"The White Paper "Vegetation Fires and Global Change" is a global state-of-the-art analysis of the role of vegetation fires in the Earth System and is published as a collective endeavor of the world\2019s most renowned scientists and research groups working in fire science, ecology, atmospheric chemistry, remote sensing and climate change modeling. The aim of the White Paper is to support the endeavour of the United Nations and its affiliated processes and networks, notably the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 "Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters" and the Global Wildland Fire Network, to address global vegetation fires for the benefit of the global environment and humanity. The White Paper provides insight into the complexity of global vegetation fire issues and rationale for coordinated, international action in crossboundary fire management at global scale."--Back cover.

The tropics are home to most of the world’s biodiversity and are currently the frontier for human settlement. Tropical ecosystems are being converted to agricultural and other land uses at unprecedented rates. Land conversion and maintenance almost always rely on fire and, because of this, fire is now more prevalent in the tropics than anywhere else on Earth. Despite pervasive fire, human settlement and threatened biodiversity, there is little comprehensive information available on fire and its effects in tropical ecosystems. Tropical deforestation, especially in rainforests, has been widely documented for many years. Forests are cut down and allowed to dry before being burned to remove biomass and release nutrients to grow crops. However, fires do not always stop at the borders of cleared forests. Tremendously damaging fires are increasingly spreading into forests that were never evolutionarily prepared for wild fires. The largest fires on the planet in recent decades have occurred in tropical forests and burned millions of hectares in several countries. The numerous ecosystems of the tropics have differing levels of fire resistance, resilience or dependence. At present, there is little appreciation of the seriousness of the wild fire situation in tropical rainforests but there is even less understanding of the role that fire plays in the ecology of many fire adapted tropical ecosystems, such as savannas, grasslands and other forest types.

"Frightening...Firestorm comes alive when Struzik discusses the work of offbeat scientists." —New York Times Book Review "Comprehensive and compelling." —Booklist "A powerful message." —Kirkus "Should be required reading." —Library Journal For two months in the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire “the Beast.” It acted like a mythical animal, alive with destructive energy, and they hoped never to see anything like it again. Yet it’s not a stretch to imagine we will all soon live in a world in which fires like the Beast are commonplace. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures, stronger winds, and drier lands– a trifecta for igniting wildfires like we’ve rarely seen before. This change is particularly noticeable in the northern forests of the United States and Canada. These forests require fire to maintain healthy ecosystems, but as the human population grows, and as changes in climate, animal and insect species, and disease cause further destabilization, wildfires have turned into a potentially uncontrollable threat to human lives and livelihoods. Our understanding of the role fire plays in healthy forests has come a long way in the past century. Despite this, we are not prepared to deal with an escalation of fire during periods of intense drought and shorter winters, earlier springs, potentially more lightning strikes and hotter summers. There is too much fuel on the ground, too many people and assets to protect, and no plan in place to deal with these challenges. In Firestorm, journalist Edward Struzik visits scorched earth from Alaska to Maine, and introduces the scientists, firefighters, and resource managers making the case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire in the 21st century. Wildfires can no longer be treated as avoidable events because the risk and dangers are becoming too great and costly. Struzik weaves a heart-pumping narrative of science, economics, politics, and human determination and points to the ways that we, and the wilder inhabitants of the forests around our cities and towns, might yet flourish in an age of growing megafires.

This book (with a foreword by eminent desertification specialist, Dr. Alan Grainger of Leeds University) provides a synthesis of what desertification means in the present day context of worldwide concerns about land degradation in the face of global (including climate) change, burgeoning populations, urbanization, and loss of biodiversity. It defines and describes desertification in its many forms and examines efforts to combat land degradation. The authors present some models that relate to the current impact of climate change on desertification as well as the medium to long term, and offer case studies on efforts to combat desertification in the major regions of the world. In the last chapter, we attempt to synthesize the whole book in the context of the post-2015 agreements on climate change (the Paris Accord) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Chapters concerning the historical context of desertification consider the definition and meanings associated with the word desertification; discuss the global extent and severity of the many types of desertification; and explain the current status of desertification in the post-2015 context. The book also discusses the impacts of desertification on ecosystems and people along with biodiversity; dust and sand storms from desertified landscapes; and the people affected by desertification. Chapters also focus on desertification and climate change, and consider the nexus between climate, soil, water and people; climate variability, land use and livelihoods affected by desertification are also analyzed. Chapters on combating desertification focus on combating desertification and act as an overview of proven practices with a detailed case study from China. Finally, synthesis and conclusions are consider the future of those affected by desertification, dealing firstly with medium to long term future outlooks and secondly with attempting to sum up the trends.

A technical introduction to the behaviour of fire and its ecological consequences, using examples from the North American boreal forest.

Smokescreen cuts through years of misunderstanding and misdirection to make an impassioned, evidence-based argument for a new era of forest management for the sake of the planet and the human race. Natural fires are as essential as sun and rain in fire-adapted forests, but as humans encroach on wild spaces, fear, arrogance, and greed have shaped the way that people view these regenerative events and given rise to misinformation that threatens whole ecosystems as well as humanity's chances of overcoming the climate crisis. Scientist and activist Chad T. Hanson explains how natural alarm over wildfire has been marshaled to advance corporate and political agendas, notably those of the logging industry. He also shows that, in stark contrast to the fear-driven narrative around these events, contemporary research has demonstrated that forests in the United States, North America, and around the world have a significant deficit of fire. Forest fires, including the largest ones, can create extraordinarily important and rich wildlife habitats as long as they are not subjected to postfire logging. Smokescreen confronts the devastating cost of current policies and practices head-on and ultimately offers a hopeful vision and practical suggestions for the future—one in which both communities and the climate are protected and fires are understood as a natural and necessary force.

Even before the myth of Prometheus, fire played a crucial ecological role around the world. Numerous plant communities depend on fire to generate species diversity in both time and space. Without fire such ecosystems would become sterile monocultures. Recent efforts to prohibit fire in fire dependent communities have contributed to more intense and more damaging fires. For these reasons, foresters, ecologists, land managers, geographers, and environmental scientists are interested in the behavior and ecological effects of fires. This book will be the first to focus on the chemistry and physics of fire as it relates to the ways in which fire behaves and the impacts it has on ecosystem function. Leading international contributors have been recruited by the editors to prepare a didactic text/reference that will appeal to both advanced students and practicing professionals.