澳大利亚森林火灾的管理与火生态的研究

澳大利亚是火灾频发的地区．每年因森林火灾的危害都要造成相当的社会、经济损失及生态环境的破坏,故火生态的研究及火的管理在澳大利亚的生态学研究中一直占有重要地位．本文主要讨论了澳洲森林大火起燃的物理过程和机制、可燃物的特征、林火的特点、习性及对生态环境的影响和如何控制和减少火灾的危害性,达到对火进行利用、控制和管理的目的．     

Mapping fire severity and fire extent in forest in Victoria for ecological and fuel outcomes

This study shows how high‐resolution (~15 cm) simultaneous colour and infra‐red digital aerial photography can be used to map both fire severity and, particularly, fire extent, in forest in south‐eastern Australia. The results show that this methodology is capable of detecting and mapping burnt and unburnt edges under unaffected forest canopy (i.e. still green) – that is, revealing the mosaic of burnt and unburnt areas that often result from planned landscape burning under mild weather conditions (i.e. with little of the brownish canopy scorch that results from more intense bushfires). This has important implications for both fuel management and ecology. It can answer the basic questions of fire and biodiversity managers following planned burning –’how much of the planned area burnt, and, within the burnt area, what aspects were burnt, and how hot did they burn?’ The analysis of fire extent by aspect showed that about 80% of southern and eastern aspects remained unburnt during broadscale autumn prescribed burning, with many of these moister aspects potentially providing longer unburnt refuges over multiple burn rotations. The fire severity and extent mapping products, produced using the methodology outlined in this study, have the potential to substantially increase the understanding of the ecological and fuel outcomes of landscape‐scale autumn prescribed burning.     

虚拟森林景观中林火蔓延模型及三维可视化表达

传统上的林火模拟通常只选用一种林火模型,用一个简单的椭圆预测林火蔓延时火场各个位置的情况,与现实中火灾蔓延状况相差甚远,而且以往的林火蔓延是基于二维可视化表达,表达信息有限.本系统采用现今运用最广泛的Rothermel模型,利用Huygen原理,并以改进的粒子系统方法三维模拟在不同的风速、坡度下林火在火场不同位置的扩散行为.采用该方法模拟林火扩散行为,不仅能实时显示受灾面积、火势蔓延的方向、火势大小,且能给人以真实感.并将该方法成功地应用于福建漳浦林区.     

Effects of fire severity in a north Patagonian subalpine forest

Abstract. Question: What is the relative importance of fire‐induced canopy mortality, soil burning and post‐fire herbivory on tree seedling performance? Location: Subalpine Nothofagus pumilio forests at Challhuaco valley (41°13'S, 71°19'W), Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina. Methods: We fenced and transplanted soils of three burning severities along a fire severity gradient produced by a fire in 1996. Over two growing seasons we monitored soil water, direct incoming solar radiation, seedling survival, final seedling total biomass and root/shoot ratio. Additionally, we assessed severity‐related changes in soil properties. Results: Incoming radiation (an indicator of the amount of canopy cover left by the fire) was the primary factor influencing spring and summer top soil water availability, first and second‐year seedling survival and seedling growth. While seedling survival and soil water content were negatively affected by increased radiation, seedling final biomass was highest in very open microsites. Burned soils showed lower water holding capacity and soil carbon; however these changes did not affect topsoil water, and, contrary to expectation, there was a slight tendency toward higher seedling survival on more heavily burned soils. Herbivory significantly reduced seedling survival, but only under high‐radiation conditions. While the effect of radiation on final seedling biomass was not affected by herbivory, R/S ratios were significantly reduced by herbivory in high radiation micro sites. Conclusions: Despite inducing faster aerial growth, increased radiation and herbivory in severely burned sites may effectively prevent post‐fire regeneration in north Patagonian subalpine forest where seed sources are not limiting.     

