Wildfire ecology

thumb|upright=1.35|Wildfire burning in the Kaibab National Forest, [[Arizona, United States, in 2020. The Mangum Fire burned more than of forest.]] A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Some natural forest ecosystems depend on wildfire. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate fire risk and promote natural forest cycles. However, controlled burns can turn into wildfires by mistake.

thumb|Chaparral in the Santa Ynez Mountains, near Santa Barbara, California Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California, part of the California floristic province. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intensity crown fires. Many chaparral shrubs have hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves, as contrasted with the associated soft-leaved, drought-deciduous, scrub community of coastal sage scrub, found often on drier, southern-facing slopes.

thumb|Red fire retardant dispersed aerially onto brush adjoining a firebreak during the [[Tumbleweed Fire in California, in July 2021; while vegetation to the left of the firebreak has completely burned, everything to its right was protected]] thumb|A firebreak on the Setúbal Peninsula in Portugal A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a nonflammable gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is an abs

Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a stump, which in many species encourages new shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest or grove that has been subject to coppicing is called a copse or coppice, in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level. The resulting living stumps are called stools. New growth emerges, and after a number of years, the coppiced trees are harvested, and the cycle begins anew. Pollarding is a similar process carried out at a higher level on the tree in orde

alt=A large pile of biochar|thumb|A pile of biochar thumb|alt=Biochar mixture ready for soil application|Biochar mixture ready for soil application Biochar is a form of charcoal, sometimes modified, that is intended for organic use, as in soil. It is the lightweight black remnants remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass, consisting of carbon and ashes. Despite its name, biochar is sterile immediately after production and only gains biological life following assisted or incidental exposure to biota. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as the "solid material obtained from

a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest or land management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement

cloud that forms from large fires or explosions

fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests, rivers, or wetlands

U.S. Forest Service mascot used to raise awareness about wildfires

thumb|right|Lignotuber of Cussonia paniculata partly exposed above ground thumb|Cinnamomum camphora|Camphor trees at the Vergelegen Estate thumb|Lignotuber at the Roosevelt Grove of Humboldt Redwoods State Park thumb|Lignotuber actively budding, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

extreme manifestation of pyrocumulonimbus cloud, associated with thunderstorms and lightning

scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects

firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires

mountain range in Thailand and Laos

mountain range in Thailand

Aboriginal Australian practice of the regular burning of vegetables and plants