36

Forest fire and biological diversity

R. Nasi, R. Dennis, E. Meijaard, G. Applegate and P. Moore

F
Fire serves an important ire is a vital and natural part of years, as dead trees topple to the ground,
function in maintaining the the functioning of numerous forest opening up the forest to drying by sun-
health of certain ecosystems, ecosystems. Humans have used fire light, and building up the fuel load with
but as a result of changes in for thousands of years as a land manage- an increase in fire-prone species, such as
climate and in human use ment tool. Fire is one of the natural forces pyrophytic grasses. The consequence of
(and misuse) of fire, fires are that has influenced plant communities over repeated burns is detrimental because it is
now a threat to many forests time and as a natural process it serves an a key factor in the impoverishment of
and their biodiversity. important function in maintaining the biodiversity in rain forest ecosystems.
health of certain ecosystems. However, in Fires can be followed by insect coloniza-
the latter part of the twentieth century, tion and infestation which disturb the
changes in the human-fire dynamic and ecological balance.
an increase in El Niño frequency have led The replacement of vast areas of forest
to a situation where fires are now a major with pyrophytic grasslands is one of the
threat to many forests and the biodiversity most negative ecological impacts of fires
therein. Tropical rain forests and cloud in tropical rain forests. These processes
forests, which typically do not burn on a have already been observed in parts of
large scale, were devastated by wildfires Indonesia and Amazonia (Turvey, 1994;
during the 1980s and 1990s (FAO, 2001). Cochrane et al., 1999; Nepstad, Moreira
Although the ecological impact of fires and Alencar, 1999). What was once a
on forest ecosystems has been investigated dense evergreen forest becomes an im-
across boreal, temperate and tropical poverished forest populated by a few fire-
biomes, comparatively little attention has resistant tree species and a ground cover
been paid to the impact of fires on forest of weedy grasses (Cochrane et al., 1999).
biodiversity, especially for the tropics. For In North Queensland in Australia, it has
example, of the 36 donor-assisted fire been observed that where the aboriginal
projects carried out or ongoing in Indone- fire practices and fire regimes were con-
sia, a megadiversity country, between trolled, rain forest vegetation started to
1983 and 1998, only one specifically ad- replace the fire-prone tree-grass
dressed the impact on biodiversity. savannahs (Stocker, 1981).

ECOSYSTEM EFFECTS OF FIRE IMPACTS OF HUMAN-INDUCED OR

Forest fires have many implications for SEVERE NATURAL WILDFIRE ON
biological diversity. At the global scale, PLANT DIVERSITY
they are a significant source of emitted Wildfire is unusual in most undisturbed,
carbon, contributing to global warming tall, closed-canopy, tropical rain forests
which could lead to biodiversity changes. because of the moist microclimate, moist
Robert Nasi and Grahame
Applegate are on the staff of the At the regional and local level, they lead fuels, low wind speeds and high rainfall.
Center for International Forestry to change in biomass stocks, alter the hy- However, rain forests may become more
Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia. drological cycle with subsequent effects susceptible to fire during severe droughts,
Rona Dennis and Erik Meijaard are
consultants for CIFOR. for marine systems such as coral reefs, as experienced during El Niño years. In
Peter Moore is the coordinator of the and impact plant and animal species’ func- these forests which are not adapted to fire,
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) tioning. Smoke from fires can significantly fire can kill virtually all seedlings, sprouts,
and World Conservation Union
(IUCN) Project FireFight South-East reduce photosynthetic activity (Davies and lianas and young trees because they are
Asia, Bogor, Indonesia. Unam, 1999) and can be detrimental to not protected by thick bark. Damage to
health of humans and animals. the seed bank, seedlings and saplings hin-
This article is adapted from a paper One of the most important ecological ders recovery of the original species
prepared by the authors for the
Secretariat of the Convention on effects of burning is the increased prob- (Woods, 1989). The degree of recovery
Biological Diversity (Dennis et al., 2001). ability of further burning in subsequent and need for rehabilitation interventions

