Landscapes on Fire (eBook)

Impacts on Uplands, Rivers, and Communities

Ellen Wohl (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024
477 Seiten
Wiley (Verlag)
978-1-394-23514-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Explores the effects of wildfires on land, water, vegetation, wildlife, and humans

Across the world, wildfires are increasing in frequency, extent, and severity, driven by changes in land use and climate. After the immediate hazards of fire and smoke have passed, landscapes and ecosystems can be left altered for decades.

Landscapes on Fire: Impacts on Uplands, Rivers, and Communities presents an overview of wildfires and their after-effects on different parts of the natural, biological, and human landscape, bringing together perspectives from different disciplines.

Volume highlights include:

• Causes, mechanics, and patterns of wildfire
• Effects of fire on uplands and river networks
• Predicting and mitigating fire-related hazards
• Projected trends in wildfire patterns and effects due to climate change
• Case studies from across the world

The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.

Ellen Wohl, Colorado State University, USA

Textauszug

GLOSSARY

active layer:

within permafrost regions, describes the upper layer of the ground that thaws each summer and freezes in the winter

aerosol:

a colloidal suspension of particles dispersed in air

albedo:

the proportion of incident sunlight or solar radiation that is reflected by a surface

alluvial fan:

a fan‐shaped (in planform) alluvial deposit, typically at the junction of a smaller river with a larger river or at the exit of a river from a mountain front

anthropogenic:

human‐caused

beaver meadow:

a beaver‐modified portion of river corridor that includes multiple dams and ponds of varying age; despite the name, typically includes abundant woody vegetation such as willows (Salix spp.)

benthic macroinvertebrates:

live on or within the stream bed for at least some portion of their lifecycle and are visible to the naked eye (e.g., mussels, clams, worms, crayfish, snails, and a diverse array of insects)

biofilm:

a matrix‐enclosed and surface‐attached microbial community

biomass:

the total quantity or weight of living organisms in a given area or volume

biome:

a major ecological community type, such as desert or grassland

bioturbation:

the physical disturbance of sediment deposits by living organisms (e.g., by burrowing)

boreal:

an ecosystem or river catchment in the northern hemisphere, between approximately 50 and 70° N latitude

channel head:

the upstream boundary of concentrated water flow and sediment transport between definable banks

coarse woody debris:

downed, dead wood outside of stream corridors

colluvial deposits:

sediment deposited after transport by processes other than eolian or fluvial (e.g., rockfall, dry ravel, debris flow)

colluvial hollows:

concave or convergent areas of uplands

conduction:

transfer of heat via physical contact between a heat source and fuel or mineral body

connectivity:

the movement of materials and organisms between components in a system (e.g., between uplands and river corridor, between active channel and floodplain, or between surface and subsurface)

convection:

heat transfer by mixing of air masses

crown fire:

a wildfire that burns within the forest canopy

debris flow:

mass of poorly sorted, saturated sediment that moves downslope; typically has 40–77% sediment concentration by volume

drylands:

designated based on the scarcity of water; defined by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) as tropical and temperate areas with an aridity index of less than 0.65; numerous aridity indices have been proposed – UNEP uses an index equal to (100 × R/LP), where R is mean annual net radiation, P is mean annual precipitation, and L is latent heat of vaporization for water

dry ravel:

involves rapid, dry, particle‐to‐particle rolling, sliding, and bouncing of sediment and some organic matter under the force of gravity and without the presence of water

dust:

silt and clay‐sized particles transported by wind

ecoregions:

areas where ecosystems are generally similar

ENSO atmospheric circulation pattern:

the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean

fallout radionuclides:

residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast and subsequently deposited on Earth’s surface

fire‐dependent ecosystems:

those in which most species have evolved in the presence of fire

fire‐independent ecosystems:

naturally lack sufficient fuel or ignition sources to support fire as an evolutionary force; examples include desert and tundra

fire‐sensitive ecosystems:

those in which most species have not evolved in the presence of fire

fire hazard:

in the context of wildfire, hazard typically refers to the state of the fuel and is quantified with respect to the likelihood and intensity of wildfire

