Long-term landscape changes in vegetation structure: fire management in the wetlands of KwaMbonambi,South Africa

In wetlands the effects of fire on vegetation dynamics are somewhat uncertain. A change detection analysis in the herbaceous wetlands of KwaMbonambi, South Africa, which were subject to frequent fires, revealed that in 1937 the study area comprised grassland (69%), herbaceous wetland (25%), indigenous swamp forest (4%) and tree plantations (1%). However, by 1970, tree plantations occupied 78% of the landscape and grasslands and herbaceous wetlands had declined to 9% and 6%, respectively, whereas indigenous swamp forest had increased to 6%. By 2009 tree plantations had been removed from the wetland areas. Despite this opportunity for herbaceous wetlands to recover their historical extent, they decreased to only 2%, mostly changing to indigenous swamp forest or to an herbaceous/fern (Stenochlaena tenuifolia)/woodland mosaic. Fire records showed suppression of fire to be an important contributing factor, particularly in wetlands that had been disturbed by tree plantations, although subsequently removed. A pilot burning experiment revealed that S. tenuifolia did not inhibit fire. It is therefore practicable to increase fire frequency to prevent the mosaic developing into forest. A conceptual model of the influence of fire regime on wetland vegetation type is presented and priorities for further research on wetlands and fire are recommended.     

Fire? They don't give a dung! The resilience of dung beetles to fire in a tropical savanna

1. Disturbance is a strong driver of community assembly and fire has long been recognised as one of the main disturbances of terrestrial ecosystems. This study tested the resilience of dung beetles to fire events in campos rupestres, which is a tropical savanna ecosystem that evolved under a frequent fire regime, by assessing the resistance and recovery of their communities. 2. Dung beetles were sampled before and after a fire event and the effect of fire on dung beetle richness, abundance, mean community biomass and composition was tested. The effects of time since last fire and fire frequency on the community were also tested. 3. No effect of fire occurrence, time since last fire and fire frequency on any community variable was found. 4. Some non‐mutually exclusive mechanisms promoting the resistance and recovery of dung beetles in campos rupestres could be acting in synergy. One potential mechanism is the mismatched seasonality between fire events and dung beetle occurrence, as fires occur during the dry season and dung beetles are present above ground during the rainy season. Furthermore, dung beetles are insects that remain buried during most of their lifetime, which could protect individuals from being burned. Another potential mechanism is the replacement of species in burned areas by the movement of individuals from unburned areas, attracted by resources and/or by metacommunity dynamics. 5. It is concluded that in this ‘fire‐dependent’ ecosystem, dung beetle communities are resilient to fire and seem not to be structured by this disturbance.     

Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in Indo-Malayan peat swamp forests

The tropical peat swamp forests of Indonesia and Malaysia are unusual ecosystems that are rich in endemic species of flora, fauna and microbes despite their extreme acidic, anaerobic, nutrient poor conditions. They are an important refuge for many endangered species including orang utans. Ecosystem functioning is unusual: microbial decomposition is inhibited because the leaves are sclerophyllous and toxic to deter herbivory in the nutrient poor environment, yet bacteria are abundant and active in the surface layers of the peat, where they respire DOC leached from newly fallen leaves. The bacteria are subsequently consumed by aquatic invertebrates that are eaten by fish, and bacterially respired CO₂ is assimilated by algae, so bacteria are thus vital to carbon and nutrient cycling. Peat swamp forests are highly sensitive to the impacts of logging, drainage and fire, due to the interdependence of the vegetation with the peat substrate, which relies on the maintenance of adequate water, canopy cover and leaf litter inputs. Even minor disturbances can increase the likelihood of fire, which is the major cause of CO₂ emissions from regional peat swamp forests and which impact ecosystems worldwide by contributing to climate change. Indo-Malayan peat swamps affect the hydrology of surrounding ecosystems due to their large water storage capacity which slows the passage of floodwaters in wet seasons and maintains stream base flows during dry seasons. These forests are of global importance yet they are inadequately protected and vanishing rapidly, particularly due to agricultural conversion to oil palm, logging, drainage and annual fires.     

