Chen Zhong
School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff 86011-5018, USA.
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2006 Sep;17(9):1726-32.
Fire and fire ecology are among the best-studied topics in contemporary ecosystem ecology. The large body of existing literature on fire and fire ecology indicates an urgent need to synthesize the information on the pattern of fire effects on ecosystem composition, structure, and functions for application in fire and ecosystem management. Understanding fire effects and underlying principles are critical to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires and for proper use of fire as an effective management tool toward management goals. This overview is a synthesis of current knowledge on major effects of fire on fire-prone ecosystems, particularly those in the boreal and temperate regions of the North America. Four closely related ecosystem processes in vegetation dynamics, nutrient cycling, soil and belowground process and water relations were discussed with emphases on fire as the driving force. Clearly, fire can shape ecosystem composition, structure and functions by selecting fire adapted species and removing other susceptible species, releasing nutrients from the biomass and improving nutrient cycling, affecting soil properties through changing soil microbial activities and water relations, and creating heterogeneous mosaics, which in turn, can further influence fire behavior and ecological processes. Fire as a destructive force can rapidly consume large amount of biomass and cause negative impacts such as post-fire soil erosion and water runoff, and air pollution; however, as a constructive force fire is also responsible for maintaining the health and perpetuity of certain fire-dependent ecosystems. Considering the unique ecological roles of fire in mediating and regulating ecosystems, fire should be incorporated as an integral component of ecosystems and management. However, the effects of fire on an ecosystem depend on the fire regime, vegetation type, climate, physical environments, and the scale of time and space of assessment. More ecosystem-specific studies are needed in future, especially those focusing on temporal and spatial variations of fire effects through long-term experimental monitoring and modeling.
火灾与火灾生态学是当代生态系统生态学中研究最为深入的主题之一。现有大量关于火灾与火灾生态学的文献表明，迫切需要综合有关火灾对生态系统组成、结构和功能影响模式的信息，以便应用于火灾和生态系统管理。了解火灾影响及潜在原理对于降低异常野火风险以及正确将火灾作为实现管理目标的有效管理工具至关重要。本综述综合了当前关于火灾对易发生火灾生态系统，特别是北美寒带和温带地区生态系统主要影响的知识。重点讨论了植被动态、养分循环、土壤及地下过程和水分关系这四个密切相关的生态系统过程中火灾作为驱动力的情况。显然，火灾可以通过选择适应火灾的物种并去除其他易感物种来塑造生态系统的组成、结构和功能，从生物量中释放养分并改善养分循环，通过改变土壤微生物活动和水分关系来影响土壤性质，以及创造异质镶嵌体，进而进一步影响火灾行为和生态过程。火灾作为一种破坏力，能够迅速消耗大量生物量，并造成诸如火灾后土壤侵蚀、水土流失和空气污染等负面影响；然而，作为一种建设性力量，火灾也有助于维持某些依赖火灾的生态系统的健康与永续性。鉴于火灾在介导和调节生态系统方面具有独特的生态作用，应将火灾纳入生态系统及管理的一个组成部分。然而，火灾对生态系统的影响取决于火灾 regime、植被类型、气候、物理环境以及评估的时间和空间尺度。未来需要开展更多针对特定生态系统的研究，尤其是那些通过长期实验监测和建模关注火灾影响时空变化的研究。
