Flammable Mexico

Pausas, Juli G.

doi:10.1071/wf16018

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In Mexican ecosystems, the role of fire is very noticeable (Rodríguez-Trejo 2008, 2014Jardel-Pelaez et al 2014;Pausas 2016), and many species in different types of ecosystems show strategies to persist in the face of fire. It is estimated that, in half of the 32 types of ecosystems, species with adaptive fire strategies prevail (Rodríguez-Trejo 2008, 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant responses to fire in a Mexican arid shrubland

2019

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Background Fire responses of species in arid environments have only been scarcely studied. We studied four species (Dasyliron lucidum Zucc., Juniperus deppeana Steud., Echinocactus platyacanthus Link & Otto, and Agave potatorum Zucc.) in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. The objectives were to describe and quantify survival and resprouting, as well as the factors determining them, for the selected species. Six months after a 330 ha wildfire in 2014, 32 plots were established on three transects. Forest dasometric and fire severity variables were recorded. Logistic regression was utilized to obtain mortality and resprouting probability models, as well as linear regression to detect relationships among post- and pre-fire variables. Results All species had high survival rates (74.5 to 97.7%). All surviving D. lucidum individuals resprouted apically. For J. deppeana, the probability of mortality was directly related to fire scar height on the trunk and inversely related to its diameter, whereas the probability of crown recovery was inversely related to the proportion of the tree height scorch. For E. platyacanthus, necrosed height was directly related to plant height. There was a positive relationship between basal area and the emission of new leaves for the A. potatorum. Conclusions In the different species, several traits that allowed high fire survival rates were observed (e.g., thick cortex or bark, fleshy non-flammable leaves, flammable leaves that reduce fire intensity, high volume to surface ratio). Many of these were primarily linked to drought resistance. All species gain fire resistance or tolerance as they increase in size. We concluded that the studied arid ecosystem of Mexico can withstand an altered or a base fire regime.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant responses to fire in a Mexican arid shrubland

2019

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“…Accordingly, explosive eruptions forming abundant (and ardent) pyroclastic flows, such as those that currently occur in our study area, tend to produce viscous lavas that do not spread long distances (Rittmann, 1962;Stern et al, 2007). Therefore, lightning strikes, pyroclastic flows and/or the high temperatures reached during eruptions could have generated wildfires, similar to those occurring currently in different regions worldwide (Kozlowski and Alhgren, 1974;Blong, 1984;Tunison et al, 2000;Pausas, 2016), including Chile (Fuentes and Espinosa, 1986).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Given such warm climatic conditions, with abundant vegetation growing during spring and becoming dry during summer, the landscape was probably highly fire-prone in the presence of an ignition source (e.g., see Pyne et al, 1996 andPausas andKeeley, 2009 for a general discussion on fire drivers). In this sense, it has been proposed that both thunderstorm-initiated lightning and/or volcanism would have triggered wildfires in the past in central Chile (Fuentes and Espinosa, 1986;Keeley et al, 2012).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of Neogene wildfires in central Chile: Charcoal records from the Navidad Formation

Abarzúa

Vargas

Jarpa

et al. 2016

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…Understanding fire's ecological role is essential to any program of restoration, conservation, or management. Unfortunately, research on fire ecology and impacts in Mexican ecosystems is limited (but see Rodríguez‐Trejo, 2008; Pausas, 2016). Therefore, there is a misconception about the effects of fire on ecosystem dynamics that drives political decisions, threatening fire‐prone ecosystems whose persistence depends heavily on such disturbances (Fidelis, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in mountains and volcanoes (Pausas, 2016). However, Mexican fire regimes (fire frequency, season, and intensity) are changing.…”

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confidence: 99%

Fire in Mexican grassy–pine ecosystems

Diaz‐Torbio

Martorell

2022

Applied Vegetation Science

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Aims:Fire is an important factor contributing to the diversity of many ecosystems.Unfortunately, misconceptions about fire frequently guide policies, threating fireprone ecosystems whose persistence depends on such disturbance. In this paper, we highlight the importance of fire, both current and in recent history, in grassy-pine ecosystems of Mexico and clarify why it is important to understand the role of fire in such ecosystems. We also consider evidence on current fire regimes and management practices, and how they may be impacting different grassy-pine ecosystems. Results:We propose a classification of pine ecosystems that acknowledges their huge differences in terms of climate, structure, and composition. Three of these communities have frequently open canopies with grassy understories: piñon woodlands, tropical savannas (Pinus oocarpa savannas) and subalpine woodlands. The majority of the grassy-pine communities are piñon woodlands, mostly in the northern Sierra Madre Oriental. Tropical savannas represent a small proportion of the total, distributed in the plains near the Pacific coast. Subalpine woodlands have the smallest area. Conclusions: The lack of recognition in Mexico of the diversity of pine-dominated ecosystems as different types of vegetation with contrasting characteristics and dynamics has resulted in fragmentary information on their natural fire regimes. Evidence suggests that frequent fires may have shaped Mexican grassy-pine ecosystems.Nevertheless, evidence for piñon woodlands is still inconclusive and there may be a large variability in the natural fire regime between sites. Satellite data suggest that current fire frequency in grassy-pine ecosystems is lower than the natural one, and that it increased in recent years just as the budgets for fighting fires diminished in the country. It thus seems that misguided fire suppression policies have strongly altered natural fire regimes.

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Flammable Mexico

Cited by 3 publications

References 16 publications

Plant responses to fire in a Mexican arid shrubland

Plant responses to fire in a Mexican arid shrubland

Evidence of Neogene wildfires in central Chile: Charcoal records from the Navidad Formation

Fire in Mexican grassy–pine ecosystems

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