Leverhulme Wildfires Centre Leverhulme Wildfires Centre

There must be enough fuel, dry and flammable conditions, suitable weather, and an ignition source to start the fire. However, the amount of fuel and atmospheric aridity influence the size and intensity of fires later. Understanding wildfire dynamics at spatial and temporal scales is crucial in wildfire modelling. The gross primary production (GPP) serves as an indicator of the availability of fuel for the fire. At the same time, the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) signals atmospheric aridity and plays a crucial role in the fire regime. We use the light-use efficiency p-model, an optimality-based model for accurately estimating GPP and VPD.

This research is focused on establishing the relationship between GPP, VPD, and fire on spatial and temporal scales. This relationship holds significant potential for advancing our understanding of wildfire behaviour. We link this relationship with global fire size, intensity, and burned area across different biomes.

Duration: June 2024-ongoing

 

Image: Prescribed fires, Fire Adapt Brazil Study Hub, taken by Adriana Ford

Leadership Team

Meet the team

In this research project, Olivia Haas is working how to represent vegetation-fire interactions within an eco-evolutionary optimality framework (EEO). EEO builds on the assumption that natural selection eliminates traits and behaviours that are uncompetitive in different environment. As such, hypotheses can be developed that identify trade-offs vegetation would be required to make under different fire regimes and conditions. The ultimate aim of this work is to develop a realistic model that incorporates a two-way interaction between fire and vegetation. Importantly, Olivia’s work goes beyond focusing on burnt area, looking at how the controls of fire size and intensity globally control the vegetation patterns we see.

Project duration: ongoing – January 2026

 

Leadership Team

Meet the team

Vegetation provides the fuel for wildfires, and both the amount and type of vegetation exert a strong control on wildfire occurrence and intensity. However, wildfires are the most common cause of vegetation disturbance and destruction. Many ecosystems are adapted to frequent fires and indeed require frequent fires for their maintenance; others are intolerant of fire. Wildfires are predicted to increase in response to future climate changes; how these changes will influence the two-way interactions between wildfire and vegetation is still largely unknown. The major goal of this project is to investigate how specific vegetation traits influence wildfire regimes at a global scale and how in turn wildfires influence the expression of these traits. The project will draw on the increasing wealth of data available from field studies, experiments, and remote-sensing to examine which vegetation properties are most influential in determining the nature of wildfires in order to develop a predictive global model of vegetation-wildfire interactions.

Duration: 2024-2028

 

Leadership Team

Meet the team

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