The tropics are home to most of the world’s biodiversity and are currently the frontier for human settlement. Tropical ecosystems are being converted to agricultural and other land uses at unprecedented rates. Land conversion and maintenance almost always rely on fire and, because of this, fire is now more prevalent in the tropics than anywhere else on Earth. Despite pervasive fire, human settlement and threatened biodiversity, there is little comprehensive information available on fire and its effects in tropical ecosystems. Tropical deforestation, especially in rainforests, has been widely documented for many years. Forests are cut down and allowed to dry before being burned to remove biomass and release nutrients to grow crops. However, fires do not always stop at the borders of cleared forests. Tremendously damaging fires are increasingly spreading into forests that were never evolutionarily prepared for wild fires. The largest fires on the planet in recent decades have occurred in tropical forests and burned millions of hectares in several countries. The numerous ecosystems of the tropics have differing levels of fire resistance, resilience or dependence. At present, there is little appreciation of the seriousness of the wild fire situation in tropical rainforests but there is even less understanding of the role that fire plays in the ecology of many fire adapted tropical ecosystems, such as savannas, grasslands and other forest types.

In 1977, the Volkswagen Foundation sponsored the first of a series of International Symposia on Fire Ecology at Freiburg University, Federal Republic of Germany. The scope of the congresses was to create a platform for researchers at a time when the science of fire ecology was not yet recognized and established outside of North America and Australia. Whereas comprehensive information on the fire ecology of the northern boreal, the temperate, and the mediter ranean biotas is meanwhile available, it was recognized that conside rable gaps in information exist on the role of fire in tropical und sub tropical ecosystems. Thus it seemed timely to meet the growing scientific interest and public demand for reliable and updated infor mation and to synthesize the available knowledge of tropical fire ecology and the impact of tropical biomass burning on global eco system processes. The Third Symposium on Fire Ecology, again sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation and held at Freiburg University in May 1989, was convened to prepare this first pantropical and multidisci plinary monograph on fire ecology!. The book, in which 46 scientists cooperated, analyzes those fire-related ecosystem processes which have not yet been described in a synoptic way. Following the editor's concept, duplication at previous efforts in describing tropical vegeta tion patterns and dynamics was avoided. Extensive bibliographical sources are given in the reference lists of the chapters.

In 1977, the Volkswagen Foundation sponsored the first of a series of International Symposia on Fire Ecology at Freiburg University, Federal Republic of Germany. The scope of the congresses was to create a platform for researchers at a time when the science of fire ecology was not yet recognized and established outside of North America and Australia. Whereas comprehensive information on the fire ecology of the northern boreal, the temperate, and the mediter ranean biotas is meanwhile available, it was recognized that conside rable gaps in information exist on the role of fire in tropical und sub tropical ecosystems. Thus it seemed timely to meet the growing scientific interest and public demand for reliable and updated infor mation and to synthesize the available knowledge of tropical fire ecology and the impact of tropical biomass burning on global eco system processes. The Third Symposium on Fire Ecology, again sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation and held at Freiburg University in May 1989, was convened to prepare this first pantropical and multidisci plinary monograph on fire ecology!. The book, in which 46 scientists cooperated, analyzes those fire-related ecosystem processes which have not yet been described in a synoptic way. Following the editor's concept, duplication at previous efforts in describing tropical vegeta tion patterns and dynamics was avoided. Extensive bibliographical sources are given in the reference lists of the chapters.

Fire is a major agent of disturbance in many biomes of the world but is a particularly important feature of tropical savannas. Up to 50% of the ext- sive tropical savanna landscapes of northern Australia are burnt each year. This includes prestigious conservation reserves such as World Heritage— listed Kakadu National Park, in the Top End of the Northern Territory. As in other savanna regions of the world, the responses of biota to different ?re regimes are poorly understood, such that ?re management represents one of the greatest challenges to conservation managers and researchers alike. This is the context within which a landscape-scale ?re experiment was established at Kapalga Research Station in Kakadu,which aimed to provide a sound scienti?c basis for conservation management in the region. The experiment was established by The Australian Commonwealth Scienti?c and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO),but involved collaborators from a range of universities and government agencies, including the m- agers of Kakadu,the Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA:now Parks Australia North). This book summarizes the ?ndings from the Kapalga ?re experiment and explores the implications for conservation management. We believe that Kapalga has provided important insights into the ?re ecology of tropical savannas and has broad relevance for the conservation management of ?- prone landscapes in general. This book should be of interest to researchers, graduate students, and land management agencies. vii viii Preface We are extremely grateful to all our collaborators,both inside and outside CSIRO, for their involvement in the Kapalga experiment.

