What do you mean, "megafire"?

• Autores: Linley, Grant D.; Jolly, Chris J.; Doherty, Tim S.; Geary, William L.; Armenteras, Dolors; Belcher, Claire M.; Bliege Bird, Rebecca; Duane, Andrea; Fletcher, Michael-Shawn; Giorgis, Melisa Adriana; Haslem, Angie; Jones, Gavin M.; Kelly, Luke T.; Lee, Calvin K. F.; Nolan, Rachael H.; Parr, Catherine; Pausas Garcia, Juli; Price, Jodi N.; Regos, Adrián; Ritchie, Euan G.; Ruffault, Julien; Williamson, Grant J.; Wu, Qianhan; Nimmo, Dale G.
• Año de publicación: 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: ANTHROPOCENE; CATASTROPHIC FIRE; CLIMATE CHANGE; EXTREME WILDFIRE EVENT; MEGA-FIRE; PYROCENE; WILDFIRE DISASTER
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

"Megafire" is an emerging concept commonly used to describe fires that are extreme in terms of size, behaviour, and/or impacts, but the term’s meaning remains ambiguous. We sought to resolve ambiguity surrounding the meaning of "megafire’" by conducting a structured review of the use and definition of the term in several languages in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. We collated definitions and descriptions of megafire and identified criteria frequently invoked to define megafire. We recorded the size and location of megafires and mapped them to reveal global variation in the size of fires described as megafires. We identified 109 studies that define the term "megafire" or identify a megafire, with the term first appearing in the peer-reviewed literature in 2005. Seventy-one (~65%) of these studies attempted to describe or define the term. There was considerable variability in the criteria used to define megafire, although definitions of megafire based on fire size were most common. Megafire size thresholds varied geographically from > 100–100,000 ha, with fires > 10,000 ha the most common size threshold (41%, 18/44 studies). Definitions of megafire were most common from studies led by authors from North America (52%, 37/71). We recorded 137 instances from 84 studies where fires were reported as megafires, the vast majority (94%, 129/137) of which exceed 10,000 ha in size. Megafires occurred in a range of biomes, but were most frequently described in forested biomes (112/137, 82%), and usually described single ignition fires (59% 81/137). Conclusion: As Earth’s climate and ecosystems change, it is important that scientists can communicate trends in the occurrence of larger and more extreme fires with clarity. To overcome ambiguity, we suggest a definition of megafire as fires > 10,000 ha arising from single or multiple related ignition events. We introduce two additional terms – gigafire (> 100,000 ha) and terafire (> 1,000,000 ha) – for fires of an even larger scale than megafires.
Fil: Linley, Grant D.. Charles Sturt University; Australia
Fil: Jolly, Chris J.. Charles Sturt University; Australia. Macquarie University; Australia
Fil: Doherty, Tim S.. University of Sydney; Australia
Fil: Geary, William L.. Deakin University; Australia
Fil: Armenteras, Dolors. Wildfire Lab; Reino Unido. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Colombia
Fil: Belcher, Claire M.. University of Exeter; Reino Unido
Fil: Bliege Bird, Rebecca. State University of Pennsylvania; Estados Unidos
Fil: Duane, Andrea. University of Melbourne; Australia
Fil: Fletcher, Michael-Shawn. University of Melbourne; Australia
Fil: Giorgis, Melisa Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Haslem, Angie. Rocky Mountain Research Station; Estados Unidos. La Trobe University; Australia
Fil: Jones, Gavin M.. University of New Mexico; Estados Unidos
Fil: Kelly, Luke T.. School Of Ecosystem And Forest Science; Australia
Fil: Lee, Calvin K. F.. The University Of Hong Kong; Hong Kong
Fil: Nolan, Rachael H.. Hawkesbury Institute For The Environment; Australia
Fil: Parr, Catherine. Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación (cide-c; España. University of Liverpool; Reino Unido
Fil: Pausas Garcia, Juli. Universidad de Valencia; España
Fil: Price, Jodi N.. Charles Sturt University; Australia
Fil: Regos, Adrián. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; España
Fil: Ritchie, Euan G.. Deakin University; Australia
Fil: Ruffault, Julien. Ecologie Des Forêts Méditerranéennes; Francia
Fil: Williamson, Grant J.. University of Tasmania; Australia
Fil: Wu, Qianhan. University Of Hong Kong; China
Fil: Nimmo, Dale G.. Charles Sturt University; Australia