Spatiotemporal fire occurrence in Borneo over a period of 10 years

South-east Asia's tropical rainforests are experiencing the highest rate of deforestation worldwide and fire is one of the most important drivers of forest loss and subsequent carbon dioxide emissions. In this study, we analyzed all fire events in Borneo recorded by satellites over a period of 10 years. About 16.2 Mha, which corresponds to 21% of the land surface, have been affected by fire at least once and 6% more than one time. During El Niño conditions, which cause prolonged droughts in the region, the fire-affected area was on average three times larger than during normal weather conditions. Similarly, fires in forests affected 0.3 Mha in normal years and 1 Mha during El Niño years. Carbon rich peat swamp forest ecosystems were most severely affected. There is a pronounced difference in fire occurrence between different countries and provinces in Borneo although ecosystem and land use are very similar across the island. Compared with Sarawak, Sabah (Malaysia) and Brunei the relative annual fire-affected area in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, was on average five times larger. During El Niño conditions the fire-affected area increased only in Kalimantan and not in Brunei and the Malaysia. A similar pattern was observed in National Parks. This suggests, that El Niño related droughts are not the only cause of increased fire occurrence and do not necessarily lead to a higher number of fire events. These results improve our understanding of existing fire regimes and drivers of fire in SE Asian tropical ecosystems and may help to better protect the remaining rainforests.     

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) fire scars reveal new details of a frequent fire regime

Question: How frequent and variable were fire disturbances in longleaf pine ecosystems? Has the frequency and seasonality of fire events changed during the past few centuries? Location: Kisatchie National Forest, Western Gulf Coastal Plain, longleaf pine–bluestem ecosystem, in relatively rough topography adjacent to the Red River, Louisiana, USA. Methods: Cross‐sections of 19 remnant pines exhibiting 190 fire scars were collected from a 1.2‐km² area. Tree‐rings and fire scars were precisely dated and analysed for the purpose of characterizing past changes in fire and tree growth. Temporal variability in fire occurrence and seasonality was described for the pre‐ and post‐European settlement periods. Seasonality of historic fires was determined by the scar position within the rings. The relationship between fire and drought was investigated using correlation and superposed epoch analysis. Results: The mean fire return interval for the period 1650‐1905 was 2.2 years (range 0.5 to 12 yr). Significant new findings include: evidence for years of biannual burning, temporal variability in fire seasonality, an increase in fire frequency and percentage of trees scarred circa 1790, and synchronous growth suppression and subsequent release of trees coinciding with land‐use changes near the turn of the 20th century. Drought conditions appeared unrelated to the occurrence of fire events or fire seasonality. Conclusions: Multi‐century fire history records from longleaf pine ecosystems are difficult to obtain due to historic land‐use practices and the species high resistance to scarring; however, our results indicate potential for reconstructing detailed fire histories in this ecosystem. Fire scars quantitatively documented one of the most frequent fire regimes known. Fire regime information, such as the temporal variability in fire intervals, prevalence of late‐growing season fire events and biannual burning, provide a new perspective on the dynamics of longleaf pine fire regimes.     

Seed germination cues and the importance of the soil seed bank across an environmental gradient in the Serengeti

Soil seed banks are an important source of new individuals for many plant populations and contribute to future genetic variability. In general, the size and persistence of soil seed banks is predicted to be greater where growth occurs in unpredictable pulses, where opportunities for disturbance‐related recruitment are frequent and where the probability of recruitment failure is high. In savanna ecosystems, characterized by disturbance from fire and unpredictable water availability, soil seed banks should be relatively important sources of recruitment. However, the few studies conducted in savannas are inconclusive about the importance of soil seed banks and, more specifically, how seed banks should change across environmental gradients. We determined the number of viable seeds in the soil seed bank across savanna‐grasslands in the Serengeti, an ecosystem characterized by frequent fire and seasonal drought. Soils were exposed to a combination of smoke and heat, cues which may be required to break seed dormancy in such ecosystems. Our a priori expectation was to observe large seed banks in regions characterized by seasonal drought and comparatively smaller seed banks in regions of higher moisture availability and high fire frequencies. In contrast to our hypothesis, seed germination increased strongly with precipitation and fire frequency. In addition, there was a significant interaction effect between fire and rainfall: low rainfall sites with frequent fire had greater seed germination than low rainfall sites with low fire frequency. Moreover, in laboratory experiments, heat had a negative, smoke a positive effect on final seed germination numbers. Together, these findings suggest that fire may be a key factor in driving herbaceous seed bank dynamics in tropical savannas.     

