Toward a functional understanding of novel fire regimes in tropical forests.

ABSTRACT: Climate change and land-use alterations are driving forest fires to unprecedented frequencies and intensities worldwide. Even wet tropical forests-historically rarely subjected to fire-are increasingly experiencing fire disturbances. The impact of wildfires on these forests is likely large, since many of their tree species are not adapted to fire. The extent of the consequences depends on complex feedback mechanisms between fire and vegetation, with plant functional traits playing a critical role. However, how different traits may drive fire-vegetation dynamics in such ecosystems is poorly understood due to limited consolidation of relevant data. This uncertainty leaves the future of tropical forests in question. In this review, we explore how functional traits influence the feedback betwe

SUBMITTER: Pacuk D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12572702 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature