Positive Feedbacks in the Fire Dynamic of Closed Canopy Tropical Forests

The incidence and importance of fire in the Amazon have increased substantially during the past decade, but the effects of this disturbance force are still poorly understood. The forest fire dynamics in two regions of the eastern Amazon were studied. Accidental fires have affected nearly 50 percent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 284; no. 5421; pp. 1832 - 1835
Main Authors: Cochrane, Mark A., Alencar, Ane, Schulze, Mark D., Souza, Carlos M., Nepstad, Daniel C., Lefebvre, Paul, Davidson, Eric A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 11.06.1999
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Subjects:
Amazonia
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Deforestation
Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration
Fire breaks
Flames
Forest and land fires
Forest fire research
Forest fires
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Landowners
Mortality
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Rain forests
South America
Trees
Tropical forests
Weather damages. Fires
Wildfire seasons
South America
America
Amazon Basin
Amazonia, Brazil
Amazonia
Deforestation
Savannah
Feedback regulation
Tropical forest
Vegetation dynamics
Fire protection
Canopy fire
ISSN:0036-8075, 1095-9203, 1095-9203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The incidence and importance of fire in the Amazon have increased substantially during the past decade, but the effects of this disturbance force are still poorly understood. The forest fire dynamics in two regions of the eastern Amazon were studied. Accidental fires have affected nearly 50 percent of the remaining forests and have caused more deforestation than has intentional clearing in recent years. Forest fires create positive feedbacks in future fire susceptibility, fuel loading, and fire intensity. Unless current land use and fire use practices are changed, fire has the potential to transform large areas of tropical forest into scrub or savanna.
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ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.284.5421.1832