Fire's growing impacts on ecosystems Fire has played a prominent role in the evolution of biodiversity and is a natural factor shaping many ecological communities. However, the incidence of fire has been exacerbated by human activity, and this is now affecting ecosystems and habitats that have never been fire prone or fire adapted. Kelly et al. review how such changes are already threatening species with extinction and transforming terrestrial ecosystems and discuss the trends causing changes in fire regimes. They also consider actions that could be taken by conservationists and policy-makers to help sustain biodiversity in a time of changing fire activity. Science, this issue p. eabb0355 BACKGROUND Fire has shaped the diversity of life on Earth for millions of years. Variation in fire regimes continues to be a source of biodiversity across the globe, and many plants, animals, and ecosystems depend on particular temporal and spatial patterns of fire. Although people have been using fire to modify environments for millennia, the combined effects of human activities are now changing patterns of fire at a global scale—to the detriment of human society, biodiversity, and ecosystems. These changes pose a global challenge for understanding how to sustain biodiversity in a new era of fire. We synthesize how changes in fire activity are threatening species with extinction across the globe, highlight forward-looking methods for predicting the combined effects of human drivers and fire on biodiversity, and foreshadow emerging actions and strategies that could revolutionize how society manages fire for biodiversity in the Anthropocene. ADVANCES Our synthesis shows that interactions with anthropogenic drivers such as global climate change, land use, and biotic invasions are transforming fire activity and its impacts on biodiversity. More than 4400 terrestrial and freshwater species from a wide range of taxa and habitats face threats associated with modified fire regimes. Many species are threatened by an increase in fire frequency or intensity, but exclusion of fire in ecosystems that need it can also be harmful. The prominent role of human activity in shaping global ecosystems is the hallmark of the Anthropocene and sets the context in which models and actions must be developed. Advances in predictive modeling deliver new opportunities to couple fire and biodiversity data and to link them with forecasts of multiple drivers including drought, invasive plants, and urban growth. Making these connections also provides an opportunity for new actions that could revolutionize how society manages fire. Emerging actions include reintroduction of mammals that reduce fuels, green fire breaks comprising low-flammability plants, strategically letting wildfires burn under the right conditions, managed evolution of populations aided by new genomics tools, and deployment of rapid response teams to protect biodiversity assets. Indigenous fire stewardship and reinstatement of cultural burning in a modern context will enhance biodiversity and human well-being in many regions of the world. At the same time, international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are crucial to reduce the risk of extreme fire events that contribute to declines in biodiversity. OUTLOOK Conservation of Earth’s biological diversity will be achieved only by recognition of and response to the critical role of fire in shaping ecosystems. Global changes in fire regimes will continue to amplify interactions between anthropogenic drivers and create difficult trade-offs between environmental and social objectives. Scientific input will be crucial for navigating major decisions about novel and changing ecosystems. Strategic collection of data on fire, biodiversity, and socioeconomic variables will be essential for developing models to capture the feedbacks, tipping points, and regime shifts characteristic of the Anthropocene. New partnerships are also needed to meet the challenges ahead. At the local and regional scale, getting more of the “right” type of fire in landscapes that need it requires new alliances and networks to build and apply knowledge. At the national and global scale, biodiversity conservation will benefit from greater integration of fire into national biodiversity strategies and action plans and in the implementation of international agreements and initiatives such as the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Placing the increasingly important role of people at the forefront of efforts to understand and adapt to changes in fire regimes is central to these endeavors. Interactions between fire and anthropogenic drivers such as global climate change, land use, and invasive species are reshaping ecosystems worldwide. A hotter and drier climate causes more extreme fire weather in southeastern Australia and significant loss of biota. Human-caused ignitions at the interface of urban areas and forests increase the risk of large, severe fires in the western United States, with growing human and ecological costs. In South Africa, fynbos shrublands depend on recurrent fire, yet invasive woody species can promote high-intensity fires that harm native plants and seedbanks. Changes in climate, land use, and species redistributions are underpinned by socioeconomic drivers. In many parts of the world, cessation of traditional fire practices has been linked with detrimental outcomes for biodiversity. In the fire-dependent savannas (cerrado) of Brazil, deliberate use of fire by Indigenous and local peoples, such as the Xavante, can have positive effects on biodiversity. PHOTO CREDITS: J. CARMODY / AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (TOP LEFT), AAP PHOTOS (TOP RIGHT), A. DE LANGE (BOTTOM LEFT), J. R. WELCH (BOTTOM RIGHT) Fire has been a source of global biodiversity for millions of years. However, interactions with anthropogenic drivers such as climate change, land use, and invasive species are changing the nature of fire activity and its impacts. We review how such changes are threatening species with extinction and transforming terrestrial ecosystems. Conservation of Earth’s biological diversity will be achieved only by recognizing and responding to the critical role of fire. In the Anthropocene, this requires that conservation planning explicitly includes the combined effects of human activities and fire regimes. Improved forecasts for biodiversity must also integrate the connections among people, fire, and ecosystems. Such integration provides an opportunity for new actions that could revolutionize how society sustains biodiversity in a time of changing fire activity.

