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The ecological theory of alternative stable states describes how different ecosystems can exist side by side, and how they can shift as a result of disturbance. Applied to fire ecology, the theory describes how flammable and less-flammable vegetation types can exist side by side, and are maintained by different relationships with fire. [3]
The Amazon rainforest has recently experienced fires that occurred inside the forest when wildfires tend to occur on the outer edges of the forest. [15] Wetlands have faced an increase in forest fires as well. [15] Due to the change in temperature, the climate around forests have become warm and dry, conditions that allow forest fires to occur ...
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. [1] Many ecosystems, particularly prairie , savanna , chaparral and coniferous forests , have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vitality and renewal. [ 2 ]
More importantly, fires have long-term effects on the post-burn environment. Fires in seldom-burned rainforests can cause disasters. For example, El Niño-induced surface fires in central Brazilian Amazonia have seriously affected the habitats of birds and primates. [22] Fires also expose animals to dangers such as humans or predators.
These positive feedbacks include an increase in wildfire frequency and severity, substantial losses from tropical rainforests due to fires and drying and tree losses elsewhere. [ 8 ] : 698 The Amazon rainforest is a well-known example due to its enormous size and importance, and because the damage it experiences from climate change is ...
Nearly 85% of U.S. wildfires are caused by humans, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Natural causes include lightning and volcanic activity. The Hawaiian Islands have six active volcanoes ...
Fire regimes of United States plants. Savannas have regimes of a few years: blue, pink, and light green areas. When first encountered by Europeans, many ecosystems were the result of repeated fires every one to three years, resulting in the replacement of forests with grassland or savanna, or opening up the forest by removing undergrowth. [23]
Conservationists, driven by the progressive mindset, viewed forest fires—which they did not connect to being part of the natural ecosystem—as wasteful, inefficient, and a hindrance to development.