Fire Ecology FEC202

Study Notes

Ecology studies interactions among organisms and their environment, comprising biotic (living organisms) and abiotic (non-living physical and chemical components) factors.
Abiotic factors include light, water, wind, soil nutrients, temperature, solar radiation, and atmosphere.

Biosphere: All spheres of Earth where life exists, encompassing all ecosystems in air, land, and water.
Ecosystem: Community of different species interacting with one another and the non-living environment (e.g., forests, grasslands, deserts).
Community: Several populations of different species living and interacting in the same area.
Population: Group of individuals of the same species residing in a specific location simultaneously.
Organism: An individual species capable of reproduction.

Fire-adapted ecosystems cover approximately 40% of the Earth's land surface.
Evidence of fire historically includes fire scars, tree rings, and charcoal found in sedimentary rocks.
The origin of fire dates back 420 million years, with charred remains of plants from the Silurian period discovered in England.
Prior to plants, fire could not exist due to the absence of fuel and oxygen; plants became crucial for fire's existence.

Fire Ecology is the scientific study of natural processes related to fire within ecosystems, its impacts on both biotic and abiotic components, and its role as a driving ecosystem process.
Fire maintains biodiversity and habitat structure while influencing soil nutrient cycling.
The ecological role of fire varies from being a driver of ecosystem structure and function in fire-dependent ecosystems to having no significant role in fire-independent ecosystems.

Fire-dependent ecosystems have evolved with fire, essential for habitat vitality and renewal.
Certain plant species within these ecosystems require fire for germination, establishment, or reproduction.
Suppressing fire can lead to the decline of these plant species and the wildlife that relies on them.
Approximately 70% of the South African landscape consists of fire-adapted ecosystems, including Fynbos, savanna, and grasslands, each linked to specific climate types.