Miombo woodlands’ dynamics is determined by fire frequency (ff) and severity (fs). High ff and fs reduced tree diameter and carbon increments and increased mortality over the past 14 years. Fire adapted tree species dominated high ff plots. The ecosystem will be stable in the future, but fire management action is key.

This article belongs to the collection: Savanna burning.

We developed an automated and nationally consistent method that generates up-to-date fuel type layers relevant to a range of fire management applications in Australia, such as fire behaviour prediction, fire danger forecasting and risk assessment.

Key causes of lightning fires in Tasmania were found to be dry fuel and high lightning density, with treeless areas particularly prone. We were unable to show any temporal trends because of the short record, underscoring the need for improved data acquisition.

Fire is a largely untested method for controlling invasive exotic plant species in riparian systems. We measured low intensity burn temperatures and tested their effectiveness for weed control as part of an integrated weed management plan. Fire is cost-effective and works at scale, but follow-up interventions are needed within a 3-month window. Photograph by Elisha Duxbury.

This study investigated how fire intensity (fire radiative power, FRP) relates to vegetation type and environment in Alaska, USA. Fire intensity varied significantly by plant functional group, with forests generally higher than tundra or peatland. Fire history was less important than location and topography for determining FRP across all groups.

We examined how species identity and functional traits affect biomass consumed by fire in species mixtures in Brazil’s tropical mountain grasslands, using small samples burned in a laboratory. Species identity and traits like specific leaf area significantly influence biomass burned, helping to predict fire severity under climate change.