Simulating climate change impacts on fire frequency and vegetation dynamics in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem

The impacts of climate change on Mediterranean‐type ecosystems may result from complex interactions between direct effects on water stress and subsequent modifications in flammability and fire regime leading to changes in standing biomass and plant species composition. We analysed these interrelations through a simulation approach combining scenarios of climate change developed from GCM results and a multispecies functional model for vegetation dynamics, SIERRA. A fire risk procedure based on weekly estimates of vegetation water stress has been implemented. Using climate data from 1960 to 1997, simulations of a typical maquis woodland community have been performed as baseline and compared with two climate scenarios: a change in the rainfall regime alone, and changes in both rainfall and air temperature. Climate changes are defined by an increase in temperature, particularly in summer, and a change in the rainfall pattern leading to a decrease in low rainfall events, and an increase in intense rainfall events. The results illustrate the lack of drastic changes in the succession process, but highlight modifications in the water budget and in the length of the drought periods. Water stress lower than expected regarding statistics on the current climate is simulated, emphasizing a long‐term new equilibrium of vegetation to summer drought but with a higher sensibility to rare events. Regarding fire frequency, climate changes tend to decrease the time interval between two successive fires from 20 to 16 years for the maquis shrubland and from 72 to 62 years in the forested stages. This increase in fire frequency leads to shrub‐dominated landscapes, which accentuates the yield of water by additional deep drainage and runoff.     

Post-Disturbance Plant Community Dynamics following a Rare Natural-Origin Fire in a Tsuga canadensis Forest

Opportunities to directly study infrequent forest disturbance events often lead to valuable information about vegetation dynamics. In mesic temperate forests of North America, stand-replacing crown fire occurs infrequently, with a return interval of 2000-3000 years. Rare chance events, however, may have profound impacts on the developmental trajectories of forest ecosystems. For example, it has been postulated that stand-replacing fire may have been an important factor in the establishment of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands in the northern Great Lakes region. Nevertheless, experimental evidence linking hemlock regeneration to non-anthropogenic fire is limited. To clarify this potential relationship, we monitored vegetation dynamics following a rare lightning-origin crown fire in a Wisconsin hemlock-hardwood forest. We also studied vegetation in bulldozer-created fire breaks and adjacent undisturbed forest. Our results indicate that hemlock establishment was rare in the burned area but moderately common in the scarified bulldozer lines compared to the reference area. Early-successional, non-arboreal species including Rubus spp., Vaccinium angustifolium, sedges (Carex spp.), grasses, Epilobium ciliatum, and Pteridium aquilinium were the most abundant post-fire species. Collectively, our results suggest that competing vegetation and moisture stress resulting from drought may reduce the efficacy of scarification treatments as well as the usefulness of fire for preparing a suitable seedbed for hemlock. The increasing prevalence of growing-season drought suggests that silvicultural strategies based on historic disturbance regimes may need to be reevaluated for mesic species.     

火烧信号对种子萌发影响的研究进展

火作为一个基础的生态因子, 对森林、草地等陆地生态系统的结构和功能有着重要的影响。种子萌发是种子植物的重要生活史阶段, 也是火后植被更新和恢复的主要途径。植被燃烧产生了烟、热以及与烟相关的一系列火烧信号, 在打破种子休眠, 促进种子萌发方面发挥重要作用。该文将火烧信号分为物理信号和化学信号, 物理信号主要是伴随火烧产生的高温, 化学信号主要包括气态烟以及近年来从烟水中提取的影响种子萌发的关键化学物质karrikins和glyceronitrile。该文围绕火烧的基本信息, 火烧信号对种子萌发的影响, 火烧信号在实践中的应用3个方面进行系统综述, 重点探讨了不同类别的火烧信号及其交互作用对种子萌发的影响。在系统总结火烧信号对种子萌发影响的研究进展的基础上, 提出未来的研究应与烟信号作用机理的探究以及全球变化等方面相结合, 旨在充分发挥火的生态服务功能, 为火的科学管理应用和退化生态系统恢复提供理论支撑。     

Landscape Management of Fire and Grazing Regimes Alters the Fine-Scale Habitat Utilisation by Feral Cats

