The role of fire on Earth
In a new paper [1], we describe the role of fire on Earth. Fire is a defining feature of our biosphere, having appeared when the first plants colonized the land [2], and it continues to occur across the planet at different frequencies and intensities [3]. Fire has been and remains as an evolutionary force in many plant and animal lineages and contributes to explaining the variability of our biodiversity [4,5]. Fire has also shaped the structure of many ecosystems and the distribution of biomes [6], and it is an important contributor to global biogeochemical cycles [7]. In addition, fire has been a key factor in human evolution, and, in turn, humans have modified fire regimes [8] with important consequences for the biosphere. Consequently, fire is an intrinsic factor on our planet; it affects all five major components of the Earth system (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, anthroposphere, geosphere) [1]. Our challenge now is to understand and predict the role of fire in a densely populated, highly technological world that imposes significant changes on the Earth.
References
[1] Pausas JG, Keeley JE, Bond WJ (in press). The role of fire on Earth. BioScience [doi | pdf]
[2] Pausas JG, Keeley JE. 2009. A burning story: the role of fire in the history of life. Bioscience 59: 593–601. [doi | OUP | pdf]
[3] Pausas J.G. & Ribeiro E. 2013. The global fire-productivity relationship. Global Ecol. & Biogeogr. 22: 728-736. [doi | pdf | appendix | erratum]
[4] He T, Lamont BB, Pausas JG. 2019. Fire as a key driver of Earth’s biodiversity. Biol. Rev. 94: 1983–2010. [doi | pdf]
[5] Pausas J.G., Parr C.L. 2018. Towards an understanding of the evolutionary role of fire in animals. Evol. Ecol. 32: 113–125. [doi | pdf]
[6] Pausas JG, Bond WJ. 2020. Alternative biome states in terrestrial ecosystems. Trends Pl. Sci. 25: 250–263. [doi | sciencedirect | cell | pdf]
[7] Pausas J.G. & Bond W.J. 2020. On the three major recycling pathways in terrestrial ecosystems. Trends in Ecol. Evol. 35: 767-775. [doi | sciencedirect | pdf]
[8] Pausas J.G. & Keeley J.E. 2021. Wildfires and global change. Front. Ecol. Environ. 19: 387-395. [doi | wiley | pdf ]