Ecological Effects of Fire in South African Ecosystems

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XVI

   PDF

2. Characteristics of South African Biomes

   • B. J. Huntley

   Pages 1-17

3. Fire Regimes in the Biomes of South Africa

   • D. Edwards

   Pages 19-37

4. Man’s Historical and Traditional Use of Fire in Southern Africa

   • M. Hall

   Pages 39-52

5. An Historical Review of Research on Fire in South Africa

   • J. D. Scott

   Pages 53-65

6. Fire in Fynbos

   • F. J. Kruger, R. C. Bigalke

   Pages 67-114

7. Fire in Grassland

   • N. M. Tainton, M. T. Mentis

   Pages 115-147

8. Fire in Savanna

   • W. S. W. Trollope

   Pages 149-175

9. Fire in Forest

   • J. E. Granger

   Pages 177-197

10. Fire Behaviour

    • W. S. W. Trollope

    Pages 199-217

11. Effects of Fire on Vegetation Structure and Dynamics

    • F. J. Kruger

    Pages 219-243

12. The Effect of Fire on Forage Production and Quality

    • M. T. Mentis, N. M. Tainton

    Pages 245-254

13. Effects of Fire Regime on Faunal Composition and Dynamics

    • R. C. Bigalke, K. Willan

    Pages 255-271

14. The Responses and Survival of Organisms in Fire-Prone Environments

    • P. G. H. Frost

    Pages 273-309

15. The Effect of Fire on Soil and Microclimate

    • A. Cass, M. J. Savage, F. M. Wallis

    Pages 311-325

16. The Effect of Fire on Water Yield

    • J. M. Bosch, R. E. Schulze, F. J. Kruger

    Pages 327-348

17. The Use of Fire as a Management Tool

    • P. J. Edwards

    Pages 349-362

18. Concluding Remarks. Fire Research - A Perspective for the Future

    • P. V. de Booysen

    Pages 363-366

19. Back Matter

    Pages 367-428

    PDF

This is a stimulating tale of the interplay of observation, experimentation, working hypotheses, tentative conclusions, niggling and weightier doubts and great aspirations, on the part of some score of students, on varied ecological and other aspects of the regime and role of fire in relevant biomes and ecosystem- mainly in South Africa - and on other pertinent features of fire ecology. The impressive contents is a tribute to conveners and authors alike. One can expect a profound range and depth ofinvestigation and interpretation, a closeknit fabric of knowledge, delicately interwoven with wisdom, an exposition and quintessence of information. Admipable is the collective vision responsible for selecting appropriate topics: the wide sweeps of the brush picturing the nature of the biomes; ably describing the fire regimes - whether in grassland, savanna, fynbos or forest; skillfully defining the effects of such regimes - according to ecosystem - upon aerial and edaphic factors of the habitat, upon constituent biota, individually, specifically and as a biotic community; elucidating the basic implications in the structure and dynamics of the plant aspect of that community ... and unravelling to some degree the tangled knot of the conservation and dissipation of moisture and nutrients. Moreover, gratitude is owed for efforts exerted to understand the interplay of fire and faunal behaviour and dynamics as well as composition, together with the principle of adaptive responses of organisms of diverse kinds.

• Feuer
• Landschaftsökologie
• Savanna
• biotic community
• ecology
• ecosystem
• environment
• environmental contamination
• fauna
• forest
• landscape ecology
• soil
• vegetation
• water
• Ökosystem

• University of Natal, Durban, South Africa

  Peter V. Booysen

• Department of Grassland Science, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

  Neil M. Tainton

Policies and ethics