Wildfire and Wildlife

Wildfires are rapidly growing in size, severity, and frequency. The current Pyrocene is thus rewriting large landscapes, creating new habitats and fundamentally altering what resources are available for wildlife. This book provides an overview of fire ecology as it relates to wild animals. It begins by outlining what happens during a fire, then describes the major habitat patterns that exist after fire and the sorts of management actions people take after fire. The remainder of the book takes up what animals do during and after fire. The book addresses population dynamics, habitat choices and movements, food availability, sites for reproduction, physiology, and evolution. Because fires add to stressors threatening many wildlife populations, this book also highlights at-risk species and how endangered species policies and management can help species that are further imperiled by fire.