Forest fire is a vital ecological process capable of inducing complex fluvial response, but the integration of these effects across entire watersheds remains poorly understood. We collected downstream cross-sectional and geomorphic data, acquired geographic information on land cover and forest fire, and performed spatially explicit statistical analyses to examine fire-related impacts in catchments burned to varying degrees. Generalized least squares (GLS) regression models suggested that channels with a greater percentage of burned drainage area were associated with markedly higher cross-sectional stream power, relatively smaller width/depth ratios, and lower bank failure rates 12 to 13 years after the fires. These results implied that streams became more powerful in the aftermath of forest fire and that net incision had been the primary response in second- to fourth-order channels since the 1988 Yellowstone fires. The extensive geographic coverage of our data, spanning multiple basins with measurements spaced every 100 m, allowed us to hypothesize a process-response model based on these results. We suggest that a wave of fire-related sediment propagates through burned catchments. High runoff events or even moderate flows provide sufficient energy to evacuate the finer-grained material delivered from burned hillslopes to the channel network over a period of 5-10 years. The combination of elevated post-fire discharges and decreased sediment supply then induces an episode of incision. Site-specific channel changes are highly variable because streams can accommodate post-fire increases in energy and sediment supply through multiple modes of adjustment. Characterizing the spatial distribution of stream power would provide a valuable management tool because this variable is strongly associated with percent-burned drainage area and integrates several elements of complex fluvial response. Future research focused on the channel substrate and its evolution through time is needed, but our results indicate a fundamental linkage between fire and fluvial processes. --Abstract.

This book provides a unique exploration of the inter-relationships between the science of plant environmental responses and the understanding and management of forest fires. It bridges the gap between plant ecologists, interested in the functional and evolutionary consequences of fire in ecosystems, with foresters and fire managers, interested in effectively reducing fire hazard and damage. This innovation in this study lies in its focus on the physiological responses of plants that are of relevance for predicting forest fire risk, behaviour and management. It covers the evolutionary trade-offs in the resistance of plants to fire and drought, and its implications for predicting fuel moisture and fire risk; the importance of floristics and plant traits, in interaction with landform and atmospheric conditions, to successfully predict fire behaviour, and provides recommendations for pre- and post- fire management, in relation with the functional composition of the community. The book will be particularly focused on examples from Mediterranean environments, but the underlying principles will be of broader utility.

Multiple Stressors in River Ecosystems: Status, Impacts and Prospects for the Future provides a comprehensive and current overview on the topic as written by leading river scientists who discuss the relevance of co-occurring stressors for river ecosystems. River ecosystems are subject to multiple stressors that threaten their ecological status and the ecosystem services they provide. This book updates the reader's knowledge on the response and management of river ecosystems to multi-stress situations occurring under global change. Detailing the risk for biodiversity and functioning in a case-study approach, it provides insight into methodological issues, also including the socioeconomic implications. - Presents a case study approach and geographic description on the relevance of multiple stressors on river ecosystems in different biomes - Gives a uniquely integrated perspective on different stressors, including their interactions and joint effects, as opposed to the traditional one-by-one approach - Compiles state-of-the-art methods and technologies in monitoring, modeling and analyzing river ecosystems under multiple stress conditions

A team of fire scientists & resource managers convened to assess the effects of fire disturbance on ecosystems. Objectives of this workshop were to develop scientific recommendations for future fire research & management activities. These included a series of numerically ranked scientific & managerial questions & responses focusing on (1) links among fire effects, fuels, & climate; (2) fire as a large-scale disturbance; (3) fire-effects modeling structures; & (4) managerial concerns, applications, & decision support. The priority issues & approaches described here provide a template for fire science & fire management programs in the next decade & beyond.

Even before the myth of Prometheus, fire played a crucial ecological role around the world. Numerous plant communities depend on fire to generate species diversity in both time and space. Without fire such ecosystems would become sterile monocultures. Recent efforts to prohibit fire in fire dependent communities have contributed to more intense and more damaging fires. For these reasons, foresters, ecologists, land managers, geographers, and environmental scientists are interested in the behavior and ecological effects of fires. This book will be the first to focus on the chemistry and physics of fire as it relates to the ways in which fire behaves and the impacts it has on ecosystem function. Leading international contributors have been recruited by the editors to prepare a didactic text/reference that will appeal to both advanced students and practicing professionals.

A comprehensive exploration of the effects of fires--in forests and other environments--on soils, watersheds, vegetation, air and cultural resources.