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A possible role for river restoration enhancing biodiversity through interaction with wildfire

Pugh, Brittany E.; Colley, Megan; Dugdale, Stephen J.; Edwards, Patrick; Flitcroft, Rebecca; Holz, Andrés; Johnson, Matthew; Mariani, Michela; Means‐Brous, Mickey; Meyer, Kate; Moffett, Kevan B.; Renan, Lisa; Schrodt, Franziska; Thorne, Colin; Valman, Samuel; Wijayratne, Upekala; Field, Richard

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Authors

Brittany E. Pugh

Megan Colley

Patrick Edwards

Rebecca Flitcroft

Andrés Holz

Mickey Means‐Brous

Kate Meyer

Kevan B. Moffett

Lisa Renan

Colin Thorne

Samuel Valman

Upekala Wijayratne



Abstract

Background: Historically, wildfire regimes produced important landscape-scale disturbances in many regions globally. The “pyrodiversity begets biodiversity” hypothesis suggests that wildfires that generate temporally and spatially heterogeneous mosaics of wildfire severity and post-burn recovery enhance biodiversity at landscape scales. However, river management has often led to channel incision that disconnects rivers from their floodplains, desiccating floodplain habitats and depleting groundwater. In conjunction with predicted increases in frequency, intensity and extent of wildfires under climate change, this increases the likelihood of deep, uniform burns that reduce biodiversity. Predicted synergy of river restoration and biodiversity increase: Recent focus on floodplain re-wetting and restoration of successional floodplain habitat mosaics, developed for river management and flood prevention, could reduce wildfire intensity in restored floodplains and make the burns less uniform, increasing climate-change resilience; an important synergy. According to theory, this would also enhance biodiversity. However, this possibility is yet to be tested empirically. We suggest potential research avenues. Illustration and future directions: We illustrate the interaction between wildfire and river restoration using a restoration project in Oregon, USA. A project to reconnect the South Fork McKenzie River and its floodplain suffered a major burn (“Holiday Farm” wildfire, 2020), offering a rare opportunity to study the interaction between this type of river restoration and wildfire; specifically, the predicted increases in pyrodiversity and biodiversity. Given the importance of river and wetland ecosystems for biodiversity globally, a research priority should be to increase our understanding of potential mechanisms for a “triple win” of flood reduction, wildfire alleviation and biodiversity promotion.

Citation

Pugh, B. E., Colley, M., Dugdale, S. J., Edwards, P., Flitcroft, R., Holz, A., …Field, R. (2022). A possible role for river restoration enhancing biodiversity through interaction with wildfire. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31(10), 1990-2004. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13555

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 23, 2022
Online Publication Date Jun 14, 2022
Publication Date 2022-10
Deposit Date Jun 16, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Global Ecology and Biogeography
Print ISSN 1466-822X
Electronic ISSN 1466-8238
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 31
Issue 10
Pages 1990-2004
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13555
Keywords Ecology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Global and Planetary Change
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/8499342
Publisher URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.13555

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