Modeling fire effects on plants: From organs to ecosystems

Abstract Wildfires and prescribed burns have complex effects on vegetation and ecosystem function, ranging from minor injuries to tissue and organs to whole plant mortality and stand replacement. These effects are dependent on fire behavior characteristics and plant traits, but how they emerge from an interaction of fire behavior and plant physiology is not well understood. We propose a novel process-based modeling framework that links physics-based fire behavior models with trait-based plant physiological response models to investigate injury to the roots, stem and crown. Injuries are linked to whole-tree growth and mortality via xylem hydraulics and carbon budgets. Fire effects at higher levels of organization (populations to ecosystems) can be characterized by either performing spatially-explicit individual-based simulations or via metabolic scaling theory. Overall, our framework will be useful to scientists and managers alike to predict fire impacts across levels of biological organization.