The idea that not all fire regimes are created equal is a central theme in fire research and conservation. Fire frequency (i.e., temporal scale) is likely the most studied fire regime attribute as it relates to conservation of fire-adapted ecosystems. Generally, research converges on fire frequency as the primary filter in plant community assembly and structure, which is often critical to conservation goals. Thus, conservation success is commonly linked to fire frequency in fire regimes. The spatial scale of fire may also be vital to conservation outcomes, but this attribute is underrepresented in the primary literature. In our global, contemporary literature search, we found 37 published syntheses concerning the effects of prescribed fire in conservation over the last decade. In those syntheses, only 16% included studies that reported data-based inferences related to the spatial scale of the fire, whereas 73% included discussion of empirical studies on the temporal scale. Only one of the syntheses discussed studies that explicitly tested the effects of spatial extent, and none of those studies were experiments manipulating spatial scale. Further, understanding spatial-scale-dependent patterns may be relevant because two databases of fire-occurrence data from the United States indicated that spatial scale among lightning-ignited and prescribed fires may have been mismatched over the past few decades. Based on a rich ecological literature base that demonstrates pervasive scale-dependent effects in ecology, spatial-scale-dependent relationships among prescribed fire regimes and conservation outcomes are likely. Using examples from the southeastern United States, we explored the potential for scale-dependent ecological effects of fire. In particular, we highlighted the potential for spatial scale to (a) influence wildlife populations by manipulating the dispersion of habitat components, and (b) modulate plant community assembly and structure by affecting seed dispersal mechanics and spatial patterns in herbivory. Because spatial-scale-dependent outcomes are understudied but likely occurring, we encourage researchers to address the ecological effects of spatial scale in prescribed-fire regimes using comparative and manipulative approaches.

中文翻译：

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规定的火灾情况下的空间规模：在保护方面的研究不足，以美国东南部为例

并非所有消防制度都能平等创造的想法是消防研究和保护的中心主题。火灾频率（即时间尺度）可能是研究最多的火灾制度属性，因为它与适应火灾的生态系统有关。一般而言，研究集中于火频作为植物群落组装和结构的主要过滤器，这对于保护目标通常至关重要。因此，成功的保护通常与火灾情况下的火灾频率相关。火灾的空间规模对于保护成果也可能至关重要，但是该属性在主要文献中并未得到充分体现。在我们全球范围内的当代文献搜索中，我们发现了过去十年间发表的37篇有关指定火灾对自然保护的影响的综合报告。在这些综合中，只有16％的研究包括报告与火灾的空间尺度有关的基于数据的推断的研究，而73％的研究包括关于时间尺度的实证研究的讨论。只有其中一项讨论的讨论明确地检验了空间范围的影响，而这些研究都不是操纵空间尺度的实验。此外，了解与空间尺度有关的模式可能很重要，因为来自美国的两个火灾数据数据库表明，在过去几十年中，雷电和明火之间的空间尺度可能不匹配。基于丰富的生态学文献基础，该生态学证明了生态学中普遍存在的尺度依赖性效应，规定的火灾状况与保护成果之间可能存在空间尺度依赖性关系。通过使用美国东南部地区的示例，我们探索了火的规模依赖性生态效应的潜力。特别是，我们强调了空间规模的潜力（a）通过控制栖息地成分的分散来影响野生动植物种群，以及（b）通过影响草食动物的种子扩散机制和空间格局来调节植物群落的组装和结构。由于对空间尺度相关结果的研究不足，但可能会发生，因此我们鼓励研究人员使用比较性和操纵性方法解决规定射击方案中空间尺度的生态效应。我们强调了空间尺度的潜力（a）通过控制栖息地成分的分散来影响野生动植物种群，以及（b）通过影响草食动物的种子扩散机制和空间格局来调节植物群落的组装和结构。由于对空间尺度相关结果的研究不足，但可能会发生，因此我们鼓励研究人员使用比较性和操纵性方法解决规定射击方案中空间尺度的生态效应。我们强调了空间尺度的潜力（a）通过控制栖息地成分的分散来影响野生动植物种群，以及（b）通过影响草食动物的种子扩散机制和空间格局来调节植物群落的组装和结构。由于对空间尺度相关结果的研究不足，但可能会发生，因此我们鼓励研究人员使用比较性和操纵性方法解决规定射击方案中空间尺度的生态效应。