Prescribed fire and natural disturbance.

The recent coverage of our work on the relationship between fire history and an emerging forest epidemic called sudden oak death highlights landscape-level aspects of disease spread, which are often overlooked (“Fighting sudden oak death with fire?”, J. Withgott, News Focus, 20 Aug., p. [1101][1]). Although we are interested in the possible role of prescribed fire in managing this disease, subsequent reports in the popular press have claimed that we advocate such an approach as treatment. A cautionary note is therefore required at this point. We have not found a direct connection between fire suppression and this disease, and there is reason to suspect that the effects of past wildfires could be very different than those of the typical controlled burn. The decision to use prescribed fire in an ecosystem should be guided by location- and case-specific considerations ([1][2]). As Lindenmayer et al. note in their Policy Forum “Salvage harvesting policies after natural disturbance” (27 Feb., p. [1303][3]), natural disturbances such as fire are integral to the healthy functioning of most ecosystems and are often poorly understood in policy and management arenas. The emphasis here is on “natural” disturbances and the important role they play. Most prescribed burns, however, are attempted during conditions when fire is not likely to escape control (e.g., outside the normal fire season). Burning under these conditions will not necessarily produce the natural range of fire severities and subsequent fire effects that could result from past wildfires. Restoring fire regimes is of great importance, but prescribed fires must ultimately mimic natural events to fulfill their role in disturbance-mediated ecosystems. Prescribed fires that do not attain this goal can have harmful ecological effects, even if successful for goals of fuel reduction and fire reintroduction. Populations of fire-dependent native species can be decimated ([2][4]) if timing or heating requirements for regeneration are not met. Invasive species may also be promoted, which can lead to near-permanent alteration of fire regimes and ecosystem functioning ([3][5]). Whether for ecosystem health in general, or management of forest pathogens in particular, prescribed fire will need to be tailored to the societal goals and ecological requirements of the situation at hand. 1. 1.[↵][6]1. S. Pyne , Science 294, 1005 (2001). [OpenUrl][7][FREE Full Text][8] 2. 2.[↵][9]1. D. Odion, 2. C. Tyler , Conserv. Ecol. 6, 4 (2002). [OpenUrl][10] 3. 3.[↵][11]1. M. Brooks 2. et al. , BioScience 54, 677 (2004). [OpenUrl][12][CrossRef][13][Web of Science][14] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.305.5687.1101 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1093438 [4]: #ref-2 [5]: #ref-3 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1. in text" [7]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.aulast%253DPyne%26rft.auinit1%253DS.%2BJ.%26rft.volume%253D294%26rft.issue%253D5544%26rft.spage%253D1005%26rft.epage%253D1006%26rft.atitle%253DESSAYS%2BON%2BSCIENCE%2BAND%2BSOCIETY%253A%2BThe%2BFires%2BThis%2BTime%252C%2Band%2BNext%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.1064989%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F11691972%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [8]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiRlVMTCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6Mzoic2NpIjtzOjU6InJlc2lkIjtzOjEzOiIyOTQvNTU0NC8xMDA1IjtzOjQ6ImF0b20iO3M6MjU6Ii9zY2kvMzA2LzU3MDIvMTY4MC4yLmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ== [9]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2. in text" [10]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DConserv.%2BEcol.%26rft.volume%253D6%26rft.spage%253D4%26rft.atitle%253DCONSERV%2BECOL%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [11]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3. in text" [12]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DBioScience%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1641%252F0006-3568%25282004%2529054%255B0677%253AEOIAPO%255D2.0.CO%253B2%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [13]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0677:EOIAPO]2.0.CO;2&link_type=DOI [14]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000222731700012&link_type=ISI