Forest Fires. - Behavior and Ecological Effects

Numerous plant communities depend on fire for generating species diversity in both time and space. Without fire, such ecosystems converge toward 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. Forest Fires focuses on the chemistry and physics of fire to elucidate how fire behaves and the impacts it has on ecosystem function. Leading international contributors have prepared a didactic text/reference that should appeal to both advanced students and practicing professionals.