Methods for quantifying fire severity in shrubland-fires

Methods are presented to relate temperature-residence-time at the soil surface, i.e., time above 150 ºC as an estimation of the severity of a fire, with measurements made during an experimental fire or on two post hoc measurements. The experiment was carried out in a shrubland dominated by the woody-legume Cytisus striatus subsp. eriocarpus, in Central Spain. Temperature-sensitive paints, and steam-releasing open-calorimeters were used as fire-meters during the burn. Post hoc measurements used were estimations of heat output per unit area, and measurements of the minimum diameter of branches of Cytisus remaining after the fire. Time above 150 ºC was obtained from measurements made with thermocouples placed at the soil surface in 20 contiguous 1×1 m squares of the burn plot. All other measurements were made at each 1×1 m in the 22×3 m rectangle surrounding, and including, the thermocouple squares. Various simple and multiple regression models were constructed to predict time above 150 ºC from each of the four measurements made during or after the fire. Maximum coefficients of determination obtained for regressions were 0.61 and 0.62 for water mass loss from open-calorimeters and branch diameter, respectively. Using all the variables in a multiple regression model, time above 150 ºC was related to water mass loss from open-calorimeters and heat output per unit area with a coefficient of determination of 0.77. It is concluded that estimations of time above 150 ºC at the soil surface during the passage of fire may be possible based on simple devices, such as open-calorimeters, or on biological indicators, such as minimum branch diameters. Additionally, combining two methods (open-calorimeters, estimations of heat output per unit area) may allow the reconstruction of the time above 150 ºC during the fire at a scale of 1 ², an important characteristic of a burn to understand ecosystem response to fire.     

临安次生灌丛植物多样性对林火烈度空间异质性的响应

以同一过火3a后临安市太阳镇天然次生灌丛为对象,采用样地调查法按不同林火烈度设置火干扰样地进行植物群落调查,以检验林分内部的林火烈度异质性是否与局部的植物多样性变化相关。结果表明:研究区共有高等植物83种,分属于38科67属,群落区系组成以亚热带科属为主,表现出常绿阔叶林已退化过渡到位于演替早期阶段的落叶次生灌丛群落的性质;低林火烈度对灌木层的树种组成有影响,但不明显;中烈度林火对灌木层的物种组成影响较大;低、中林火烈度下草本层的物种组成变化都很明显;灌木层的物种数和多样性指数都表现出低烈度火未火烧中烈度火的趋势;草本层的物种数、多样性指数和均匀度指数表现出中烈度火低烈度火未火烧的趋势;草本层的物种组成和多样性受林火烈度的影响较灌木层更大。研究表明次生灌丛群落过火区内部林火烈度异质性在初期会引起植物多样性的响应差异;低烈度火干扰可以增加次生灌丛生物多样性、促进群落更新;中烈度火干扰下木本植物物种多样性丧失较大,而草本植物多样性显著增加,不利于群落的正向演替。     

Effects of regeneration burning on the properties of forest soils in southern Tasmania: Comments on recent study by Elliset al. (1982)

Summary Important methodological factors which should be considered when attempting to measure and interpret the effects of hot slash fires on the properties of forest surface soils are briefly discussed. Soil properties cannot be assumed to be similar, prior to cutting and burning of forest, on coupes located several kilometres apart in dissected terrain. In order to study the effects of forest treatment on soil properties, sites should either be closely adjacent or preferably measurements should be taken before and after treatment on the same experimental area.It is argued that the conclusions reached by Elliset al. regarding the effects of regeneration burning on soil properties in southern Tasmania are unjustified because of the use of inappropriate experimental methods.     

Unsupported inferences of high‐severity fire in historical dry forests of the western United States: response to Williams and Baker

Reconstructions of dry western US forests in the late 19th century in Arizona, Colorado and Oregon based on General Land Office records were used by Williams & Baker (2012; Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21 , 1042–1052; hereafter W&B) to infer past fire regimes with substantial moderate and high‐severity burning. The authors concluded that present‐day large, high‐severity fires are not distinguishable from historical patterns. We present evidence of important errors in their study. First, the use of tree size distributions to reconstruct past fire severity and extent is not supported by empirical age–size relationships nor by studies that directly quantified disturbance history in these forests. Second, the fire severity classification of W&B is qualitatively different from most modern classification schemes, and is based on different types of data, leading to an inappropriate comparison. Third, we note that while W&B asserted ‘surprising’ heterogeneity in their reconstructions of stand density and species composition, their data are not substantially different from many previous studies which reached very different conclusions about subsequent forest and fire behaviour changes. Contrary to the conclusions of W&B, the preponderance of scientific evidence indicates that conservation of dry forest ecosystems in the western United States and their ecological, social and economic value is not consistent with a present‐day disturbance regime of large, high‐severity fires, especially under changing climate.     

