The Effects of Fire Intensity on Trees and Productivity

ƒMortality of both species one year post-fire also increased with increasing FRED dose, with all seedlings of both species exposed to 1.2 MJ m-2 dying within four weeks post-fire. Climate change is projected to exacerbate the intensity of heat-waves and drought, leading to greater incidences of large and high-intensity wildfires in forested ecosystems. While commonly-used remotely-sensed spectral assessments can provide useful information about the areal extent of fires and resultant changes in vegetation cover, current assessments provide little to no direct information regarding burn severity, including the physiological status of trees or other vegetation after fires. This limits our collective understanding of fire effects on ecosystems and the effectiveness of land management methods.