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Informationen zum Autor Andrew C. Scott is Professor of Applied Palaeobotany and a Distinguished Research Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, EnglandDavid M.J.S.Bowman is Professor of Environmental Change Biology in the School of Plant Science at the University of Tasmania, AustraliaWilliam J. Bond is Professor of Plant Ecology in the Department of Botany at the University of Cape Town, South AfricaStephen J. Pyne is Regent's Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USAMartin E. Alexander is an Adjunct Professor of Wildland Fire Science and Management at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and formerly a senior fire behavior research officer with the Canadian Forest Service Klappentext Earth is the only planet known to have fire. The reason is both simple and profound: fire exists because Earth is the only planet to possess life as we know it. Fire is an expression of life on Earth and an index of life's history. Few processes are as integral, unique, or ancient.Fire on Earth puts fire in its rightful place as an integral part of the study of geology, biology, human history, physics, and global chemistry. Fire is ubiquitous in various forms throughout Earth, and belongs as part of formal inquiries about our world. In recent years fire literature has multiplied exponentially; dedicated journals exist and half a dozen international conferences are held annually. A host of formal sciences, or programs announcing interdisciplinary intentions, are willing to consider fire. Wildfire also appears routinely in media reporting.This full-colour text, containing over 250 illustrations of fire in all contexts, is designed to provide a synthesis of contemporary thinking; bringing together the most powerful concepts and disciplinary voices to examine, in an international setting, why planetary fire exists, how it works, and why it looks the way it does today. Students, lecturers, researchers and professionals interested in the physical, ecological and historical characteristics of fire will find this book, and accompanying web-based material, essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in all related disciplines, for general interest and for providing an interdisciplinary foundation for further study. Zusammenfassung Earth is the only planet known to have fire. The reason is both simple and profound: fire exists because Earth is the only planet to possess life as we know it. Fire is an expression of life on Earth and an index of life s history. Few processes are as integral, unique, or ancient. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface xiiiAcknowledgements xvAbout the Authors xviiAbout the Companion Website xixPART ONE FIRE IN THE EARTH SYSTEM 1Preface to part one 2Chapter 1 What is fire? 31.1 How fire starts and initially spreads 31.2 Lightning and other ignition sources 41.3 The charring process 61.4 Pyrolysis products 71.5 Fire types 101.6 Peat fires 141.7 Fire effects on soils 151.8 Post-fire erosion-deposition 181.9 Fire and vegetation 221.10 Fire and climate 261.11 Fire triangles 301.12 Fire return intervals 301.13 How we study fire: satellites 311.14 Modelling fire occurrence 381.15 Climate forcing 421.16 Scales of fire occurrence 44Further reading 45Chapter 2 Fire in the fossil record: recognition 472.1 Fire proxies: fire scars and charcoal 472.2 The problem of nomenclature: black carbon, char, charcoal, soot and elemental carbon 492.3 How we study charcoal: microscopical and chemical techniques 512.4 Charcoal as an information-rich source 562.5 Charcoal reflectance and temperature 562.6 Uses of charcoal 582.7 Fire intensity/severity 592.8 Deep time studies 602.9 Pre-requisite for fire: fuel - the evolution of plants 612.10 Charcoal in sedimentary systems 62Further reading 63Chapter 3 Fire in the ...
