Cited by 2,878Fire effects on ecosystemsPlant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsForest Insect Ecology and Management

Forest disturbances under climate change

Open access
Seidl, Rupert, Thom, Dominik, Kautz, Markus, Martin-Benito, Dario, Peltoniemi, Mikko, Vacchiano, Giorgio, Wild, Jan, Ascoli, Davide +9 more·2017·Nature Climate Change

Abstract

Forest disturbances are sensitive to climate. However, our understanding of disturbance dynamics in response to climatic changes remains incomplete, particularly regarding large-scale patterns, interaction effects and dampening feedbacks. Here we provide a global synthesis of climate change effects on important abiotic (fire, drought, wind, snow and ice) and biotic (insects and pathogens) disturbance agents. Warmer and drier conditions particularly facilitate fire, drought and insect disturbances, while warmer and wetter conditions increase disturbances from wind and pathogens. Widespread interactions between agents are likely to amplify disturbances, while indirect climate effects such as vegetation changes can dampen long-term disturbance sensitivities to climate. Future changes in disturbance are likely to be most pronounced in coniferous forests and the boreal biome. We conclude that both ecosystems and society should be prepared for an increasingly disturbed future of forests.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nclimate3303

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  • Climate change-related forest decline is observed in many regions, e.g., in the US Northwest and British Columbia, in which drought and increasing fire frequency interact with additional stressors such as insect infestation.

    “Climate change-related forest decline is observed in many regions, e.g., in the US Northwest and British Columbia, in which drought and increasing fire frequency interact with additional stressors such as insect infestation (79).”

    From Restoring Degraded Lands (2021) · cites this paper as [79]

    The Abstract and Discussion and conclusion report climate-related increases in fire, drought and insect disturbances across many forests. Pathways of climate influence says drought can facilitate both insects and fire, but the paper does not establish the claimed combination of observed forest decline and interacting stressors specifically in the US Northwest and British Columbia; British Columbia appears in reference titles, not in that finding. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  1. [50]IPCC Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis 2013 Stocker TF Cambridge Univ. Press

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Authors
Seidl, R., Thom, D., Kautz, M., Martin-Benito, D., Peltoniemi, M., Vacchiano, G., Wild, J., Ascoli, D., Petr, M., Honkaniemi, J., Lexer, M. J., Trotsiuk, V., Mairota, P., Svoboda, M., Fabrika, M., Nagel, T. A., & Reyer, C. P. O.
Affiliations
  • BOKU University (AT)
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
  • Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI)
  • University of Turin (IT)
  • Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ)
  • University of Naples Federico II (IT)
  • Forestry Commission England (GB)
  • Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
  • University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT)
  • Technická univerzita vo Zvolene (SK)
  • University of Ljubljana (SI)
  • Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (DE)
Corresponding author
Seidl, Rupert
Venue
Nature Climate Change
Published
2017-05-31
Volume
7
Issue
6
Pages
395-402
ISSN
  • 1758-678X (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-6798
OpenAlex
W2618708155
Cited by
2,878
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 459 · 2025: 410 · 2024: 380 · 2023: 379 · 2022: 335 · 2021: 350 · 2020: 281 · 2019: 174 · 2018: 88 · 2017: 21 · 2015: 1
FWCI
106.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Climate Change (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Institutional Research Information System University of Turin (University of Turin) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • ASEP (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion)
  • Jukuri (Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)) (submittedVersion)
  • Publication Database PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)) (submittedVersion)
  • CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Bari Aldo Moro) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Grantová Agentura České Republiky (RVO 67,985,939)
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01LS1201A1)
  • Austrian Science Fund
  • Akademie Věd České Republiky (RVO [67985939], 67985939)
  • Natural Environment Research Council (NE/M008541/1)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Forest Insect Ecology and Management
Keywords
forest disturbance, climate change, forest fires, drought, wind disturbance, forest insects, forest pathogens, disturbance interactions, feedback, coniferous forest, boreal forest, vegetation change, disturbance sensitivity

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