The Role of Fire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems
Fire has been recognized as a vital agent influencing the diversity and vigor of landscapes. It is particularly important in Mediterranean ecosystems, such as those of California. This book is of interest to ecologists, policy makers, and land managers.
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Edited by O.L. Lange, Wiirzburg, FRG H.A. Mooney, Stanford, USA H. Remmert, Marburg, F~G
Ecological Studies Volumes published since 1989 are listed at the end of this book.
Jose M. Moreno
Walter C. Oechel
Editors
The Role of Fire in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems With 65 illustrations including 3 in color
Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg London Paris Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona Budapest
Jose M. Moreno Departamento de Ecologfa Facultad de Biologia Universidad Complutense 28040 Madrid Spain Walter C. Oechel Department of Biology San Diego State University San Diego, CA 92182 USA
Cover illustration. Map of documented fires occurring between 1938 and 1985 in Burton Mesa, California. Adapted from Figure 7-4, page 128.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The role of fire in Mediterranean-type ecosystems / [edited by] Jose M. Moreno, Walter C. Oechel. p. cm. - (Ecological studies; v. 107) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN -13: 978-1-4613-8397-0 1. Fire ecology. 2. Mediterranean climate. 3. Plants, Effect of fires on. I. Moreno, Jose Manuel. II. Oechel, W. C. III. Series. QH545.F5R65 1994 574.5' 222 - dc20
93-42622.
Printed on acid-free paper.
© 1994 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Copyright is not claimed for works by U.S. Government employees. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone. Production coordinated by Chernow Editorial Services, Inc., and managed by Ellen Seham; manufacturing supervised by Genieve Shaw. Typeset by Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong.
98765 432 1 e-ISBN -13 :978-1-4613-8395-6 ISBN -13 :978-1-4613-8397-0 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4613-8395-6
Preface
During the last decades, the number of wildfires and the surface burned has increased in most countries of the Mediterranean region. Burned landscapes have become a prominent feature of many areas, and forest fires have become a major concern for politicians and the general public. Although fires have been present in the Mediterranean region for millennia, it is likely that changes in land use brought about by industrialization and/or other socioeconomic changes may have affected when;where, how big, how frequent, and how intense these fires are. Similar changes in pattern, extent, and intensity of fire may have also occured in other regions with Mediterranean-type climate. Until now, in
