Trade‐offs and synergies between bird conservation and wildfire suppression in the face of global change

Abstract

The combined effects of climate change and other factors, such as land‐use change or fire disturbance, pose daunting challenges for biodiversity conservation world‐wide. We predicted the future effectiveness of the Natura 2000 (N2000), the current network of protected areas (PA) in Europe, at maintaining and representing suitable environmental conditions for a set of 79 bird species between 2000 and 2050 in a fire‐prone area, strongly affected by land abandonment processes in North East Spain. We then compared PA performance with a set of alternative priority areas for conservation, which consider fire‐vegetation dynamics, selected by using a conservation planning tool (Marxan). Fire‐vegetation dynamics were modelled using a process‐based model (Medfire Model) under alternative fire management and climate change scenarios. Bird communities were predicted using the spatially explicit species assemblage modelling framework (SESAM) and species distribution models that hierarchically integrate climate change and wildfire‐vegetation dynamics. The amount of suitable environmental conditions within the N2000 network was predicted to fall by around 15%, on average, over the next decades in relation to the initial conditions but could be partially modulated by fire management policies in future. The efficiency of the current PA system was predicted to decrease from 17.4% to 15% between 2000 and 2050. However, a more efficient PA system could be achieved with a conservation planning approach that explicitly considers fire‐vegetation dynamics and their management. Synthesis and applications. Our findings show: (a) how the current Natura 2000 could still hold an important bird conservation value by 2050; (b) how the relocation of some protected areas should be considered in order to substantially increase bird conservation effectiveness; and (c) how the integration of fire‐vegetation dynamics, fire management policies and their objectives within conservation planning provide “win–win” solutions for bird conservation and fire prevention in fire‐prone abandoned landscapes.

Fire and biodiversity in the Anthropocene

“…Larger and more severe wildfires are expected to negatively affect forest-dwelling birds, but some open-country species will benefit from more frequent fire (47). In temperate Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of Australia, cumulative impacts of logging and extensive wildfire have removed large trees, placing populations of arboreal mammals that nest in old trees, such as Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri), at increased risk of extinction (48).…”

“…Advances in predictive modelling also deliver new opportunities to couple fire and biodiversity data with likely trajectories of multiple drivers. For instance, coupling a dynamic fire-succession model with species distribution models enabled projection of the impact of alternative management and climate-change scenarios on bird communities in northeastern Spain (47).…”

“…Forest harvesting for bioenergy production, an important socio-economic consideration, also benefited some species by offsetting the loss of open habitats through a reduction in severe fires. Integrating projections of climate, wildfires, and species distributions offers an opportunity to design nature reserves that are effective now and in the future (47).…”

Post‐fire development of faunal habitat depends on plant regeneration traits

“…Support for the idea that, following fire, vegetation development follows a successional pathway that facilitates faunal occupancy has mainly come from studies of stand-replacing ecosystems (Briani et al 2004, Haney et al 2008, Pons and Clavero 2012). In such stand-replacing ecosystems, categories based on time since fire have proved useful for predicting landscape-scale impacts of fire on faunal species (Connell et al 2017, Regos et al 2018. In contrast, in epicormic-resprouting systems, in which canopy tree stems generally persist though fire, the successional pathway is not reset to 'time-zero' by burning.…”

Towards better practices of salvage logging for reducing the ecosystem impacts in Mediterranean burned forests

“…These can include restoring degraded ecosystems, controlling invasive species or favouring natural vegetation that is better adapted to future climatic conditions (Leverkus et al 2019). An interesting option is to take advantage of vegetation removal to create open habitats in afforested and fire-prone land-scapes to benefit both fire prevention and biodiversity conservation (Regos et al 2018). This possibility is also addressed as a specific objective (generation of open habitats) in the decision-making tool.…”