中文翻译：

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人类世的火灾和生物多样性

火对生态系统的影响越来越大 火在生物多样性的演变中发挥了重要作用，是塑造许多生态群落的自然因素。然而，人类活动加剧了火灾的发生率，这现在正在影响从未发生火灾或适应火灾的生态系统和栖息地。凯利等人。回顾这些变化如何已经威胁到灭绝和改变陆地生态系统的物种，并讨论导致火灾状况变化的趋势。他们还考虑了保护主义者和政策制定者可以采取的行动，以在火灾活动不断变化的时期帮助维持生物多样性。科学，这个问题 p。eabb0355 背景 数百万年来，火塑造了地球上生命的多样性。火灾状况的变化仍然是全球生物多样性的一个来源，许多植物、动物和生态系统依赖于火灾的特定时间和空间模式。尽管数千年来人们一直在使用火来改变环境，但人类活动的综合影响现在正在全球范围内改变火的模式——损害人类社会、生物多样性和生态系统。这些变化对理解如何在新的火灾时代维持生物多样性提出了全球挑战。我们综合了火灾活动的变化如何威胁全球灭绝的物种，强调预测人类驱动因素和火灾对生物多样性的综合影响的前瞻性方法，并预示着可能会彻底改变人类世为生物多样性管理火灾的方式的新兴行动和战略。进展 我们的综合表明，与全球气候变化、土地利用和生物入侵等人为驱动因素的相互作用正在改变火灾活动及其对生物多样性的影响。来自广泛分类群和栖息地的 4400 多种陆地和淡水物种面临着与修改后的火灾制度相关的威胁。许多物种受到火灾频率或强度增加的威胁，但在需要火灾的生态系统中排除火灾也可能是有害的。人类活动在塑造全球生态系统方面的突出作用是人类世的标志，并设定了必须开发模型和行动的背景。预测模型的进步提供了新的机会，可以将火灾和生物多样性数据结合起来，并将它们与包括干旱、入侵植物和城市增长在内的多种驱动因素的预测联系起来。建立这些联系还为可能彻底改变社会管理火灾方式的新行动提供了机会。新兴行动包括重新引入减少燃料的哺乳动物、由低易燃植物组成的绿色防火、战略性地让野火在合适的条件下燃烧、借助新的基因组学工具管理种群进化，以及部署快速反应小组以保护生物多样性资产。在现代背景下，土著消防管理和文化燃烧的恢复将增强世界许多地区的生物多样性和人类福祉。同时，减少温室气体排放的国际努力对于减少导致生物多样性下降的极端火灾事件的风险至关重要。展望 只有认识到火灾在塑造生态系统中的关键作用并对其作出反应，才能实现地球生物多样性的保护。全球火灾状况的变化将继续放大人为驱动因素之间的相互作用，并在环境和社会目标之间造成艰难的权衡。科学投入对于引导有关新颖和不断变化的生态系统的重大决策至关重要。战略性地收集关于火灾、生物多样性和社会经济变量的数据对于开发模型以捕捉人类世特征的反馈、临界点和政权更替至关重要。还需要新的伙伴关系来应对未来的挑战。在地方和区域范围内，在需要它的景观中获得更多“正确”类型的火灾需要新的联盟和网络来建立和应用知识。在国家和全球范围内，生物多样性保护将受益于将火灾更多地纳入国家生物多样性战略和行动计划，以及实施《联合国生物多样性公约》等国际协议和倡议。将人们日益重要的作用置于了解和适应火灾状况变化的努力的最前沿是这些努力的核心。火灾与全球气候变化、土地利用和入侵物种等人为驱动因素之间的相互作用正在重塑全球生态系统。更热和更干燥的气候导致澳大利亚东南部更加极端的火灾天气和生物群的大量损失。城市地区和森林交界处的人为起火增加了美国西部发生大规模严重火灾的风险，并增加了人类和生态成本。在南非，fynbos 灌木林依赖于经常发生的火灾，但入侵的木本物种可以促进高强度火灾，从而损害本地植物和种子库。气候、土地利用和物种重新分布的变化受到社会经济驱动因素的支持。在世界许多地方，停止传统的火灾做法与对生物多样性的不利后果有关。在巴西依赖火的热带稀树草原（塞拉多），原住民和当地人民（例如 Xavante）故意使用火可以对生物多样性产生积极影响。图片来源：J. CARMODY / 澳大利亚广播公司（左上）、AAP 照片（右上）、A. DE LANGE（左下）、JR WELCH（右下） 数百万年来，火灾一直是全球生物多样性的来源。然而，与气候变化、土地利用和入侵物种等人为驱动因素的相互作用正在改变火灾活动的性质及其影响。我们回顾了这些变化如何威胁灭绝和改变陆地生态系统的物种。只有认识到火的关键作用并作出反应，才能实现地球生物多样性的保护。在人类世，这要求保护规划明确包括人类活动和火灾制度的综合影响。改进的生物多样性预测还必须整合人、火、和生态系统。这种整合为新行动提供了机会，可以彻底改变社会在火灾活动不断变化的时期维持生物多样性的方式。