Fire is a major agent of disturbance in many biomes of the world but is a particularly important feature of tropical savannas. Up to 50% of the ext- sive tropical savanna landscapes of northern Australia are burnt each year. This includes prestigious conservation reserves such as World Heritage— listed Kakadu National Park, in the Top End of the Northern Territory. As in other savanna regions of the world, the responses of biota to different ?re regimes are poorly understood, such that ?re management represents one of the greatest challenges to conservation managers and researchers alike. This is the context within which a landscape-scale ?re experiment was established at Kapalga Research Station in Kakadu,which aimed to provide a sound scienti?c basis for conservation management in the region. The experiment was established by The Australian Commonwealth Scienti?c and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO),but involved collaborators from a range of universities and government agencies, including the m- agers of Kakadu,the Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA:now Parks Australia North). This book summarizes the ?ndings from the Kapalga ?re experiment and explores the implications for conservation management. We believe that Kapalga has provided important insights into the ?re ecology of tropical savannas and has broad relevance for the conservation management of ?- prone landscapes in general. This book should be of interest to researchers, graduate students, and land management agencies. vii viii Preface We are extremely grateful to all our collaborators,both inside and outside CSIRO, for their involvement in the Kapalga experiment.

Fire and Ecosystems focuses on a number of aspects of fire ecology. This book deals separately with both harmful and beneficial effects of fire on soils, soil organisms, animals, and plants. This reference material elucidates the effects of fire on grasslands and considers the role of fire in temperate forests and related ecosystems. Four chapters are presented on a regional basis to highlight variations in responses, especially plant succession, to fire. The use of fire in land management is also explored. This book will serve as an invaluable reference material to researchers, teachers, and land managers.

Fire in the environment: scientific rationale and summary of results of the Dahlen workhop., Emissions from the combustion process in vegetation. Dynamics and modeling of vegetation fires: observations . Emissions measurements from vegetation fires: a comparative evaluation of methodes and results. Satellite remote sensig of fires: potential and limitation. Modeling the influence of fires on atmospheric chemistry. Effect of on global radiation budget through aerosol. Effect of fires on global radiation budget though aerosol and cloud properties. Climate change-fire interactions at the global scale: prediction and limitations of methods. Case study of atmospheric measurements in Brasil: aerosol emissions from Amazon basin fire. Biomass burning in Africa: an overview of its impact on atmospheric chemistry. Paleoecology of fire. Nutrient and organic matter dynamics in tropical ecosystems. Fire regimes and ecosystem dinamics. Keeper of the flame: a survey of anthropogenic fire. Historical biogeography of fire: circumpolar taiga. Historical biogeography of fire in tempetate and mediterranean ecosystems. Historical biogeography of fire: tropical and subtropical. Fire management: principles and option in the forested and Savanna regions of the world. Group report: quantification of fire characteristics from local to global scales. Group report: what is the impact of fires on atmosperic chemistry, climate, and biogeochemical cycles?. Group report: impacts of fires on ecosystems. Group report: the role of humans in shaping fire regimes and ecosystem properties.

Fire plays a key role in Earth system processes. Wildfires influence the carbon cycle and the nutrient balance of our planet, and may even play a role in regulating the oxygen content of our atmosphere. The evolutionary history of plants has been intimately tied to fire and this in part explains the distribution of our ecosystems and their ability to withstand the effects of natural fires today. Fire Phenomena and the Earth System brings together the various subdisciplines within fire science to provide a synthesis of our understanding of the role of wildfire in the Earth system. The book shows how knowledge of fire phenomena and the nature of combustion of natural fuels can be used to understand modern wildfires, interpret fire events in the geological record and to understand the role of fire in a variety of Earth system processes. By bringing together chapters written by leading international researchers from a range of geological, environmental, chemical and engineering disciplines, the book will stimulate the exchange of ideas and knowledge across these subject areas. Fire Phenomena and the Earth System provides a truly interdisciplinary guide that can inform us about Earth’s past, present and beyond. Readership: Advanced students and researchers across a wide range of earth, environmental and life sciences, including biogeochemistry, paleoclimatology, atmospheric science, palaeontology and paleoecology, combustion science, ecology and forestry.