fire intensity:

rate of heat energy release

fire risk:

in the context of technical risk assessments, risk includes the probability of an event, as well as values and expected losses; i.e., the probability of an event with harmful consequences, which can be thought of as the combination of hazard and vulnerability; in the context of fire, however, risk may refer only to the probability of natural or human‐caused ignition, or it may be used to refer to hazard and the susceptibility of values‐at‐risk

fire severity:

the effects of the fire on plant communities, or the loss of or change in above‐ and below‐ground organic matter

fire vulnerability:

vulnerability typically describes exposure and susceptibility, which can be differentiated as asset vulnerability and human vulnerability

flammability:

reflects multiple metrics that quantify the ease of ignition and the behavior of the fire once ignited

floodplain:

a low‐relief sedimentary surface adjacent to the active channel that is constructed by fluvial processes and frequently inundated

forest canopy:

the upper layer of forest formed by mature tree crowns

forest duff:

the layer of organic soil below litter but above the mineral soil; composed of partly decomposed organic material

forest litter:

the upper, organic soil layer of dead, fallen plant material; includes recognizable plant parts

forest understory:

plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating the canopy to any great extent, but above the forest floor

fuel bed:

a generic description of the complex of fuels occupying a given area

fuel component:

subdivides the fuel type as a function of size (e.g., fine woody fuels) or physiological condition (e.g., dead wood)

fuel layer:

vertical stratification of the fuel bed into ground, surface, and canopy fuels

fuel load:

mass per unit area

fuel moisture:

measured as the ratio between the mass of water in the fuel and the mass of dry fuel

fuel particle:

individual fuel elements (e.g., twig, needle) that form the fuel complex at coarser scales

fuel type:

the dominant fuels in the fuel bed (e.g., forest litter or grass)

gelisols:

soils formed in very cold climates that contain permafrost within 2 m of the surface

grassland:

an area in which the vegetation is dominated by grasses

ground cover:

the lowest layer of aboveground vegetation (living and dead) and biological crusts that are in contact with the soil surface

headcut:

a vertical down‐step in the streambed that is migrating upstream over time

headwaters:

first‐ and second‐order streams

heat‐induced spalling:

wildfire heat results in lensoid‐shaped rock flakes up to a few mm in thickness detaching from the surface of boulders or bedrock outcrops

herbaceous plants:

vascular plants that have no persistent woody stem above ground

histosols:

soils that are dominantly organic, commonly associated with bogs, moors, or peatlands

Hortonian overland flow:

runoff that remains on the ground surface without infiltrating

hydrophobic soils:

water‐repellent soils that can form during wildfire

hyperconcentrated flow:

a flowing mixture of water and sediment in a channel, with properties intermediate between fluvial flow and debris flow

hyporheic zone:

subsurface areas in a river corridor containing water that originates from and returns to the channel

ignition:

the initiation of combustion

indigenous:

people inhabiting a region from the earliest times or before the arrival of European colonists

infiltration capacity:

the maximum rate at which soil or regolith is capable of absorbing water under given conditions

landslide:

mass movement with relatively rigid motion and deformation localized along persistent slip surfaces or shear zones

large wood:

downed, dead wood with dimensions ≥ 10 cm in diameter and 1 m in length

machine learning:

computer systems that are able to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions; these systems use algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw inferences from patterns in data

mass movements:

downslope movements of multiple grains simultaneously; types include debris flow, landslide, and soil creep

natural range of variability:

the range of specified ecosystem or physical system properties (e.g., river discharge) over a particular time period in the absence of human alteration

nutrients:

substances used by organisms to survive, grow, and reproduce

organic matter:

remains of formerly living organisms, primarily plants; subdivided into fine particulate organic matter...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 16.12.2024
• Reihe/Serie: Special Publications
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Schlagworte: carbon • climate change • Deposition • disturbance • Erosion • fisheries • Forest transition • Hazard • Lightning • Resilience • vulnerability • water quality • water supply • Wildfire
• ISBN-10: 1-394-23514-3 / 1394235143
• ISBN-13: 978-1-394-23514-8 / 9781394235148