Unasylva 209, Vol. 53, 2002

 37

depends on the intensity of burning a significant negative impact on plant this is seen in plant adaptations such as
(Schindele, Thoma and Panzer, 1989). diversity. Southern species that are at the thick bark, which enables a species to
Tropical forests are also subject to fires northern edge of their geographic range withstand or resist recurrent low inten-
started by humans for agricultural clear- are particularly vulnerable. For example, sity fires, while less well-adapted asso-
ing. Deforestation fires, which are more in Primorsky Kray (Russian Federation), ciates perish. Some tree species in North
common in disturbed forests, can vary in human-induced fires have contributed to America, notably Jack pine (Pinus
intensity and burn standing trees, at the drastic reductions in the populations of banksiana) and lodgepole pine (Pinus
worst completely burning the forest leav- 60 species of vascular plants, ten fungi, contorta), have serotinous (late-opening)
ing nothing but bare soil. eight lichens and six species of mosses cones. While closed, these cones hold a
There is some concern that salvage log- during the past two or three decades viable seed bank in the canopy that
ging (removal of dead timber from se- (Shvidenko and Goldammer, 2001). remains protected until fire affects the
verely burned logged-over forest or tree. After fire, the cone scales open,
burned primary forest), used as a man- NATURAL FIRE REGIMES AND releasing the seed into a freshly prepared
agement and financing tool after fires in FIRE-ADAPTED PLANT SPECIES ash bed. Many plant species have the
Indonesia in 1997-1998, may adversely In tropical forests where fires occur every ability to resprout after being burned,
affect the course of vegetation succession dry season (savannah woodlands, either from the rootstock or the stem
(van Nieuwstadt, Sheil and Kartawinata, monsoon forests and tropical pine for- (Agee, 1993). Mountain ash (Eucalyp-
2001). ests), tree species exhibit adaptive traits tus regnans), a eucalypt of temperate
Although fire is a frequent natural dis- such as thick bark, ability to heal fire scars, Australia, also requires a site to burn
turbance in boreal forests and they usu- resprouting capability and seed adapta- completely and be exposed to full sun
ally regenerate easily after fire, frequent tions. The ecological importance of these for the species to regenerate prolifically
high-intensity fires can offset this balance. annual fires on forest formations is sig- (IUCN/WWF, 2000). Forest flammabil-
As a result of extremely severe fires in nificant. Fire strongly promotes fire- ity is high in the Mediterranean Basin
the Russian Federation in 1998, more than tolerant species, which replace the species and most plant communities are fire
2 million hectares of forest have lost most potentially growing in an undisturbed prone. Quercus ilex is resistant to mild
of their major ecological functions for a environment. fires, and woodlands recover without
period of 50 to 100 years (Shvidenko and Fires are a natural and important dis- any major floral or structural change
Goldammer, 2001). Severe fires have had turbance in many temperate forests, and (Trabaud and Lepart 1980). If fire is

In moist tropical forests,

the threat to biodiversity
posed by clearing for
agriculture is
compounded by the use
of fire if not kept under
control – pictured, the
Brazilian Amazon
FAO/15891/G. BIZZARRI

Unasylva 209, Vol. 53, 2002

 38

Fire has an important

function in some forest
ecosystems; some
species thrive after fire –
like these Eucalyptus
sp. resprouting after a
natural fire in Senegal
F. CASTAÑEDA

neither frequent nor intense, open cork cause the mosaic of age classes and com- ecosystems, such as invertebrates, pol-
oak (Quercus suber) forests can persist. munities. Fire refuges exist in some parts linators and decomposers, can signifi-
Fire, often with high intensity, is the of the forest on moist sites with local cantly slow the recovery rate of the forest
major natural disturbance mechanism in humidity, where fire may be absent for (Boer, 1989).
boreal forests. Fire return times (the aver- several hundred years. Fire refuges are Estimates from the 1998 fires in the Rus-
age interval of time between two fires in vital to the forest ecosystem in the boreal sian Federation suggest that mammals and
the same place in one ecosystem) in natu- region because many species can survive fish were badly affected. Mortality of squir-
ral forests vary greatly, from as little as 40 only in such areas, and then supply a seed rels and weasels, estimated immediately
years (in some Jack pine [Pinus source to recolonize the burned areas after the fires, reached 70 to 80 percent;
banksiana] ecosystems in central Canada) (Ohlson et al., 1997). boar 15 to 25 percent; and rodents 90 per-
to as long as 300 years depending on cli- In the natural forests of the northern and cent (Shvidenko and Goldammer, 2001).
mate patterns (van Wagner, 1978). In sparsely stocked taiga and forest tundra,
Sweden, it has been estimated that about particularly on permafrost sites, surface Loss of habitat, territories and shelter
1 percent of the forest land burned yearly fires occurring at long-return intervals of The destruction of standing cavity trees
before systematic suppression of fires 80 to 100 years represent a natural mecha- as well as dead logs on the ground has
started in the late nineteenth century nism that prevents the transformation negative effects on most small mammal
(Zackrisson, 1977). Most boreal conifers of forests to shrubland or grassland species (e.g. tarsiers, bats and lemurs) and
and broad-leaved deciduous trees suffer (Shvidenko and Goldammer, 2001). cavity-nesting birds (Kinnaird and
high mortality even at low fire intensities O’Brien, 1998). Fires can cause the dis-
owing to canopy architecture, low foliar EFFECTS OF FIRE ON FOREST placement of territorial birds and mam-
moisture and thin bark (Johnson, 1992). FAUNA mals, which may upset the local balance
Some North American pines (Pinus In forests where fire is not a natural distur- and ultimately result in the loss of wild-
banksiana, P. resinosa, P. monticola) and bance, it can have devastating impacts on life, since displaced individuals have no-
European pines (P. sylvestris) have thicker forest vertebrates and invertebrates – not where to go. The severe fires of 1998 in
bark and generally greater crown base and only killing them directly, but also leading the Russian Federation led to increased
height, and old tall trees can often survive to longer-term indirect effects such as stress water temperatures and high carbon di-
several fires. The disturbance regime of and loss of habitat, territories, shelter and oxide levels in lakes and waterways,
fire creates succession patterns which food. The loss of key organisms in forest which adversely affected salmon spawn-

