气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Fire refugia are robust across Western US forested ecoregions, 1986-2021

CCPortal

DOI	10.1088/1748-9326/ad11bf
	Fire refugia are robust across Western US forested ecoregions, 1986-2021
	Platt, Rutherford Vance; Chapman, Teresa B.; Balch, Jennifer K.
发表日期	2024
ISSN	1748-9326
起始页码	19
结束页码	1
卷号	19 期号:1
英文摘要	In the Western US, area burned and fire size have increased due to the influences of climate change, long-term fire suppression leading to higher fuel loads, and increased ignitions. However, evidence is less conclusive about increases in fire severity within these growing wildfire extents. Fires burn unevenly across landscapes, leaving islands of unburned or less impacted areas, known as fire refugia. Fire refugia may enhance post-fire ecosystem function and biodiversity by providing refuge to species and functioning as seed sources after fires. In this study, we evaluated whether the proportion and pattern of fire refugia within fire events have changed over time and across ecoregions. To do so, we processed all available Landsat 4-9 satellite imagery to identify fire refugia within the boundaries of large wildfires (405 ha+) in 16 forested ecoregions of the Western US. We found a significant change in % refugia from 1986-2021 only in one ecoregion-% refugia increased within fires in the Arizona/New Mexico Mountain ecoregion (AZ/NM). Excluding AZ/NM, we found no significant change in % refugia across the study area. Furthermore, we found no significant change in mean refugia patch size, patch density, or mean distance to refugia. As fire size increased, the amount of refugia increased proportionally. Evidence suggests that fires in AZ/NM had a higher proportion of reburns and, unlike the 15 other ecoregions, fires did not occur at higher elevation or within greener areas. We suggest several possibilities for why, with the exception of AZ/NM, ecoregions did not experience a significant change in the proportion and pattern of refugia. In summary, while area burned has increased over the past four decades, there are substantial and consistent patterns of refugia that could support post-fire recovery dependent on their spatial patterns and ability to function as seeds sources for neighboring burned patches.
英文关键词	wildfire; refugia; Landsat; composite burn index; ecoregion; Western US; forests
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
WOS类目	Environmental Sciences ; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:001125698800001
来源期刊	ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/302867
作者单位	Gettysburg College; Nature Conservancy; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Platt, Rutherford Vance,Chapman, Teresa B.,Balch, Jennifer K.. Fire refugia are robust across Western US forested ecoregions, 1986-2021[J],2024,19(1).
APA	Platt, Rutherford Vance,Chapman, Teresa B.,&Balch, Jennifer K..(2024).Fire refugia are robust across Western US forested ecoregions, 1986-2021.ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS,19(1).
MLA	Platt, Rutherford Vance,et al."Fire refugia are robust across Western US forested ecoregions, 1986-2021".ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 19.1(2024).