Cattle grazing does not reduce fire severity in eucalypt forests and woodlands of the Australian Alps

Large grazing herbivores can change fire regimes by altering fuel types and abundance, particularly in savanna biomes where the dominant fuel is grass. The use of herbivores as a fire management tool is receiving increasing consideration globally, but this intervention has a limited evidence‐base and is controversial because of potential deleterious ecological effects. These issues are well illustrated by the political and scientific debate about the capacity of cattle grazing to reduce fire hazard in the Victorian Alps of Australia; there have been remarkably few scientific studies to illuminate this issue. Here we use remote sensing and geographic information system analysis to determine the effect of active grazing licences on fire severity (crown scorch) in eucalypt forests and woodlands following large fires in the Alps during the summers of 2002/2003 and 2006/2007. Our statistical analyses, which controlled for spatial autocorrelation, found crown scorch was strongly related to vegetation type but there was no evidence that cattle grazing reduced fire severity. There was some evidence that grazing could increase fire severity by possibly changing fuel arrays. Such landscape analyses are a critical approach given that large‐scale grazing × fire trials are prohibitively expensive and impractical to conduct.     

An objective approach to evaluating natural drainage of forest mineral soils for non-specialists

Soil drainage is a fundamental element of northern forest productivity. However, its evaluation is a complex operation involving numerous parameters, while no standard approach exists as yet. We have devised drainage evaluation grids based on topographical, edaphical and vegetational parameters. Since distinct surficial deposits influence the relationships between drainage classes and evaluation parameters in distinct patterns, different grids have been proposed for different textural groups.     

Changes in soil macroarthropod communities in relation to forest maturation through three successional stages in the Canadian boreal forest

The edaphic macroarthropod communities of three sites representative of the forest succession in the Lake Duparquet region (situated in the southern part of the boreal forest, Abitibi, Quebec, Canada) were studied. A 47-year-old deciduous forest, a 144-year-old mixed forest, and a 231-year-old coniferous forest form a successional forest gradient with a vegetation composition that is a function of the time elapsed since the last forest fire. Along with forest succession, there is a reduction in macroarthropod community biodiversity. There is a negative gradient for mean total abundance (237–41 individuals), total richness (63–23 species), density (1792–661 individuals/m²), diversity (H′ = 1.478–1.007) and equitability (J = 0.821–0.739). These community changes affect saprophagous organisms more than predators. Certain species or taxa show preferences for a particular forest type, such as larval Diptera for the deciduous forest. A comparison of these results with the literature suggests an inverse preference as to habitat choice between microarthropods (Acarina and Collembola) and macroarthropods. From a conservation point of view, macroarthropod biodiversity will be favored by the protection of all forest types since each environment possesses a particular community structure and species. Received: 17 April 1995 / Accepted: 1 April 1996     

Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta

Abstract. Spatial and temporal variations in fire frequency in the boreal forest of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) were assessed using forest stand age, fire scar and historical data. I test the hypotheses that (1) fire frequency is higher in jack pine forests and aspen forests than in black spruce forests and white spruce forests, (2) these variations in fire frequency can be related to the mean waterbreak distance (MWD) around a site and (3) fire frequency has changed over the past 300 years. The fire cycles (the time required to burn an area equal in size to the entire study area) in jack pine forests (39 years) and in aspen forests (39 years) were significantly shorter than those in black spruce forests (78 years) and in white spruce forests (96 years). The length of the fire cycle varies inversely with the MWD around a site, and the MWD was significantly higher in jack pine and aspen forests than in black or white spruce forests. It is suggested that covariations between soil type and the MWD influence, respectively, variations in forest dominant and fire frequency. A change in fire frequency at 1860 was apparent in the fire history for all of WBNP, the black spruce dominated stands, and the near and medium MWD classes. The fire cycle estimates for these classes were all significantly shorter during the period 1750 to 1859 (fire cycles = 25–49 years) than they were in the period 1860 to 1989 (fire cycles = 59–89 years). The possible roles of changes in climate and aboriginal burning practices in causing the temporal change in fire frequency are discussed.     

