Review

Fire in the Earth System

  1. David M. J. S. Bowman1,*,
  2. Jennifer K. Balch2,3,4,*,†,
  3. Paulo Artaxo5,
  4. William J. Bond6,
  5. Jean M. Carlson7,
  6. Mark A. Cochrane8,
  7. Carla M. D’Antonio9,
  8. Ruth S. DeFries10,
  9. John C. Doyle11,
  10. Sandy P. Harrison12,
  11. Fay H. Johnston13,
  12. Jon E. Keeley14,15,
  13. Meg A. Krawchuk16,
  14. Christian A. Kull17,
  15. J. Brad Marston18,
  16. Max A. Moritz16,
  17. I. Colin Prentice19,
  18. Christopher I. Roos20,
  19. Andrew C. Scott21,
  20. Thomas W. Swetnam22,
  21. Guido R. van der Werf23,
  22. Stephen J. Pyne24
  1. 1The University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.
  2. 2National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA.
  3. 3Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
  4. 4Woods Hole Research Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
  5. 5Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Física, CEP 05508-900, São Paulo, Brazil.
  6. 6University of Cape Town, Department of Botany, Cape Town, South Africa.
  7. 7University of California, Department of Physics, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
  8. 8South Dakota State University, Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence, Brookings, SD 57007, USA.
  9. 9University of California, Environmental Studies Program and Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
  10. 10Columbia University, Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, New York, NY 10027, USA.
  11. 11California Institute of Technology, Department of Control and Dynamical Systems, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
  12. 12School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK.
  13. 13University of Tasmania, Menzies Research Institute, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.
  14. 14U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Sequoia-Kings Canyon Field Station, Three Rivers, CA 93271, USA.
  15. 15University of California, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
  16. 16University of California, Ecosystem Sciences Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
  17. 17Monash University, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.
  18. 18Brown University, Department of Physics, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
  19. 19QUEST, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK.
  20. 20Ohio State University, Department of Anthropology, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  21. 21Royal Holloway University of London, Department of Earth Sciences, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.
  22. 22The University of Arizona, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
  23. 23VU University, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Department of Hydrology and Geo-environmental Sciences, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  24. 24Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
  1. ↵†To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: balch{at}nceas.ucsb.edu
Science  24 Apr 2009:
Vol. 324, Issue 5926, pp. 481-484
DOI: 10.1126/science.1163886

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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.

  • ↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

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  • Fire in the Earth System

    By David M. J. S. Bowman, Jennifer K. Balch, Paulo Artaxo, William J. Bond, Jean M. Carlson, Mark A. Cochrane, Carla M. D’Antonio, Ruth S. DeFries, John C. Doyle, Sandy P. Harrison, Fay H. Johnston, Jon E. Keeley, Meg A. Krawchuk, Christian A. Kull, J. Brad Marston, Max A. Moritz, I. Colin Prentice, Christopher I. Roos, Andrew C. Scott, Thomas W. Swetnam, Guido R. van der Werf, Stephen J. Pyne

    Science : 481-484

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