Intensification of fires and grazing by large herbivores has caused population declines in small vertebrates in many ecosystems worldwide. Impacts are rarely direct, and usually appear driven via indirect pathways, such as changes to predator-prey dynamics. Fire events and grazing may improve habitat and/or hunting success for the predators of small mammals, however, such impacts have not been documented. To test for such an interaction, we investigated fine-scale habitat selection by feral cats in relation to fire, grazing and small-mammal abundance. Our study was conducted in north-western Australia, where small mammal populations are sensitive to changes in fire and grazing management. We deployed GPS collars on 32 cats in landscapes with contrasting fire and grazing treatments. Fine-scale habitat selection was determined using discrete choice modelling of cat movements. We found that cats selected areas with open grass cover, including heavily-grazed areas. They strongly selected for areas recently burnt by intense fires, but only in habitats that typically support high abundance of small mammals. Intense fires and grazing by introduced herbivores created conditions that are favoured by cats, probably because their hunting success is improved. This mechanism could explain why, in northern Australia, impacts of feral cats on small mammals might have increased. Our results suggest the impact of feral cats could be reduced in most ecosystems by maximising grass cover, minimising the incidence of intense fires, and reducing grazing by large herbivores.     

采伐和火烧对森林氮动态的影响

森林是重要的陆地生态系统类型,它通过特有的养分循环机制维持其结构和功能.其中氮素对林木生长和发育十分重要,而且常是森林生产力的限制因素.另一方面,森林氮动态又常受到人类活动干扰的影响.根据国内外研究结果综述了采伐和火烧对森林氮动态的影响.结果表明采伐后环境因素的变化将影响森林N动态,其中最为关注的是采伐后一系列因素引起的N损失,如:N淋溶增加、伴随生物量的N迁移以及因径流或侵蚀增加造成的枯枝落叶层和土壤层N流失.这些N损失又将影响更新林分的生长和生产力.此外,采伐后N吸收速率一般下降,但随着植被快速生长N吸收速率将不断增加.采伐后氨化和硝化过程增强,但因短期内同化作用较弱,生态系统中大部分N将发生损失.火烧对森林N动态的短期影响主要包括:第一,火烧时N直接挥发损失;第二,火烧后N有效性增加,这主要由灰分沉积、根和微生物死亡及有机质N矿化增强等综合造成.随着时间延长,N有效性逐渐降低,这可能与火烧引起的有机质损失、植物N吸收增加、淋溶或侵蚀损失有关.然而,目前关于火烧造成的长期生态影响,如火烧后地上植被恢复与地下生物地球化学过程变化有何联系仍不太清楚.未来研究应着重于探讨氮素对森林采伐和火烧作出的短期响应将如何长期影响森林的结构和功能.此外,建议在实施营林方案时需考虑采伐和火烧对生态系统氮的影响.     

不同区域森林火灾对生态因子的响应及其概率模型

火灾是影响森林生态系统过程的重要干扰之一,其对森林生态系统内各生态因子的响应各不相同.由于植被状况及生态环境的不同,森林火灾的时空分布特征在中国不同植被气候类型内表现不同,根据植被气候类型分类系统,将中国主要森林火灾地区划分为4个区域:东北(冷温带松林)、华北(落叶阔叶林)、东南(常绿阔叶林)和西南(热带雨林),应用遥感监测数据和地面环境数据,以时空变量、生态因子(植被生长变化指数、湿度等)为可选自变量,应用半参数化Logistic回归模型,就森林火险对不同生态影响因子的响应规律进行了分析,建立了基于生态因子的着火概率模型和大火蔓延概率模型,通过模拟及实际数据散点图、火险概率图,评估了模型应用价值.结果表明,土壤湿度及植被含水量在落叶阔叶林、常绿阔叶林、热带雨林地区对着火概率影响显著.在4个植被气候区内,土壤及凋落物湿度对大火蔓延的作用较小.在冷温带松林、落叶阔叶林、常绿阔叶林地区,植被生长的年内变化对火灾发生的影响显著,在常绿阔叶林地区,年内植被生长变化对大火蔓延的作用较小.森林火险概率与各生态因子的相关关系主要呈现出非线性.不同植被气候区内,火险概率受不同生态因子组合的影响,这与不同区域的植被状况及生态环境不同有关.在不同植被气候类型,应用时空变量、生态因子建立半参数化logistic回归模型,进行着火概率和大火蔓延概率的模拟具有可行性和实际应用能力.为进一步分析森林生态系统与火灾之间的动态关系、展开生态系统火灾干扰研究提供了理论基础.     

