A phenology-driven fire danger index for northern grasslands

Sjöström, Johan; Granström, Anders

doi:10.1071/wf23013

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…As you move northward towards colder climates and increasing seasonality, the flammable periods become shorter and less frequent (Sjöström & Granström, 2023). In the temperate region of this study, flammability is often restricted to previous-year grass litter and for a short period in early spring (Sjöström & Granström, 2023). This is a likely reason for the weaker effect of fire than of herbivory in our study.…”

Section: Forbs Need Open Habitats To Germinate and A Relaxation Of He...mentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Furthermore, fire is restricted to periods when the vegetation is flammable, and the release of competition also has a shorter duration than under constant herbivory (Sjöström & Granström, 2023). As you move northward towards colder climates and increasing seasonality, the flammable periods become shorter and less frequent (Sjöström & Granström, 2023). In the temperate region of this study, flammability is often restricted to previous-year grass litter and for a short period in early spring (Sjöström & Granström, 2023).…”

Section: Forbs Need Open Habitats To Germinate and A Relaxation Of He...mentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Fire also acts differently in spatial and temporal aspects; fire affects spatially uniform areas and occurs more rarely while herbivory is considered more continuous in time but more patchy in space . Furthermore, fire is restricted to periods when the vegetation is flammable, and the release of competition also has a shorter duration than under constant herbivory (Sjöström & Granström, 2023). As you move northward towards colder climates and increasing seasonality, the flammable periods become shorter and less frequent (Sjöström & Granström, 2023).…”

Section: Forbs Need Open Habitats To Germinate and A Relaxation Of He...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire and herbivory – key drivers of temperate open ecosystems : Effects of consumer control on woody and herbaceous plant communities in temperate wood-pasture

Amsten

2023

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae

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The decline of open and semi-open habitats is an important reason behind the ongoing worldwide loss of biodiversity. Understanding the drivers of habitat openness is an important key for preventing the continued loss of these ancient ecosystems. In other continents, fire and herbivory are well-studied and identified as important processes in preventing open habitats from turning into closed forests. The aim of this thesis is to apply the established concept of consumer control in a new context: the northern areas of temperate Europe. In a large field experiment in a Swedish wood-pasture, we first studied how two consumers, prescribed grass fire and grazing by cattle, alone or in combination, affected the survival and growth of planted tree saplings (I). The tree species demonstrated different strategies to resist fire or herbivory. Either they survived by re-sprouting or they quickly grew out of reach of the consumers. In addition, we studied the effect of the two consumers on the establishment and reproduction of sowed open habitat forbs (II). Herbivory improved the conditions for the establishment of forbs, but fire promoted the production of inflorescences. A release of grazing pressure increased the number of remaining flowers at the end of the growing season, confirming the importance of variation in herbivory intensity over time for the persistence of forbs. In a third study, we studied the interaction between fire and cattle grazing (III). We followed the foraging behaviour of cattle with camera traps and found that when a larger proportion of an area was burned, the cattle preferred to graze in the newly burned areas. This led to a reduction in fuel, altering the future fire pattern. In a final study, we evaluated the long-term effects of fire and herbivory by comparing the biomass of woody and herbaceous vegetation (IV). Without fire and herbivory, trees out-shaded grasses and forbs, leading to conversion from an open grassy ecosystem to a tree-dominated forest. In conclusion, herbivores and potentially also fire can be important drivers of openness, also in temperate Northern Europe, but further research is needed to understand the effect of different fire and grazing regimes.

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Section: Forbs Need Open Habitats To Germinate and A Relaxation Of He...mentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Forbs Need Open Habitats To Germinate and A Relaxation Of He...mentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Forbs Need Open Habitats To Germinate and A Relaxation Of He...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire and herbivory – key drivers of temperate open ecosystems : Effects of consumer control on woody and herbaceous plant communities in temperate wood-pasture

Amsten

2023

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae

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Wildfire danger under changing climates in the southern Great Plains throughout the 21st century

Fang,

Yang,

Zou

et al. 2025

Ecological Indicators

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Vegetation phenology as a key driver for fire occurrence in the UK and comparable humid temperate regions

Nikonovas,

Santín,

Belcher

et al. 2024

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Background Fire activity in the UK and comparable regions of northwest Europe is generally out of phase with peak fire weather conditions. Aims Here, we assess the potential effect of phenology on fire occurrence patterns for the UK. Methods We examined fire occurrence and vegetation phenology in the UK for 2012–2023, mapped onto the main fire-affected vegetation cover types within distinct precipitation regions, allowing the fire occurrence for fuels in different phenological phases to be explored across distinct ‘fuel’ types and regions. Key results The UK’s fire regime is characterised by burning in semi-natural grasslands and evergreen dwarf shrub ecosystems in early spring when vegetation is still dormant. During the high-greenness phase in late spring and summer, fire activity is reduced by a factor of 5–6 despite typically elevated fire weather conditions within that period. Conclusions and implications Semi-natural vegetation in the UK is very resistant to burning during the high-greenness phase. However, this ‘fire barrier’ is diminished during severe drought episodes, which are predicted to become more extreme in the coming decades. Incorporating phenology information into models therefore has great potential for improving future fire danger and behaviour predictions in the UK and comparable humid temperate regions.

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A phenology-driven fire danger index for northern grasslands

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Fire and herbivory – key drivers of temperate open ecosystems : Effects of consumer control on woody and herbaceous plant communities in temperate wood-pasture

Fire and herbivory – key drivers of temperate open ecosystems : Effects of consumer control on woody and herbaceous plant communities in temperate wood-pasture

Wildfire danger under changing climates in the southern Great Plains throughout the 21st century

Vegetation phenology as a key driver for fire occurrence in the UK and comparable humid temperate regions

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