Alexandra D.Syphard, Jon E.Keeley, John T.Abatzoglou

Journal of Arid Environments

Published date September 1, 2017

Trends and drivers of fire activity vary across California aridland ecosystems

  • Fire trends and drivers varied substantially across aridland ecoregions
  • Fire frequency increased from 1970 to the 1990s, then declined or plateaued
  • Despite a plateau in fire frequency, area burned kept increasing in some regions
  • Anthropogenic factors significantly explained fire activity in all regions
  • Herbaceous vegetation burned disproportionately more than other cover types