Flood-Fire Interplays in Wetlands: The Rising of an Actionable Field of Study

Floods and fires are part of the ecological regime in many wetlands, yet their interconnectedness is poorly explored. Climate extremes, such as droughts and heatwaves, are increasing fire frequency and intensity, while changing rainfall patterns make floods more unpredictable. These events shape wetland physiognomy, species composition, and functioning. Different wetlands experience varying fire exposure; seasonally inundated grasslands burn almost annually, whereas tropical forests rarely catch fire. Some wetlands are more resilient to fire, drought, and floods than others. Communities dependent on wetlands possess ecological knowledge that supports adaptation, enhancing ecosystem resilience. Though often studied separately, floods and fires in wetlands are interrelated. In addition to environmental aspects, social, cultural and associated traditional knowledge dimensions must be included in conservation processes for these environments. A holistic understanding is crucial for conservation. Researchers from sixteen countries propose a new field of study on flood-fire interactions to improve wetland management and sustainability.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Wetlands
Published
2025-11-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-025-02005-8
Primary Topic
Fire effects on ecosystems
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Flood-Fire Interplays in Wetlands: The Rising of an Actionable Field of Study

Fábio de Oliveira Roque, Miguel A. Ruíz, Juan M. Posada, Pantaleo Munishi et al.
Wetlands
Fire effects on ecosystems
article

Flood-Fire Interplays in Wetlands: The Rising of an Actionable Field of Study

Fábio de Oliveira Roque, Miguel A. Ruíz, Juan M. Posada, Pantaleo Munishi, Geraldo Alves Damasceno‐Júnior, Denis Mburu Njoroge, Renata Libonati, David G. Campbell, Tamires Soares Yule, Paulina Meller, Catherine M. Yule, Francielli Bao, Bruno Henrique dos Santos Ferreira, Danilo Bandini Ribeiro, Kemen Austin, Ieda Maria Bortolotto, Maxwell da Rosa Oliveira, R. Scott Winton, Rosa Helena da Silva, Sally Archibald, Salwana Md. Jaafar, Bibiana Bilbao, S.H. Jenkins, Telmo Antonio, Beibei Zhang, Javier Torres, Alexandre de Matos Martins Pereira, Bambang Hero Saharjo, Allan Henrique de Almeida Souza, Pia Parolin, Joseph Desire Dufitumukiza, Carol Kagaba Kairumba, Lucy Taboko, Mucyo Namahoro Aline, Jeansen Damascene, Dickson Njunge
article en

Abstract

Floods and fires are part of the ecological regime in many wetlands, yet their interconnectedness is poorly explored. Climate extremes, such as droughts and heatwaves, are increasing fire frequency and intensity, while changing rainfall patterns make floods more unpredictable. These events shape wetland physiognomy, species composition, and functioning. Different wetlands experience varying fire exposure; seasonally inundated grasslands burn almost annually, whereas tropical forests rarely catch fire. Some wetlands are more resilient to fire, drought, and floods than others. Communities dependent on wetlands possess ecological knowledge that supports adaptation, enhancing ecosystem resilience. Though often studied separately, floods and fires in wetlands are interrelated. In addition to environmental aspects, social, cultural and associated traditional knowledge dimensions must be included in conservation processes for these environments. A holistic understanding is crucial for conservation. Researchers from sixteen countries propose a new field of study on flood-fire interactions to improve wetland management and sustainability.

WetlandsVol. 45(8)
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR), Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (BR), International Gorilla Conservation Programme (RW), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (BR), Wildlife Conservation Society (US), Central University of Ecuador (EC), University of Buea (CM), Universität Hamburg (DE), University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras (PR), Grinnell College (US), University of the Sunshine Coast (AU), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (BN), University of the Witwatersrand (ZA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), IPB University (ID), The University of Dodoma (TZ), University of Bristol (GB), Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (DE), University of Rwanda (RW), Ministry of Health (UG), Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (DE), Wuhan Botanical Garden (CN), Hamburg Institut (Germany) (DE), Catholic University of Kabgayi (RW), Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KE), Simón Bolívar University (VE), Sokoine University of Agriculture (TZ), Universidad del Rosario (CO), University of Edinburgh (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 66%
Fire effects on ecosystems
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.