Evolutionary Fire Ecology: An Historical Account and Future Directions

Overview

Journal Bioscience

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialties Biology
Reproductive Medicine

Date 2023 Sep 8

PMID 37680689

Authors

Juli G Pausas

Jon E Keeley

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The idea that fire acts as an evolutionary force contributing to shaping species traits started a century ago, but had not been widely recognized until very recently. Among the first to realize this force were dward . Poulton, ale Guthrie, and dwin . Komarek in animals and illis . Jepson, alter . Hough, om . Harris, hilip . Wells, and obert . Mutch in plants. They were all ahead of their time in their evolutionary thinking. Since then, evolutionary fire ecology has percolated very slowly into the mainstream ecology and evolutionary biology; in fact, this topic is still seldom mentioned in textbooks of ecology or evolution. Currently, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that we cannot understand the biodiversity of our planet without considering the key evolutionary role of fire. But there is still research to be done in order to fully understand fire's contribution to species evolution and to predicting species responses to rapid global changes.

Citing Articles

Fire effects on pollination and plant reproduction: a quantitative review.

Carbone L, Tavella J, Marquez V, Ashworth L, Pausas J, Aguilar R Ann Bot. 2024; 135(1-2):43-56.

PMID: 38437644 PMC: 11805929. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcae033.

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