气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Ungulates mitigate the effects of drought and shrub encroachment on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands

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DOI	10.1002/eap.2971
	Ungulates mitigate the effects of drought and shrub encroachment on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands
	Lecomte, Xavier; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Catry, Filipe X.; Fernandes, Paulo M.; Cera, Andreu; Caldeira, Maria C.
发表日期	2024
ISSN	1051-0761
EISSN	1939-5582
起始页码	34
结束页码	4
卷号	34 期号:4
英文摘要	Climate change is increasing the frequency of droughts and the risk of severe wildfires, which can interact with shrub encroachment and browsing by wild ungulates. Wild ungulate populations are expanding due, among other factors, to favorable habitat changes resulting from land abandonment or land-use changes. Understanding how ungulate browsing interacts with drought to affect woody plant mortality, plant flammability, and fire hazard is especially relevant in the context of climate change and increasing frequency of wildfires. The aim of this study is to explore the combined effects of cumulative drought, shrub encroachment, and ungulate browsing on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands in Portugal. In a long-term (18 years) ungulate fencing exclusion experiment that simulated land abandonment and management neglect, we investigated the population dynamics of the native shrub Cistus ladanifer, which naturally dominates the understory of woodlands and is browsed by ungulates, comparing areas with (no fencing) and without (fencing) wild ungulate browsing. We also modeled fire behavior in browsed and unbrowsed plots considering drought and nondrought scenarios. Specifically, we estimated C. ladanifer population density, biomass, and fuel load characteristics, which were used to model fire behavior in drought and nondrought scenarios. Overall, drought increased the proportion of dead C. ladanifer shrub individuals, which was higher in the browsed plots. Drought decreased the ratio of live to dead shrub plant material, increased total fuel loading, shrub stand flammability, and the modeled fire parameters, that is, rate of surface fire spread, fireline intensity, and flame length. However, total fuel load and fire hazard were lower in browsed than unbrowsed plots, both in drought and nondrought scenarios. Browsing also decreased the population density of living shrubs, halting shrub encroachment. Our study provides long-term experimental evidence showing the role of wild ungulates in mitigating drought effects on fire hazard in shrub-encroached Mediterranean oak woodlands. Our results also emphasize that the long-term effects of land abandonment can interact with climate change drivers, affecting wildfire hazard. This is particularly relevant given the increasing incidence of land abandonment.
英文关键词	BehavePlus fire modeling; Cistus ladanifer L.; climate change; deer; land abandonment; Quercus rodundifolia Lam.; Quercus suber L.; wildfire
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology
WOS类目	Ecology ; Environmental Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:001197610400001
来源期刊	ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/310018
作者单位	Universidade de Lisboa; Forest Research Centre; Universidade de Lisboa; University of Tras-os-Montes & Alto Douro
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Lecomte, Xavier,Bugalho, Miguel N.,Catry, Filipe X.,et al. Ungulates mitigate the effects of drought and shrub encroachment on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands[J],2024,34(4).
APA	Lecomte, Xavier,Bugalho, Miguel N.,Catry, Filipe X.,Fernandes, Paulo M.,Cera, Andreu,&Caldeira, Maria C..(2024).Ungulates mitigate the effects of drought and shrub encroachment on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands.ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS,34(4).
MLA	Lecomte, Xavier,et al."Ungulates mitigate the effects of drought and shrub encroachment on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands".ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 34.4(2024).