Rapid ecological response and intensified knowledge accumulation following a north European mega-fire

Gustafsson, Lena; Berglind, Mårten; Granström, Anders; Grelle, Achim; Isacsson, Gunnar; Kjellander, Petter; Larsson, Sofia; Lindh, Magnus; Pettersson, Lars; Strengbom, Joachim; Stridh, Bengt; Sävström, Tom; Thor, Göran; Wikars, Lars Ove; Mikusiński, Grzegorz

doi:10.1080/02827581.2019.1603323

Cited by 49 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In chaparral habitat in northern California, low‐intensity prescribed burning resulted in a doubling of small mammal captures, although there was a complete loss of woodrats during the next year, compared to unburned control sites (Padgett et al 2009). An interesting case was described from Sweden of a “mega‐fire” that occurred in 2014 over 13,100 ha in a forest that had not experienced fire for a century and was subject to clear‐cutting (Gustafsson et al 2019). The fire was of low‐ to moderate‐intensity until day 5 when considerable canopy destruction occurred.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even fewer studies have investigated the influence on ticks of uncontrolled wildfires, which tend to burn at high intensity and can cover large and comparatively homogeneous areas (Pastro et al 2011). There are limited data on the effect of wildfire on ticks and hosts in Sweden (Gustafsson et al 2019), the southeastern U.S. (Patterson and Knapp 2018), Massachusetts, and California (MacDonald et al 2018), among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of small mammal and tick communities to a catastrophic wildfire and implications for tick‐borne pathogens

Pascoe

Plourde

López‐Pérez

et al. 2020

Journal of Vector Ecology

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Through their potentially devastating impacts on the environment, wildfires may impact pathogen, vector, and host interactions, leading to changing risks of vector‐borne disease in humans and other animals. Despite established risks for tick‐borne disease and increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in the United States, impacts of wildfire on ticks and tick‐borne pathogens are understudied. In 2015, the large Wragg fire extensively burned a long‐term field site at Stebbins Cold Canyon University of California Reserve (CC). We characterized the tick, reservoir host and pathogen community over a two‐year period after the burn, comparing our findings to pre‐fire data and to data from Quail Ridge Reserve (QR), a nearby unburned site. After the fire, there were 5.5 times more rodent, primarily Peromyscus spp., captures at CC than QR (compared to 3.5 times more pre‐fire). There were significantly fewer dusky‐footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes) at both sites post‐fire, likely due to drought but not fire. Pre‐fire tick infestation prevalence on rodents was comparable across sites (12.5% at CC and 9.9% at QR) and remained low at CC post‐fire (13.7%) but was significantly higher at QR (48.0%), suggesting that ticks or their habitat were destroyed during the burn. Normalized difference vegetation indices documented a 16‐fold loss of vegetation post‐ compared to pre‐fire at CC; loss of vegetation and direct impacts on fauna are likely the main drivers of the post‐fire differences in ticks we saw at CC. These data contribute to our understanding of tick‐associated disease risks in our increasingly disturbed landscapes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of small mammal and tick communities to a catastrophic wildfire and implications for tick‐borne pathogens

Pascoe

Plourde

López‐Pérez

et al. 2020

Journal of Vector Ecology

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“…Full-size  DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9385/ fig-3 dead wood (Drever et al, 2006;Gustafsson et al, 2019). Also in our study area the windstorm locally created numerous tree microhabitats including loose bark, cracks and natural holes, as well as high amount of dead and decaying wood in the form of standing snags, fallen logs and broken trunks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Spatial patterns of bat diversity overlap with woodpecker abundance

