
6. Fire history and landscape pattern
7. Fire and the population dynamics of boreal trees
8. Conclusion
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Plant ecology [PSTS]