Extinction of Large Herbivores May Cause Present Day Fires

It turns out that the extinction of large herbivores, such as mammoths, may explain the more frequent fires in modern-day ecosystems. Scientists have taken a closer look at extinction's impacts on ecosystems.

In this latest study, the researchers found evidence that shrubs and trees became more abundant following the Late Pleistocene extinctions. There were major shifts in plant species composition, in particular.

"Large herbivores are not merely victims of the circumstances they live in, but actively engineer their environment," said Liesbeth Bakker, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This has major consequences for other species, and for the structure of the entire landscape."

This latest study focused on the causes of the Late Pleistocene large herbivore extinctions. While the observed vegetation changes at the end of the Pleistocene were generally attributed to climate change, it seems as if this may not be the whole story. Instead, the extinction of large herbivores had a trickle down effect that then caused vegetation extinction.

The role of large herbivores in the past even has implications for present-day ecosystem functions. An "underbrowsed" landscape leads to increased fire incidence, which was a phenomenon seen after the Late Pleistocene extinctions. In addition, current conservation practices have to deal with another decline of native large herbivores, resulting in more wooded landscapes.

The findings reveal that when it comes to ecosystems, everything is interconnected. This is particularly important to note when it comes to determining how best to target conservation efforts in present day and in the future.

An abstract of the article can be seen here.

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