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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

Wind Tunnel Experiments to Study Chaparral Crown Fires

Wind Tunnel Experiments to Study Chaparral Crown Fires

Published on: November 14, 2017

Fire-driven alien invasion in a fire-adapted ecosystem.

Jon E Keeley¹, Teresa J Brennan

¹US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Sequoia-Kings Canyon Field Station, Three Rivers, CA 93271, USA. jon_keeley@usgs.gov

|January 31, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Altered fire regimes in California shrublands promote alien plant invasions. Shorter fire intervals reduce native diversity and woody plants, favoring invasive annuals and potentially converting ecosystems.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Plant Invasion Biology
Fire Ecology

Background:

Disturbance regimes significantly influence alien plant invasions.
Fire-adapted shrublands are resilient to infrequent, high-intensity fires.
Altered fire intervals can increase susceptibility to invasive species.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine wildfire impacts on California chaparral shrublands with altered fire regimes.
To compare postfire recovery patterns based on prefire stand age and fire frequency.
To assess the effects of short fire intervals on native and alien plant communities.

Main Methods:

Compared postfire recovery in chaparral sites with different prefire stand ages (3 vs. 24 years).
Compared sites experiencing one fire versus two fires within a four-year period.
Quantified alien plant cover, native plant diversity, and population dynamics of dominant shrubs.

Main Results:

Shorter fire intervals (3-year sites) drastically reduced native shrub populations (Adenostoma fasciculatum) compared to older sites (24-year).
3-year sites exhibited significantly greater alien plant cover and lower plant diversity.
Repeat fires led to a significant increase in alien annuals (grasses and forbs) and a decline in native woody species, with one obligate seeder extirpated.

Conclusions:

Fire-adapted shrublands are vulnerable to changes in fire regime, leading to native diversity loss.
Altered fire regimes can shift communities from woody to herbaceous systems, favoring invasive species.
These shifts impact native-to-non-native ratios, functional types, fire frequency, and carbon storage.