Year Published:
Cataloging Information
Topic(s):
Fire Ecology
Fire Effects
Ecological - Second Order
Aquatic Life
Water
Fire & Climate
Fire Effects
Ecological - Second Order
Aquatic Life
Water
Fire & Climate
Ecosystem(s):
Montane wet mixed-conifer forest, Montane dry mixed-conifer forest
NRFSN number: 13509
FRAMES RCS number: 17386
Record updated:
Wildland fire is a natural disturbance that affects the distribution and abundance of native fishes in the Rocky Mountain West (Rieman and others 2003). Fire can remove riparian vegetation, increasing direct solar radiation to the stream surface and leading to warmer summer water temperatures. Fire can also consume vegetation and organic biomass on the forest floor, changing hydrologic flows, stream quality, and fish habitat suitability.
Citation
Holsinger, Lisa M.; Keane, Robert E. 2011. Fire and fish dynamics in a changing climate. Fire Management Today 71(2):19-23.