Fire in the Earth System

@article{Bowman2009FireIT,
  title={Fire in the Earth System},
  author={David M.J.S. Bowman and Jennifer K. Balch and Paulo Artaxo and William J. Bond and Jean M. Carlson and Mark A. Cochrane and Carla M. D’Antonio and Ruth S. DeFries and John C. Doyle and Sandy P. Harrison and Fay H. Johnston and Jon E. Keeley and Meg A. Krawchuk and Christian A. Kull and Jennifer Marston and Max A. Moritz and Iain Colin Prentice and Christopher I. Roos and Andrew C. Scott and Thomas W. Swetnam and Guido R. van der Werf and S. J. Pyne},
  journal={Science},
  year={2009},
  volume={324},
  pages={481 - 484}
}
Burn, Baby, Burn Wildfires can have dramatic and devastating effects on landscapes and human structures and are important agents in environmental transformation. Their impacts on nonanthropocentric aspects of the environment, such as ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon reserves, and climate, are often overlooked. Bowman et al. (p. 481) review what is known and what is needed to develop a holistic understanding of the role of fire in the Earth system, particularly in view of the pervasive impact of… 
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2,062 Citations
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2,062 Citations

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References

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Fires are critical elements in the Earth System, linking climate, humans, and vegetation. With 200–500 Mha burnt annually, fire disturbs a greater area over a wider variety of biomes than any other…
A Burning Story: The Role of Fire in the History of Life
TLDR
Evidence from different disciplines demonstrating that wildfire appeared concomitant with the origin of terrestrial plants and played an important role throughout the history of life is reviewed.
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