Physiological responses to fire that drive tree mortality

Abstract

A summer storm passes, flashing lightning but little rain and a fire starts to grow. Flames lick the bases of trees, charring stems and strong winds fan the fire at times, causing the flames to scorch foliage, as it burns through a forest. The fate of these burned trees after the flames are doused is one of intense interest. Will the forest become a carbon source? Will there be suitable wildlife habitat? Will enough trees survive to perpetuate and regenerate the forest? Are the trees now more vulnerable to bark beetle attacks or drought? To answer these questions, ecologists are reliant on accurate predictive models of fire‐caused tree mortality. Yet, we still know remarkably little about the actual physiological impacts of fire on trees, limiting our ability to build mechanistic mortality models (Bär, Michaletz, & Mayr, 2019; Hood, Varner, van Mantgem, & Cansler, 2018).

Citation

Hood, Sharon M. 2021. Physiological responses to fire that drive tree mortality. Plant, Cell and Environment. 44(3): 692-695.