Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published April 24, 2009 | Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Fire in the Earth system

Abstract

Fire is a worldwide phenomenon that appears in the geological record soon after the appearance of terrestrial plants. Fire influences global ecosystem patterns and processes, including vegetation distribution and structure, the carbon cycle, and climate. Although humans and fire have always coexisted, our capacity to manage fire remains imperfect and may become more difficult in the future as climate change alters fire regimes. This risk is difficult to assess, however, because fires are still poorly represented in global models. Here, we discuss some of the most important issues involved in developing a better understanding of the role of fire in the Earth system.

Additional Information

© 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science. We thank L. Curran, M. Einhorn, D. Gross, S. Hampton, D. Nepstad, and R. Whittaker for encouraging this synthesis, and G. Williamson for assistance with Fig. 2. This work was conducted as part of the Pyrogeography and Climate Change Working Group supported by the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), funded by NSF grants PHY05-51164 and DEB-0553768, respectively; the University of California, Santa Barbara; and the State of California. Additional support was provided by NCEAS (to J.K.B., the Postdoctoral Associate in the Group); CNPq/MCT Instituto do Milênio Program (to P.A.); and the U.S. Geological Survey (to J.E.K.). Contributions: D.M.J.S.B. conceived of the original idea; J.K.B. and D.M.J.S.B. co-organized the KITP/NCEAS workshop and assumed editorial responsibility; all authors participated in the workshop and/or contributed to manuscript writing; G.R.W., P.A., and I.C.P. developed the radiative forcing figure; C.A.K., C.I.R., and A.C.S. designed the timeline diagram.

Attached Files

Supplemental Material - SUPPBowman2009p2045Science.pdf

Files

SUPPBowman2009p2045Science.pdf
Files (48.3 kB)
Name Size Download all
md5:ecf79f297486d6c9f7ce56c5bc7f2955
48.3 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023