0006-3207/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.03.001 * Corresponding author. Tel.:+ 01 510 642 7304; fa E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J berkeley.edu (S.L. Stephens). Fuel reduction in the wildland–urban interface is a widely used international strategy for assisting human communities regarding wildfire threats, but very little research has examined ...

Fires in mountain big sagebrush [Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle] plant communities historically shifted dominance from woody to herbaceous vegetation. However, fire return intervals have lengthened with European settlement, and sagebrush dominance has increased at the expense of herbaceous vegetation in some plant communities. Management actions may be needed to decrease sage...

Climate change models predict that interannual rainfall variability will increase in California over the next several decades; these changes will likely influence how frequently California ecosystems burn and how they respond to fire. Fires uncouple N mobilization from uptake by destroying plant biomass and increasing nitrification. Following fire, autumn and winter rains can leach N into strea...

Disturbance can directly affect the interactions among species at different trophic levels. Because disturbances are typically localized, and many consumers are constrained in their mobility, disturbances can generate spatial variability in trophic interactions. Here, we consider how fire alters plant–insect interactions in a longleaf pine ecosystem in central Florida, USA. We hypothesized that...

Biological invaders can alter ecosystem processes via multiple pathways, yet few studies have compared the relative importance of these pathways. We assessed the impacts of exotic, invasive grasses on ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling in the seasonal submontane woodlands of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where native grasses have been historically rare. Exotic grasses have become abundant over th...

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is considered an oil-loving feeder, however, carbohydrates are essential ingredients in the diet of the fire ant also. Comprehensive screening of mono-, di-, and tri-saccharides demonstrated that glucose, fructose, fucose, sucrose, maltose, turanose and raffinose were significant phagostimulants for fire ant workers. It was also found that wh...

Fire is a disturbance factor in ecosystems worldwide and affects the reproduction of many plant species. For some species, it is just one of several disturbances that trigger seed germination and subsequent seedling recruitment, whereas in other ‘fire-dependent’ species, fire may be required for seedling recruitment. Fire may trigger seed regeneration directly, through the opening of serotinous...

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is considered an oil-loving feeder, however, carbohydrates are essential ingredients in the diet of the fire ant also. Comprehensive screening of mono-, di-, and tri-saccharides demonstrated that glucose, fructose, fucose, sucrose, maltose, turanose and raffinose were significant phagostimulants for fire ant workers. It was also found that wh...

To ensure remote sensing MODIS hotspot (also known as active fire products or hotspots) quality and precision in forest fire control and management in Thailand, an increased level of confidence is needed. Accuracy assessment of MODIS hotspots utilizing field survey data validation is described. A quantitative evaluation of MODIS hotspot products has been carried out since the 2007 forest fire s...