基于GIS的大兴安岭森林火险区划

以黑龙江省大兴安岭图强林业局育英林场和奋斗林场为研究区,以GIS技术为支撑,选取植被类型、海拔、坡度、坡向和离居住区远近作为主要林火影响因子,采用因子加权叠置法,对研究区森林火险情况进行了定量评价,将火险等级分为无、低、中、高和极高5类.结果表明,无、低、中、高和极高火险区分别占研究区的0.37%、0.63%、38.67%、58.63%和1.70%,符合正态分布;中及以上火险区占60.33%,说明研究区森林火灾管理任务仍相当繁重;森林火险等级的地域分异明显,中部高四周低,在不同林火影响因子上的分异十分明显;火险等级与1987年的火烧强度具有较强的一致性,说明火险区划结果具有较高的可靠性,可为林业部门进行森林火灾管理提供有价值的参考.     

Small mammal responses to fire severity mediated by vegetation characteristics and species traits

The frequency of large, high‐severity “mega‐fires” has increased in recent decades, with numerous consequences for forest ecosystems. In particular, small mammal communities are vulnerable to post‐fire shifts in resource availability and play critical roles in forest ecosystems. Inconsistencies in previous observations of small mammal community responses to fire severity underscore the importance of examining mechanisms regulating the effects of fire severity on post‐fire recovery of small mammal communities. We compared small mammal abundance, diversity, and community structure among habitats that burned at different severities, and used vegetation characteristics and small mammal functional traits to predict community responses to fire severity three years after one mega‐fire in the Sierra Nevada, California. Using a model‐based fourth‐corner analysis, we examined how interactions between vegetation variables and small mammal traits associated with their resource use were associated with post‐fire small mammal community structure among fire severity categories. Small mammal abundance was similar across fire severity categories, but diversity decreased and community structure shifted as fire severity increased. Differences in small mammal communities were large only between unburned and high‐severity sites. Three highly correlated fire‐dependent vegetation variables affected by fire and the volume of soft coarse woody debris were associated with small mammal community structures. Furthermore, we found that interactions between vegetation variables and three small mammal traits (feeding guild, primary foraging mode, and primary nesting habit) predicted community structure across fire severity categories. We concluded that resource use was important in regulating small mammal recovery after the fire because vegetation provided required resources to small mammals as determined by their functional traits. Given the mechanistic nature of our analyses, these results may be applicable to other fire‐prone forest systems, although it will be important to conduct studies across large biogeographic regions and over long post‐fire time periods to assess generality.     

1957-2007年云南省森林火险变化

当前以变暖为主要特征的气候变化已对全球林火的发生产生重要影响.本文基于日气象数据(气温、降水量、空气相对湿度、风速),按照加拿大火险天气指数的计算方法,计算了云南省1957-2007年间每日的森林火险天气指数,分析了该省50年来森林火险的变化趋势.结果表明:云南省的火险期为上年11月至当年6月,持续期约8个月;林火数据(林火数量、过火面积和受害森林面积)与火险天气指数的相关性显著,半腐层湿度码(DMC)的火险期平均值和火险期严峻度(SSR)可作为不同火险期火险状况比较的良好指标.1957-2007年云南省森林火险状况呈现2种变化趋势:1)总体上周期性变化趋势明显,在周期性变化的同时呈上升趋势,表现为1991-2007年的火险状况比1961-1990年的火险状况略有升高;2)1991-2007年各火险期火险状况的波动性下降,火险状况异常严峻的火险期数量比1961-1990年减少.

Abstract：

Climate warming has already made great impact on forest fires. Based on the daily me-teorological data (temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and wind speed), and by using the Canadian Fire Weather Index calculation formula, the daily forest fire weather indices (FWIs) of Yunnan Province in 1957-2007 were calculated, and through the statistical analysis of FWIs, the forest fire trends in this province over the past 50 years were studied. In the past 50 years, the forest fire season in Yunnan Province was from previous year November to current year June, lasting 8 months. Fire data (fire numbers, burned area, and burned forest area) had sig-nificant relationships with fire weather indices. The average daily duff moisture code (DMC) in whole fire season and the seasonal severity rating (SSR) were the good indices to evaluate the fire danger conditions among different fire seasons. The forest fire danger in Yunnan Province in 1957-2007 showed two change trends. One showed a clear cyclical change and a weak upward trend, i. e. , the fire danger conditions in 1991-2007 was slightly severer than that in 1961-1990 ; and the another was that the fluctuation of forest fire danger conditions among different fire seasons decreased in 1991-2007, and the number of abnormal severe fire seasons was less than that in 1961-1990.     