Unasylva 209, Vol. 53, 2002

 39

ing (Shvidenko and Goldammer, 2001). nism. In North America, although moose accumulation of fuel. Deliberate human
In areas where frequent burning occurs are occasionally trapped and killed by fire, suppression of fire can also have direct
on a broad scale, preserving a range of fire generally enhances moose habitat by negative impacts on species. In forests
microhabitats can make a substantial con- creating and maintaining seral communi- where fire is a natural part of the system,
tribution to conserving biodiversity ties, and is considered beneficial to moose plant and animal species are adapted to a
(Andrew, Rodgerson and York, 2000). populations (MacCracken and Viereck, natural fire regime and benefit from the
1990). The beneficial effects of fire on its aftermath of a fire.
Loss of food habitat is estimated to last less than 50 In North America, fire suppression in
Loss of fruit-trees results in overall de- years, with moose density peaking 20 to some areas has contributed to decline in
cline in bird and animal species that rely 25 years following fire (LeResche, Bishop the numbers of grizzly bear, Ursus arctos
on fruits for food; this effect is particu- and Coady, 1974). horribilis (Contreras and Evans, 1986).
larly pronounced in tropical forests. A few Fire has contributed to the reduction Fires promote and maintain many impor-
months after the 1982-1983 fires in Kutai in populations of grey wolf (Canis lu- tant berry-producing shrubs, which are an
National Park, East Kalimantan, fruit- pus) in Minnesota, United States, by lim- important food source for bears, as well
eating birds such as hornbills declined iting its prey – including beaver (Castor as providing habitat for insects and in
dramatically, and only insectivorous birds canadiensis), moose and deer, fire- some cases carrion. The 1998 fires in
such as woodpeckers were common be- dependent species that require the plant Yellowstone National Park increased
cause of the abundance of wood-eating communities that persist following fre- availability of some food items for griz-
insects. quent fires (Kramp, Patton and Brady, zly bears, especially carcasses of elk
Burned forests become impoverished of 1983). (Blanchard and Knight, 1990).
small mammals, birds and reptiles, and In boreal forests, exclusion of fire in-
carnivores tend to avoid burned over EFFECTS OF SUPPRESSION OF THE duces the build-up of organic layers that
areas. The reduction in densities of small NATURAL FIRE REGIME prevents melting of the upper soil during
mammals such as rodents can adversely Temperate forests in the United States and spring and summer and rise of the perma-
affect the food supply for small carnivores. Australia in which fire was deliberately frost layer, resulting in impoverishment
Fires also destroy leaf litter and its asso- suppressed are now experiencing devas- of forests, decrease in productivity and
ciated arthropod community, further re- tating wildfires because of an unnatural conversion of forests to marshes. ◆
ducing food availability for omnivores and
Most plant communities
carnivores (Kinnaird and O’Brien, 1998). in the Mediterranean
Basin are fire prone; if
Fire-adapted fauna fire is neither frequent
nor intense, cork oak
Not all species suffer from fire. For in- (Quercus suber) (shown
stance, grass-layer beetle species in Aus- here in Morocco) can
tralia’s savannahs show remarkable resil- persist

ience to fire, although fires affect

abundance, species and family richness
(Orgeas and Andersen, 2001).
In the fire-prone Mediterranean region,
the current fire regime has probably con-
FAO FORESTRY DEPARTMENT/FO-0361/T. HOFER

tributed to maintaining the bird diversity

at the landscape level in Portugal (Moreira
et al., 2001). In Israel, richness of fauna
species in certain areas was the highest
two to four years after a fire followed by
a decrease over time (Kutiel, 1997).
Fire can have positive effects on wild-
life populations in boreal forests, where
fire is a major natural disturbance mecha-

Unasylva 209, Vol. 53, 2002

 40

FAO. 2001. The Global Forest Resources as determinants of biodiversity in boreal old-
Assessment 2000 – main report. FAO Forestry growth swamp forests. Biological
Paper No. 140. Rome, FAO. Conservation, 81: 221-231.
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