火干扰对森林生态系统土壤呼吸组分的影响研究进展

土壤呼吸是陆地生态系统与大气碳交换的主要方式,主要分为自养呼吸和异养呼吸。土壤呼吸不仅是森林生态系统碳循环过程的关键环节,也是森林生态系统能量流动和物质循环的重要生态过程。火作为森林生态系统中一个重要的生态因子,可以在短时间内对土壤呼吸组分造成巨大的影响。火干扰对土壤呼吸组分的影响与火烧强度、火烧频率、火烧持续时间以及火后恢复等因子有关,通过影响植被的根系与组成、微生物群落数量与结构,凋落物的数量以及生态系统的环境和小气候等,进而对土壤呼吸产生影响。火干扰对土壤呼吸影响整体表现为火烧后土壤呼吸速率下降,在几个月至几年内恢复到火烧前水平,之后火继续对土壤呼吸产生影响长达数年至数十年。通过描述火烧强度、火烧频率以及火后恢复时间,阐述火干扰对土壤呼吸组分的直接影响,以及通过火后环境对土壤呼吸组分产生的间接影响,来揭示火干扰对森林生态系统土壤呼吸组分的影响。同时针对火干扰对土壤呼吸组分的影响进行以下3个方面的研究展望：（1）火后产生的黑碳对土壤呼吸组分的影响;（2）火后植被恢复对土壤呼吸组分产生的影响;（3）火后土壤呼吸组分的长期变化规律。     

火干扰对小兴安岭白桦沼泽和落叶松-苔草沼泽凋落物和土壤碳储量的影响

火干扰在湿地生态系统中起着重要的作用,尽管湿地占全球陆地生态系统很小一部分,却是陆地生态系统一个重要的碳汇。然而关于火干扰对我国小兴安岭森林沼泽生态系统土壤碳库影响的研究鲜有报道。因此选取两种森林沼泽典型地段进行土壤取样,研究火干扰对小兴安岭白桦(Betula platyphylla)沼泽和落叶松(Larix gmelinii)-苔草(Carex schmidtii)沼泽地表凋落物和土壤碳储量(0—50 cm)的影响。研究结果表明:①重度火烧使得白桦沼泽地表凋落物量和碳储量降低了36.36%(0.50 kg/m2)和35.52%(0.23 kg C/m2),而轻度火烧无显著影响;轻度火烧和重度火烧落叶松-苔草沼泽地表凋落物量和碳储量分别减少了45.32%(0.99 kg/m2)和44.66%(0.42 kg C/m2)、50.42%(1.10 kg/m2)和49.71%(0.47 kg C/m2);②白桦沼泽和落叶松-苔草沼泽两者对照样地、轻度火烧样地、重度火烧样地的土壤碳储量(0—50 cm)分别为(23.55±6.34)kg C/m2、(18.50±8.16)kg C/m2、(32.50±7.22)kg C/m2和(20.89±2.59)kg C/m2、(23.52±16.03)kg C/m2、(21.75±6.60)kg C/m2,然而火干扰对两种森林沼泽土壤碳储量(0—50 cm)影响不显著。研究结果可为我国东北开展森林湿地计划火烧和碳管理提供理论依据。     

Divergent Fire Regimes in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Chestnut Forest Landscapes

Humans have historically played a critical role in the management of Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs) through traditional fire use. Although chestnut forests are widespread across the Mediterranean Basin, little is known about their historical fire regimes. Our goal here is to generate testable hypotheses about the drivers of fire regime dynamics in chestnut dominated ecosystems. To examine anthropogenic fire management we selected two sites in Spain that have similar biophysical characteristics but divergent levels of economic development and fire management policies. Fire regime-landscape feedbacks were characterized through a pilot dendroecological study, official fire statistics, aerial photography and forest inventory data. Our results suggest that fire incidence in both sites has increased since the pre-industrial era but fire season, fire size, and forest structure have changed to a greater extent in the more developed site. These changes are probably driven by the decline in annual anthropogenic burning of litterfall by local communities at the more developed site during the non-vegetative season.     

