PAPER: Positive feedbacks to fire-driven ...

Positive feedbacks to fire-driven deforestation following human colonization of the South Island of New Zealand

June 2016

Tepley AJ, Veblen TT, Perry GLW, Stewart GH, Naficy CE. 2016. Positive Feedbacks to Fire-Driven Deforestation Following Human Colonization of the South Island of New Zealand. Ecosystems 19(8): 1325-1344.

ABSTRACT

We show that the burning of beech forests initiates a positive feedback cycle whereby the loss of microclimatic amelioration under the dense forest canopy and the abundant fine fuels that dry readily beneath the sparse mānuka/kānuka canopy enables perpetuation of these stands by facilitating repeated burning. Beech regeneration was limited to a narrow zone along the margin of unburned stands. The high flammability of vegetation that develops after fire and the long time to forest recovery were the primary factors that facilitated extensive deforestation with the introduction of human-ignited fire.

KEYWORDS

Alternative stable states; fire; hysteresis; Kunzea; Leptospermum; Nothofagus; microclimate; reburn; tipping point;