Pyrodiversity

Question 1

Intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Answer 1

In between low and high disturbance = peak species diversity

Question 2

Hypothesis: Pyrodiversity → biodiversity

Answer 2

• regeneration requirements regarding fire vary among species
• greater fire variation among patches leads to more species (more niches)

Question 3

Pyrodiversity

Answer 3

Temporal/spatial variability in how fires behave across landscapes

Question 4

Niche

Answer 4

Set of environmental conditions for a species’ growth, survival, and reproduction

Question 5

Indigenous fire stewardship

Answer 5

• intentional fire management
• evidence that indigenous burning promotes biodiversity (low to mixed-severity burns)

Question 6

Pyrodiversity/biodiversity debate

Answer 6

Mixed results for plant and animal life (depend on type of organism and type of habitat)

Question 7

Species diversity (SD)

Answer 7

• Alpha = SD at local site (or mean over many)
• Beta = differences in species across sites
• Gamma = SD over large area
• Gamma = Alpha + Beta

Question 8

Species richness

Answer 8

Number of species in a community (diversity metric)

Question 9

Case study: Spotted owl

Answer 9

• like late successional habitat (old, big trees, no burns)
• mega-fires (>100,000 acres) happening more frequently means persistent loss of spotted owl habitat
• decreased abundance over time, absent from high-severity burn patches
• landscape heterogeneity (can use open habitats for hunting)

Question 10

Case study: Black-backed woodpecker

Answer 10

• like fire (colonize forests within first year since burning)
• juveniles depend on decaying wood with insects (don’t like high-severity patches like adults, juvenile survival in high-severity patches is lower)

Question 11

Pyrodiversity can beget biodiversity

Answer 11

• most true for forests, birds, and herbaceous plants
• understanding of scale is lacking