Macrocharcoal-Based Chronosequences Reveal Shifting Dominance of Conifer Boreal Forests Under Changing Fire Regime

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce (Picea mariana) forests are the main conifer forest types in the North American boreal zone. The coexistence of the two species as well as their respective canopy dominance in distinct stands raises questions about the long-term evolution from one forest type to the other in relation to environmental factors including climate and stand disturbance. We tested the hypothesis that repetitive fire events promote the succession of balsam fir forest to black spruce forest and vice versa. Postfire chronosequences of one black spruce (BSP) and one balsam fir (BFI) sites were reconstructed based on the botanical composition and ¹⁴C-dated soil macrocharcoals. The results support the hypothesis of a successional dynamics. The BSP site has been affected by fires for the last 7600 years, whereas the BFI site, after having been impacted by several fires during the first half of the Holocene, evolved in a fire-free environment for the last 4400 years. Periods of fire activity facilitated the dominance of black spruce forests. The cessation of fires around 4400 cal. years BP on BFI site marks the beginning of the transition from black spruce to balsam fir stands. This succession is a long process, due to the ability of black spruce to regenerate by layering in the absence of fire. The resulting balsam fir stands are ancient and precarious ecosystems, since fire generally leads to the return of black spruce. The increase in balsam fir to the detriment of black spruce in boreal forests is a response to a decrease in fire frequency.     

The potential importance of unburned islands as refugia for the persistence of wildlife species in fire‐prone ecosystems

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Contagious Disturbance, Ecological Memory, and the Emergence of Landscape Pattern

Landscapes are strongly shaped by the degree of interaction between pattern and process. This paper examines how ecological memory, the degree to which an ecological process is shaped by its past modifications of a landscape, influences landscape dynamics. I use a simulation model to examine how ecological memory shapes the landscape dynamics produced by the interaction of vegetative regrowth and fire. The model illustrated that increased ecological memory increased the strength and spatial extent of landscape pattern. The extent of these changes depended upon the relative rates of vegetative recovery and fire initiation. When ecological memory is strong, landscape pattern is persistent; pattern tends to be maintained rather than destroyed by fire. The generality of the simulation model suggests that these results may also apply to disturbance processes other than fire. The existence of ecological memory in ecosystems may allow processes to produce ecological pattern that can entrain other ecosystem variables. The methods presented in this paper to analyze pattern in model ecosystems could be used to detect such pattern in actual ecosystems. Received 14 November 2000; accepted 21 September 2001.     

Two proxy records revealing the late Holocene fire history at a site on the central coast of New South Wales,Australia

Abstract: The local fire history of a coastal swamp catchment in New South Wales was reconstructed using two proxy records of fire: sedimentary macroscopic charcoal and fire‐scar analyses of Xanthorrhoea johnsonii. The charcoal analysis provided a record of fire activity spanning the last 2800 years, while the Xanthorrhoea record covered the last approx. 300 years. The ability of each method to accurately record fire events was verified by cross referencing against the recent (post 1968) historic fire record. Fire history was then extrapolated beyond the historic record, to reveal an unprecedented level of fire activity in the last 35 years, which coincides with increased human activity in the area. In the prehistoric period charcoal and fire scars are comparatively rare, which is most parsimoniously ascribed to little fire activity, but perhaps represents skilful fire manipulation, as is often attributed to Aboriginal people. The comparatively minor fluctuations in macroscopic charcoal during the prehistoric period were approximately coeval with previous evidence of late Holocene environmental change in south‐eastern Australia, suggesting that fire frequency at the site responded to climatic variability. The longer temporal perspective of this palaeoenvironmental approach provides information for the contemporary management of fire in this conservation reserve.     

Towards an understanding of the evolutionary role of fire in animals

Wildfires underpin the dynamics and diversity of many ecosystems worldwide, and plants show a plethora of adaptive traits for persisting recurrent fires. Many fire-prone ecosystems also harbor a rich fauna; however, knowledge about adaptive traits to fire in animals remains poorly explored. We review existing literature and suggest that fire is an important evolutionary driver for animal diversity because (1) many animals are present in fire-prone landscapes and may have structural and phenotypic characters that contribute to adaptation to these open landscapes; and (2) in some cases, animals from fire-prone ecosystems may show specific fire adaptations. While there is limited evidence on morphological fire adaptations in animals, there is evidence suggesting that different behaviors might provide a rich source of putative fire adaptations; this is because, in contrast to plants, most animals are mobile, unitary organisms, have reduced survival when directly burnt by fire and can move away from the fire. We call for research on fire adaptations (morphological, behavioral, and physiological) in animals, and emphasize that in the animal kingdom many fire adaptations are likely to be behavioral. While it may be difficult to discern these adaptations from other animal behaviors, making this distinction is fundamental if we want to understand the role of fire in shaping biodiversity. Developing this understanding is critical to how we view and manage our ecosystems in the face of current global and fire regime changes.