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International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Flammable Mexico

Juli G. Pausas
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Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CIDE-CSIC), Valencia, Spain. Email: juli.g.pausas@uv.es

International Journal of Wildland Fire 25(6) 711-713 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF16018
Submitted: 1 February 2016  Accepted: 24 February 2016   Published: 13 April 2016

Abstract

The frequency of disturbances is an important factor contributing to the megabiodiversity of Mexico, and fire is a prominent disturbance in this region. Here I briefly summarise important aspects of fire ecology in Mexico and introduce a new book for fire science in this country: Incendios de la vegetación (Vegetation fires) by D. Rodríguez-Trejo. The book covers many fire topics including fire ecology, fire behaviour, fire management, fire history and the anthropology of fire, and provides a basis for sustainable vegetation management in the region; it also advocates for the use of fire as a management tool. The message is that the biodiversity of Mexico, and therefore its management, cannot be understood without considering fire.

Additional keywords: disturbance ecology, fire adaptations, fire ecology.


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