Mediterranean bioclimate zones of the world for the understanding of fire regimes

Aim: To quantify the role of soil fertility in the spatial variability of fire activity and to identify the mechanisms that drive this variability.
Location: The five Mediterranean-type climate regions of the world.
Time period: 2002 – present.
Major taxa studied: Terrestrial plants.
Methods: We compiled remotely sensed data on fire activity, climate, net primary productivity, and chemical soil properties for bioclimatically homogeneous zones within the five Mediterranean-type climate regions of the world. Putative direct and indirect effects of the environmental variables on fire activity were evaluated through structural equation modelling.
Results: Fire activity increased with net primary productivity, as expected for ecosystems with fuel-limited fire regimes. Soil acidity and the concentration of exchangeable aluminium also increased fire activity, supporting the idea that low fertility promotes plant characteristics that favour fire initiation and spread.
Main conclusions: Our rese..., , , # Data from: Mediterranean bioclimate zones of the world for the understanding of fire regimes

# Description:

(1) Text file including the aggreated geographical and enviornmental data for the bioclimatic zones within the Mediterranean biome, including:
\- ID: unique identifier.
\- realm: biogeographic realm cf. Olson et al. (2001 Bioscience, 5, 933-938).
\- köppen: code for the Köppen-Geiger climate classification cf. Beck et al. (2018 Scientific data, 5, 1-12).
\- climate: name for the Köppen-Geiger climate classification cf. Beck et al. (2018 Scientific data, 5, 1-12).
\- area: surface area (km2)
\- fire: fire activity cf. Pausas & Ribeiro (2013) Global Ecology and Biogeography, 22, 728-736.
\- aridity: aridity index obtained from an adaptation of the De Martonne aridity index (cf. De Martonne 1926 Comptes Rendus de L’Acad Sci, Paris, 182, 395-1398).
\- NPP: netprimary produtivity cf. Running & Zhao (2019 NASA EOSDIS Land Processes DAAC).
\- pH: soil pH cf. Shangguan et al. ...