This is a stimulating tale of the interplay of observation, experimentation, working hypotheses, tentative conclusions, niggling and weightier doubts and great aspirations, on the part of some score of students, on varied ecological and other aspects of the regime and role of fire in relevant biomes and ecosystem- mainly in South Africa - and on other pertinent features of fire ecology. The impressive contents is a tribute to conveners and authors alike. One can expect a profound range and depth ofinvestigation and interpretation, a closeknit fabric of knowledge, delicately interwoven with wisdom, an exposition and quintessence of information. Admipable is the collective vision responsible for selecting appropriate topics: the wide sweeps of the brush picturing the nature of the biomes; ably describing the fire regimes - whether in grassland, savanna, fynbos or forest; skillfully defining the effects of such regimes - according to ecosystem - upon aerial and edaphic factors of the habitat, upon constituent biota, individually, specifically and as a biotic community; elucidating the basic implications in the structure and dynamics of the plant aspect of that community ... and unravelling to some degree the tangled knot of the conservation and dissipation of moisture and nutrients. Moreover, gratitude is owed for efforts exerted to understand the interplay of fire and faunal behaviour and dynamics as well as composition, together with the principle of adaptive responses of organisms of diverse kinds.

Inhalt

1 Characteristics of South African Biomes.- 2 Fire Regimes in the Biomes of South Africa.- 3 Man's Historical and Traditional Use of Fire in Southern Africa.- 4 An Historical Review of Research on Fire in South Africa.- 5 Fire in Fynbos.- 6 Fire in Grassland.- 7 Fire in Savanna.- 8 Fire in Forest.- 9 Fire Behaviour.- 10 Effects of Fire on Vegetation Structure and Dynamics.- 11 The Effect of Fire on Forage Production and Quality.- 12 Effects of Fire Regime on Faunal Composition and Dynamics.- 13 The Responses and Survival of Organisms in Fire-Prone Environments.- 14 The Effect of Fire on Soil and Microclimate.- 15 The Effect of Fire on Water Yield.- 16 The Use of Fire as a Management Tool.- Concluding Remarks. Fire Research - a Perspective for the Future.- References.- Index of Plants and Animals (Scientific).- Index of Plants and Animals (Common).