Kotowska

Zegarek

Osojca³

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Woodpecker diversity is usually higher in natural forests rich in dead wood and old trees than in managed ones, thus this group of birds is regarded as an indicator of forest biodiversity. Woodpeckers excavate cavities which can be subsequently used by several bird species. As a consequence, their abundance indicates high avian abundance and diversity in forests. However, woodpecker-made holes may be also important for other animals, for example, mammals but it has seldom been investigated so far. Here, we examine how well one species, the Great Spotted Woodpecker, predicts species richness, occurrence and acoustic activity of bats in Polish pine forests. In 2011 we conducted woodpecker and bat surveys at 63 point-count sites in forests that varied in terms of stand age, structure and amount of dead wood. From zero to five Great Spotted Woodpeckers at a point-count site were recorded. The total duration of the echolocation calls during a 10-min visit varied from 0 to 542 s and the number of bat species/species groups recorded during a visit ranged between zero to five. The local abundance of the woodpecker was positively correlated with bat species richness (on the verge of significance), bat occurrence and pooled bat activity. The occurrence of Eptesicus and Vespertilio bats and Nyctalus species was positively related with the abundance of the Great Spotted Woodpecker. The activity of Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Eptesicus and Vespertilio bats and a group of Myotis species was not associated with the woodpecker abundance, but echolocation calls of Nyctalus species, P. nathusii and P.pipistrellus were more often at sites with many Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Moreover, the probability of bat presence and the activity of bats was generally higher shortly after dusk and in middle of the summer than in late spring. We suggest that the observed correlations can be driven by similar roosting habitats (e.g., woodpeckers can provide breeding cavities for bats) or possibly by associated invertebrate food resources of woodpeckers and bats. The abundance of Great Spotted Woodpecker seems to be a good positive indicator of bat species richness, occurrence and activity, thus adding a group of relatively cryptic forest species that are indicated by the presence of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

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“…Recently, there has been an escalating trend in wildfires in Sweden. In 2014, a mega-fire (over 10,000 ha, Stephens et al 2014) occurred in Västmanland (Gustafsson et al 2019), and, in 2018, a total area of 25,000 ha was burned with the largest single wildfire covering 9500 ha (Betänkande av 2018 års skogsbrandsutredning 2019). However, similar development is not apparent in Finland since these years do not stand out from the relatively normal low level of annually burned area in Finland (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of combining variable retention and prescribed burning in Finland

Lindberg

Punttila

2020

Ecol Process

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Historically, wildfires have played an important role in forest dynamics in Fennoscandia. In Finland, the annually burned area has diminished in recent decades. This has led to a decline of fire-adapted habitat types and species, many of which have become red-listed. In Fennoscandia, there is a long tradition of silvicultural burnings to enhance tree regeneration. Recently, prescribed burnings have been modified for biodiversity goals following the recommendations that have emerged from ecological research. Prominent biodiversity gains can be obtained by combining sufficient retention levels with burnings. Consequently, burning and retention have been recommended by recent national red-list assessments, strategies, and forest-management guidelines, and they have been adopted in forest-certification standards in Finland. Contrary to these recommendations, the opposite development has taken place: (1) the ecological efficiency of the criterion concerning prescribed burning in the PEFC forestcertification standard has been impaired, (2) state funding to encourage private forest owners to apply prescribed burning was reduced significantly, and (3) prescribed burnings have been abandoned altogether in commercial state-owned forests. Traditional burnings with variable retention have also been partially replaced with burning of small retention-tree groups. This new method is less risky and cheaper, but its ecological benefits are questionable because small-sized fires produce much smaller areas of burned forest soil with less fire-affected wood than traditional silvicultural burnings. Generally, the widely accepted goal to increase burnings with retention appears difficult to achieve and would require stronger political will and economic support from the government. We identified several actions that could improve the weakened situation of fire-dependent biodiversity and recommend the following: (1) setting a clear goal and ensuring sufficient funding for the burnings-including restoration burnings in conservation areas-and targeting these to specific fire-continuum areas with sufficient retention to ensure the continuity of fire-affected habitats at landscape level; (2) renewing the current subsidizing policies to encourage private landowners to perform prescribed burnings in regeneration areas after final fellings, and to safeguard accidental forest-fire areas as set-asides; (3) renewing the current prescribed-burning criterion of the Finnish PEFC forest-certification standard with more ambitious ecological goals; and (4) reintroducing prescribed burnings in commercial state forests where management targets are under political steering.

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Rapid ecological response and intensified knowledge accumulation following a north European mega-fire

Cited by 49 publications

References 57 publications

Response of small mammal and tick communities to a catastrophic wildfire and implications for tick‐borne pathogens

Response of small mammal and tick communities to a catastrophic wildfire and implications for tick‐borne pathogens

Spatial patterns of bat diversity overlap with woodpecker abundance

The challenge of combining variable retention and prescribed burning in Finland

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