Freshwater Biodiversity Toolbox
Fire-risk Management
The role of wildfires as a natural ecological disturbance has been largely misunderstood in Western science. Decades of fire suppression and increased global temperatures have increased the likelihood of wildfire occurrence and their severity. Wildfires pose a range of social, environmental, and economic risks to terrestrial, urban, and even aquatic environments. When occurring in riparian areas, wildfires may impact stream flow, water quality, the diversity of plants and aquatic animals, and overall ecosystem health. Land use management practices such as post-fire restoration and logging have been explored in the literature to determine how ecosystems undergo ecological recover after disturbance. Prescribed burning practices in fire-prone regions of the world may be another example of beneficial management practices that can limit the outbreak of massive uncontrollable wildfires, while practices that degrade soil or water quality can further damage ecosystems. Wildfire management and risks must be properly understood in future conservation efforts to be more readily prepared for a future with altered wildfire regimes.
Rating:
Apart from one synthesis (Robinne et al. 2020), reviews under this intervention scored poorly under CEESAT (i.e., no a-priori protocol, critical appraisal, or search strategy provided). All syntheses did provide some consideration of limitations to the primary research but not the review conduct.
RASCAT scoring varied for this intervention; most syntheses scored well in regards to the relevancy of habitats reviewed to a Canadian context and for countries' Polity scores. Many syntheses scored poorly because they were not recently published, did not appropriately state considerations of implications, practical advice, or recommendations for decision-makers, and did not review species endemic to Canada.
