Fire in Tropical Savannas

by Andersen, Alan N.; Williams, Richard J.; Cook, Garry D.

• ISBN13: 9780387002910
• ISBN10: 038700291X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-07-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The ten-year research program and the Kapalga fire experiment at CSIRO in Australia has provided a wealth of knowledge about savanna ecosystems and the critical but poorly understood role of fire. The frequent low intensity fires examined in this volume characterize fire in the tropics and are a dominant force in shaping the structure and function of tropical ecosystems. Contributors discuss fire in relation to rainfall, groundwater, and the mammals and plants in the ecology and management of ecosystems. Among the management issues addressed are: habitat management, endangered species, protection of people and property, erosion and nutrient depletion, integration of knowledge from indigenous people and western science, and atmospheric pollution from fire smoke. This book will be valuable to tropical and savanna ecologists, fire ecologists and fire managers throughout the world, whether they are interested in plants, animals, soils or in the landscape as a whole.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Contributors	xi
1. Burning Issues in Savanna Ecology and Management	1	(14)
Alan N. Andersen
2. Kapalga and the Fire Experiment	15	(18)
Garry D. Cook and Laurie K. Corbett
3. Fire Behavior	33	(14)
Richard J. Williams, A. Malcolm Gill, and Peter H.R. Moore
4. Fuel Dynamics, Nutrients, and Atmospheric Chemistry	47	(12)
Garry D. Cook
5. Streams	59	(20)
Michael M. Douglas, Simon A. Townsend, and P. Sam Lake
6. Vegetation	79	(28)
Richard J. Williams, Warren J. Müller, Carl-Henrik Wahren, Samantha A. Setterfield, and Jack Cusack
7. Terrestrial Insects	107	(19)
Alan N. Andersen, Jérôme Orgeas, Rosalind D. Blanche, and Lyn M. Lowe
8. Terrestrial Vertebrates	126	(27)
Laurie K. Corbett, Alan N. Andersen, and Warren J. Müller
9. Synthesis: Fire Ecology and Adaptive Conservation Management	153	(12)
Alan N. Andersen, Garry D. Cook, and Richard J. Williams
References	165	(28)
Index	193