Drivers of wildfire behaviour, severity and magnitude in the Limietberg conservation area : understanding the complexity of wildfire risk
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Western Cape Province in South Africa is home to one of the most diverse plant \ncommunities in the world, and has one of the highest concentrations of plants species in any \ntemperate ecosystem in the world. The dominant vegetation is both fire-prone and fire-dependant \n(Van Wilgen & Scott 2001, Forsyth et al. 2010). The Western Cape in particular is emerging as a \nprovince that is increasingly prone to disaster events, particularly the threat of veld fires. The \nconsequences of large wildfire disaster events are often devastating and far reaching (Van \nWilgen & Scott 2001, Forsyth et al. 2010). This study was conducted in an attempt to investigate \nthe drivers of wildfire behaviour, severity and magnitude in the Limietberg Conservation Area in \norder to gain a greater insight and understanding of the complexity of wildfire risk. Recognising \nthe disaster prone character of the Western Cape and the increasing probabilities of future \nwildfire events in the province, this study aimed to strengthen the understanding of the drivers of \nwildland fire behaviour (i.e. wildland fire risk) in the Limietberg Conservation Area by analysing \na number of fires to identify a range of drivers and patterns; examining the factors driving both \nfire danger and fire behaviour, including climate, topography, slope and fuel; examining the \nfactors driving fire frequency and regime; and finally, determining possible ecological damage \ncaused by the last 10 – 20 years of wildfire events in the Limietberg Conservation Area as \nmeasured by post-fire seedling ratios. This was achieved through the use of statistical techniques \nincluding multiple regression (McDonald 2009), ordination in the form of principal component \nanalysis and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (Clarke & Warwick 1994), and fieldwork in \nthe form of post-fire regeneration (Proteaceae parent:seedling ratio) monitoring techniques \n(Bond et al. 1984; Vlok & Yeaton 2000; De Klerk et al. 2007). The results indicated that the \ninteractions between factors driving fire danger and fire behaviour were indeed complex, being \ninfluenced mainly by meteorological variables (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed) but \nalso quite strongly influenced by physical environmental factors (slope, topography). The use of \nordination techniques in this sort of complex analysis was seen as extremely effective and its use \nin further fire research was strongly recommended.
Author: Shaun Alexander Moir
Language: English
Topic: Fire effects on ecosystems
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2135043950