Glomalin content of forest soils in relation to fire frequency and landscape position

Low-intensity, dormant season fires were frequent and widespread in oak-hickory ( Quercus-Carya) forests of eastern North America until widespread fire suppression began in the mid-1900s. To assess how reintroduction of fire into such ecosystems might affect the activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and, thereby, predict the long-term responses of plants and soils to fire, we analyzed the content of the immunoreactive fractions of the AM-fungus-specific glycoprotein glomalin in soils taken in 1994 and 2000 from three forested watersheds in southern Ohio, USA. One watershed remained unburned, one was burned annually from 1996-1999 and one was burned twice, in 1996 and 1999. In addition, to account for the strong landscape-scale gradients of microclimate and soil that typify these watersheds, we stratified each watershed-scale treatment area into three microclimatic zones (=landscape positions) using a GIS-based integrated moisture index (IMI). In the unburned control, the concentrations of immunoreactive, easily-extractable glomalin (IREEG) and immunoreactive total glomalin (IRTG) did not change significantly over the 6-year interval between sampling times, either overall or within any of the three IMI classes. IRTG content was greatest in the mesic landscape positions and lowest in the relatively xeric landscape positions, but IREEG did not vary among landscape positions. Neither IREEG nor IRTG contents were affected by fire, nor were there significant interactions between fire and landscape position in glomalin content. Both correlation and regression analyses demonstrated significant linkages between soil glomalin content, the density/diversity of herbaceous plants, and soil N availability. Despite significant effects of fires on soil N availability and root growth, we resolved no effect of fire on AM fungal activity at this spatial scale.     

Assessment of forest recovery at Wu-Ling fire scars in Taiwan using multi-temporal Landsat imagery

Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), a satellite-derived index widely used to map the burned area and to assess burn severity level, was reconceptualized to propose the indices of post-fire recovery condition and resilience. Time series Landsat imagery during 1994–2015 were used to observe the forest recovery of Wu-Ling fire scars in Taiwan. Burn Recovery Ratio (BRR) was newly developed as the indicator to better clarify the forest recovery status. Results show that BRR coupled with dNBR (bi-temporal NBR) could quantitatively describe the level of forest recovery through the heterogeneity of forest landscape which is confirmed by field investigation. Time of complete recovery (t_c), indicator of post-fire resilience, were predicted using curve-fitting of forest recovery trajectories to the exponential decay function. The spatial distribution of t_c could reveal the patterns of post-fire recovery across the fire scars. For wildfire prevention, the issue of fire recurrence should be concerned at the areas of fire-adapted species with low t_c value. For areas of deterioration sites with high t_c value, the rehabilitation project should be implemented to accelerate forest restoration.     

Wildfires in the western Canadian boreal forest: Landscape patterns and ecosystem management

Abstract. Mimicking of natural disturbance for ecosystem management requires an understanding of the disturbance processes and the resulting landscape patterns. Since fire is the major disturbance in the boreal forest, three widely held beliefs about fire behavior and resulting landscape patterns are examined in light of the empirical evidence available. These beliefs are: (1) that there is a ‘natural’ fire frequency for boreal ecosystems; (2) that the landscape mosaic created by wildfire is generally one of small, younger patches embedded within a matrix of older forest; and (3) that forest flammability is largely controlled by fuel accumulation. Despite the apparently logical basis for such beliefs, they are not well supported by empirical evidence. This discrepancy is explained by problems such as failure to appreciate the relationship between number of fires and area burned and inappropriate extrapolations or generalizations from other regions and vegetation types. The most important implications for management are that the natural disturbance processes producing landscape patterns in the boreal forest generally operate at much larger scales than management units, and that humans may have more indirect (through landuse change) rather than direct (through fire suppression) effects on the frequency of wildfires.